Top News:
Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Morgan feels Nolasco purposely plunked him — Nats outfielder involved in incident with Marlins last season — JUPITER, Fla. — Nationals center fielder Nyjer Morgan felt that Marlins right-hander Ricky Nolasco purposely hit him with a pitch during the Nationals' 5-1 victory over the Marlins …
Discussion:
HardballTalk, SBNation.com and MissChatter
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Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Zimmermann's outstanding spring continues — JUPITER, Fla. — Nationals right-hander Jordan Zimmermann had his best outing of the spring Sunday, pitching five shutout innings, allowing three hits, striking out two and walking one. — For the first time this spring, all of Zimmermann's pitches …
Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Espinosa OK after taking pitch off helmet — JUPITER, Fla. — In the first inning against the Marlins on Sunday, Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa was hit in the helmet by a pitch thrown by Florida right-hander Ricky Nolasco. — Espinosa went down as manager Jim Riggleman …
Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Righty Rodriguez wild in debut — JUPITER, Fla. — Right-hander Henry Rodriguez struggled in his debut with the Nationals in a 5-1 victory over the Marlins on Sunday. He pitched one-third of an inning, allowed one run and walked three. — Rodriguez's fastball was clocked as high as 97 mph …
Andy Martino / NY Daily News:
Johan Santana, New York Mets dispute report that team is ready to shut down ace's rehab schedule — PORT ST. LUCIE - The weekend was a frenzied one for Johan Santana. On Saturday, the injured ace joined Twitter and quickly collected nearly 5,000 followers, then hosted a nighttime fund-raising event for his foundation.
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com, New York Post, NorthJersey.com, Metropolis, New Jersey Online, HardballTalk and ESPN
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Mark J. Miller / Yahoo! Sports:
Mets' Santana disputes report of season “in jeopardy” — The New York Mets have had plenty of bad publicity this offseason, which hasn't helped season-ticket sales and will likely affect the single-game ticket sales that start today. So it wasn't welcome news to the team this weekend …
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com
Rob Pettapiece / Baseball Prospectus:
Investigating the “Best Shape” Phenomenon — Believe it or not, most of our writers didn't enter the world sporting an @baseballprospectus.com address; with a few exceptions, they started out somewhere else. In an effort to up your reading pleasure while tipping our caps …
Discussion:
HardballTalk
Fox Sports:
King Felix to Yanks works for everyone — SURPRISE, ARIZ. — If I'm Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik, I'm calling my Yankees counterpart, Brian Cashman, and saying, “Sure, I'll talk about Felix Hernandez.” — Then I'm rattling off names: — Jesus Montero …
Discussion:
HardballTalk
Jfay / Cincinnati Reds:
Reds, Hanigan agree to extension — The Reds and catcher Ryan Hanigan have agreed to a three-year, $4 million extension. — Reds general manager Walt Jocketty would only say that the sides are close. Jocketty generally will not confirm a deal until it's official.
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Ben Shpigel / New York Times:
Rivera's Art, as Always, Is Strictly Minimalist — TAMPA, Fla. — In the sixth inning Sunday, Jason Kubel of the Minnesota Twins struck out looking at a 92-mile-per-hour two-seam fastball that started along the inside corner before curling over the plate. It is practically unhittable …
Discussion:
Hardball Times
Associated Press:
Beckett struggles in 5th as Red Sox lose — BRADENTON, Fla.—Josh Beckett was happy with his outing — until the fifth inning. — Beckett failed to record an out in Pittsburgh's six-run fifth as the Boston Red Sox lost 9-4 to the Pirates on Sunday. — “It's a shame that a whole outing gets ruined …
Discussion:
Sox #1 Fan dot com, Boston Herald and Over the Monster
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Todd Zolecki / MLB.com:
Young could play way onto Phillies' roster — CLEARWATER, Fla. — While Phillies right-hander Roy Oswalt made a Minor League start Sunday at Carpenter Complex, the Phillies played the Twins in Fort Myers, Fla. — Delwyn Young hit a three-run home run against Minnesota closer Joe Nathan in a 6-3 victory.
Discussion:
Beerleaguer and Philliesflow.com
Corey Brock / MLB.com:
Patterson getting a look in leadoff spot — PEORIA, Ariz. — Will Venable figures to get the bulk of the time as the leadoff man for the Padres during the regular season, though manager Bud Black has been looking at several different options at the top of the order this spring.
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com
Spencer Fordin / MLB.com:
Former big leaguer, coach Page dead at 59 — Mitchell Page, a former big league outfielder and hitting coach, passed away Saturday at the age of 59. Page, who served as the Cardinals' hitting coach from 2001-04, died from unknown causes. — A California native, Page was a third-round draftee …
Discussion:
USA Today, baseballmusings.com and Yahoo! Sports
Ken Gurnick / MLB.com:
Ribs, not back, source of Blake's discomfort — Dodgers third baseman unsure how long he will be sidelined — GLENDALE, Ariz. — Casey Blake was examined Sunday by Dr. Robert Watkins Jr., who concurred that the injury the veteran infielder suffered Saturday was to the back of his ribcage …
Discussion:
True Blue LA and Mike Scioscia's tragic illness
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