Ex-Angel Anderson lands with Dodgers  —  Signs Minor League deal, competing with Giles, Mientkiewicz  —  PHOENIX — The Dodgers on Wednesday night signed veteran outfielder Garret Anderson, who immediately moved to the front of the line in the competition for the left-handed pinch-hitter's role.

Introducing THT Forecasts  —  Just in time for the start of Spring Training, I'm excited to present to you the newest Hardball Times offering—THT Forecasts.  —  In a partnership with Brian Cartwright, the brilliant inventor of the Oliver projection system, we have produced forecasts for over 7,000 major and minor league players.

Rodriguez's Return to Field Clouded by Questions Off It  —  A few minutes before the Yankees' first spring training game Wednesday, their starting lineup was introduced at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla. Derek Jeter came first, followed by Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira.  —  Then came Alex Rodriguez.

Mauer's agent lands at training camp to meet with team  —  The agent for Joe Mauer, Ron Shapiro, has arrived in Fort Myers, Fla., to meet with the Twins.  While it's being shaped as Shapiro's annual visit to spring training, the sides are expected to hold face-to-face discussions about the future of the Twins' MVP catcher.

Reyes scratched  —  Jose Reyes has been scratched from today's game.  He said the initial physical raised a small concern with doctors, so he needed to do additional blood work this morning.  He'll visit the doctor again at noon.  Reyes added that he has no physical problems.  “I'm fine,” he said.

Bernie Williams ponders own numbers and Hall of Fame chances because of steroid era boost  —  TAMPA - Bernie Williams worked hard during his 16 years in pinstripes, but he wonders if it was enough to overcome the murky shadow cast by the steroid era.  —  Williams, a five-time All-Star …

Baseball transactions  —  Movements in the world of baseball Tuesday:  —  American League  —  DETROIT TIGERS-Agreed to terms with RHP Alfredo Figaro, RHP Armando Galarraga, RHP Ryan Perry, LHP Fu-Te Ni, LHP Daniel Schlereth, INF Don Kelly, OF Ryan Raburn and OF Clete Thomas on one-year contracts.

PADRES: Peavy enjoyed time with Padres, but happy to be with White Sox  —  Chicago White Sox pitcher Jake Peavy is only 12 miles down the road from the Padres' Peoria complex, but he might as well be 1,000.  Seven months after he was traded by the Padres for four pitchers …

Mariners Counting On Milton Bradley  —  PEORIA, Ariz. - The Seattle Mariners won 85 games last year while scoring the fewest runs in the American League and pitching to the lowest earned run average.  They are built for their spacious ballpark, Safeco Field, with outstanding defense as their primary strength.

Yankees name catcher Austin Romine and RHP Zach Mcallister winners of the 2009 Kevin Lawn ‘Player of the Year’ and ‘Pitcher of the Year’ Awards  —  The New York Yankees today announced that catcher Austin Romine and right-handed pitcher Zach McAllister were named winners of the Yankees' 2009 Kevin Lawn Award …

Matt Kemp is a model citizen for GQ  —  Outfielder enjoyed posing for a spread in the magazine, even it took four hours in the sun.  —  Reporting from Phoenix - Matt Kemp said he didn't mind the four hours of standing in the sun.  —  He didn't mind being asked to repeat the same action …

NY Yankees manager Joe Girardi says OBP biggest key to hitting second in lineup … TAMPA, Fla. — Maybe Joe Girardi wasn't in the mood to name names on Wednesday afternoon.  But it wasn't hard to decipher his message.  —  For instance, Girardi never spoke the name of who he described only as the short …

Easy as 1-2-3 for Kelly  —  Sox prospect gives a nice account of himself in first try  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. - It was only one inning.  It was against a college team.  But maybe someday we'll tell our grandchildren about it.  Maybe someday City of Palms Park will be renamed “Casey Kelly Field.”

Pitcher having visa issues  —  GLENDALE, Ariz. — The general chronology of spring training is that it starts with a set of assumptions, that many of those assumptions will be shattered over the ensuing six weeks and that those original assumptions will have long been forgotten by the time the regular season begins.

Best PITCHf/x Pitches of 2009 … Velocity, movement, location, release point are age old-terms in the baseball lexicon that have been quantified thanks to pitchf/x.  Chris Moore in August published a groundbreaking study ranking the best fastballs in baseball using factors given …

MLB and Upper Deck Co. Settle Lawsuit  —  UPDATE: Upper Deck's statement added.  —  Major League Baseball has settled its lawsuit against Upper Deck today.  Following is a summary of the non-confidential portions of the settlement, per MLB.  — Upper Deck will pay Major League Baseball Properties …

Marlins practice with aluminum, then lay wood to Hurricanes in 19-3 win  —  JUPITER — The Marlins did plenty of damage Wednesday at Roger Dean Stadium — both with aluminum and wooden bats.  —  Just for kicks, Hanley Ramirez and his Marlins teammates borrowed an aluminum bat from a University …