Carlos Beltran makes progress with knee rehab, may return to New York Mets' lineup by early May  —  PORT ST. LUCIE - Most of the Mets had just started their workday when Carlos Beltran emerged from the clubhouse gym, unhooking a heart-rate monitor from around his midsection.

PADRES ANALYSIS: Status of Gonzalez remains in limbo  —  PEORIA, Ariz. — It seems as if the entire baseball world is waiting for the other shoe to drop — for the Padres to finally relent and trade Adrian Gonzalez to the highest bidder.  —  The conventional wisdom is that the Padres cannot afford …

Texas Rangers' Ron Washington said he used amphetamines and marijuana during his playing days  —  A day after apologizing for using cocaine last season, Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington said that he used amphetamines and marijuana during his playing career.

3UP: Mejia, Joba and F-Mart  —  1. In my column today, I wrote about why I think the Mets should have Jenrry Mejia begin the year in the minors as a starter.  —  This is not an easy decision for the Mets.  This is a moment when the Mets want to re-energize their fan base (think sell tickets …

Victor Rojas Launches “Yakcy” Social Network Site for Sports  —  Yakcing all over Twitter: A new social network site launched by Victor Rojas  —  looks to hook you into sports specific social networking “rooms”  —  Social networking has become more than a trend, by all accounts, it appears to be here to stay.

Exhibition Game 16: Red Sox at Pirates  —  Here are the lineups:  —  RED SOX (8-7)  —  Mike Cameron CF  —  Dustin Pedroia 2B  —  Victor Martinez 1B  —  Tug Hulett 3B  —  Pitching: RHP Josh Beckett followed by RHP Scott Atchison, LHP Fabio Castro, RHP Ramon A. Ramirez.  —  PIRATES (4-10)

National Matters: Rizzo talks right field, shortstop & a deal with Dunn  —  Welcome to the first installment of a new feature on MASNsports.com: Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo's weekly blog.  —  Each week during the 2010 season, Rizzo will bring his insight straight to you, only on MASNsports.com.

Teixeira a lesson in how to play big stage  —  TAMPA — There isn't another city that insinuates itself into the equation quite the way New York City does.  Nobody ever wonders if a linebacker “has the makeup to make it in New Orleans.”  No one ever ponders if a power forward can become “a Portland guy.”

Vin Scully admitted to hospital after hitting head  —  Longtime Dodgers play-by-play announcer Vin Scully was admitted to a hospital Thursday night after falling out of bed and hitting his head, said Josh Rawitch, the Dodgers' vice president of communications.

Mets reliever Pedro Feliciano leaves game with bruised right knee … JUPITER, Fla. — Mets reliever Pedro Feliciano left Thursday's exhibition game against the Marlins with a bruised right knee after being struck by a grounder off the bat of Brett Hayes.  Feliciano walked off the field with no problem and said he was not in any pain.

Patience pays for Scutaro  —  How a discerning eye at the plate gave the Red Sox shortstop his breakout season  —  Marco Scutaro is a patient man.  —  In 2001, Scutaro was a 25-year-old second baseman who had never sniffed the major leagues.  —  He'd put together a solid year …

Arizona legislature approves surcharges  —  Fees collected would help fund new Cubs facility  —  MESA, Ariz. — The Arizona House of Representatives on Thursday approved a Spring Training ticket surcharge plan designed to keep the Cubs in Mesa and generate more than $100 million for improvements …

Inbox: Is Huff secured a rotation spot?  —  Reporter Anthony Castrovince answers fans' questions … I'm a little confused about David Huff's lack of rotation spot security.  The guy led our team last year in wins and was only a rookie.  I would argue that Huff had an incredibly productive rookie year.

Frazier finding his place  —  GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Todd Frazier has six different gloves in locker at the Reds' spring training complex — a first baseman's mitt, an outfielder's glove, a middle infield glove, a third base glove and a backup infield glove.  —  In the future, the Reds …

Manny appears to be heating up  —  First home run offers hope power is returning  —  PHOENIX — Manny Ramirez's power returned, at least for his first-inning, two-run home run off Ryan Dempster in the Dodgers' 7-3 spring win over the Cubs on Thursday.  —  “Keep 'em coming,” said Jeff Weaver …

Bradley ejected by home-plate umpire  —  Mariners outfielder appeared to protest call by dropping bat  —  PEORIA, Ariz. — The Mariners suffered their second player ejection in the past two games Wednesday night when left fielder Milton Bradley was thrown out of the 8-1 loss to the Texas Rangers …