Stephen Strasburg fans 8 in 4 innings as Nats top Cards 13-5  —  VIERA, Fla. (AP) — Stephen Strasburg (FSY) watched two of his first 11 pitches sail out of the ballpark.  He didn't flinch.  —  So much for the notion that the Washington Nationals' top pitching prospect can't handle a little adversity.

At 38, Jorge Posada says he's far from done  —  TAMPA, Fla. - Jorge Posada isn't vain enough to ignore what's going on between Joe Mauer and the Twins - or, more accurately, what's not happening in their curiously stalled contract negotiation.  The longer the game's best catcher goes without …

Shame we can't see Dodgers' true potential  —  Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since Aug. 2005.  He appears weekly on MLB on FOX.  —  Defenders of Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt — the few that exist — point to the team's two straight appearances …

Francoeur gets license to steal  —  JUPITER, Fla. — Last summer, after Jeff Francoeur was acquired from the Braves, Mets manager Jerry Manuel asked him to try to steal more bases.  Francoeur, though, couldn't quite handle that.  —  “Jerry wanted me to,” Francoeur said yesterday, “but I just don't know how.”

How long can Derek Jeter continue to defy the effects of aging?  —  We all have questions about the 2010 season and luckily Alex Remington has some answers.  The Stew's resident stats guru will address a few per week as opening day approaches.  —  The Situation: Derek Jeter

For Cubs core, this could be the last hurrah  —  Window of opportunity closing for Lee, Lilly, Soriano, Ramirez, Dempster, Piniella and Hendry  —  Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee tags out White Sox's Juan Pierre in the first inning.  (Tony Dejak, Associated Press / March 19, 2010)

Johan bested by former mates  —  Mets fall to Twins; Santos hits second spring homer  —  TWINS 7, METS 3  —  Twins at the plate: Rookies Danny Valencia and Wilson Ramos, neither of whom was a teammate of Johan Santana, hit solo home runs against the Mets' ace in the second inning.

Retaining Washington made sense for Rangers  —  Rangers bosses Nolan Ryan (the club president) and Jon Daniels (the GM) certainly showed their compassionate side in deciding to keep manager Ron Washington after he failed an MLB-administered test for cocaine following the All-Star break last year, as reported here first on Wednesday.

2010 MLB Home Run Derby to Be Televised in 3D by ESPN  —  Imagine if there had been 3D coverage on the A-Rod home run ball that hit the camera during the World Series?  —  ESPN 3D has added the State Farm Home Run Derby telecast on Monday, July 12 at 8 p.m. EST to the list of events that will appear on the new network.

Roster analysis  —  The Mets still have two weeks to resolve the roster, and things will resolve themselves to a certain extent by performance, but here's an early look at how things appear to be shaking out:  —  Rotation  —  No debate in the Nos. 1-4 slots: Johan Santana starts on Opening Day …

Dice-K set for Minor League start Sunday  —  Red Sox right-hander, wife welcome third child Thursday  —  BRADENTON, Fla. — In what had been somewhat of a nagging Spring Training for Daisuke Matsuzaka, there was finally some reason for celebration on Thursday night, as the right-hander got …

Jake ready for squat  —  Yes, that was Mike Jacobs this morning, with a bag of catching equipment in front of his locker.  Jacobs looks like he's the leading candidate for the final bench spot with the Mets, and the organization has asked him to catch on a limited basis in order to increase his versatility.

Cliff Lee on flight back to Seattle  —  UPDATE: 4:10 p.m.Turns out it's a lower abdominal strain.  He'll be re-evaluated in a week, but will likely miss at least a couple.  —  Mariners pitcher Cliff Lee has left the team and flown back to Seattle.  He arrived in Seattle at 2:10 Pacific time.