Red Sox cruise behind five-run first, Beckett  —  Righty limits Astros to one hit in five innings in spring finale  —  HOUSTON — The Red Sox scored five first-inning runs off Astros starter Nelson Figueroa while Josh Beckett silenced Houston hitters, leading to a 10- exhibition victory …

Strasburg, Harper get to visit Nationals Park  —  Young stars among non-active players in clubhouse at NatsFest  —  WASHINGTON — Bryce Harper, Cole Kimball, Derek Norris, Stephen Strasburg and Chien-Ming Wang were seen in the Nationals' locker room before attending NatsFest on Wednesday afternoon.

Almonte could see early action  —  CINCINNATI — The last man to win a spot on Milwaukee's Opening Day roster might not have to wait long to make his first Brewers start.  Infielder/outfielder Erick Almonte might just be manager Ron Roenicke's choice to start in early-season games against left-handed pitchers.

What do we know?  Not much — yet  —  Here are some predictions, but many variables sure to be at play  —  There was a day this spring when we were watching a game with a group of very smart baseball people and the discussion point was whether the Reds were the biggest favorite in any of the divisions.

Value Picks in the Bullpen  —  Just hours after this article goes live, the first pitch of the 2011 season will be thrown by either by CC Sabathia or Livan Hernandez.  It's Opening Day!  Or, as I like to think of it, “the equivalent of Christmas plus your birthday multiplied by ten Super Bowls"-not to overstate it, of course.

Twins up to date on stats, but not loud about it  —  2011 BASEBALL PREVIEW The Twins pride themselves on scouting but say they also are in line with trends about statistics.  —  The Twins haven't been ignoring baseball's statistical revolution.  They're just not out front talking about it all the time.

BREAKING NEWS: Brandon Belt wins spot on Giants' roster, will make big league debut on opening day (33)  —  Giants Manager Bruce Bochy went to the mat to keep Brandon Belt and the skipper got his wish.  —  Alex Pavlovic just reported via Twitter that Belt was informed he'll be on the team.

Clemens says he's ‘looking forward’ to his day in court  —  HUMBLE — After finishing his stint as a charity caddie for PGA Tour player Ryan Palmer this afternoon, Roger Clemens stopped to shake a few hands, slap a few backs and sign a few autographs.  —  Then, with a large group of media waiting …

Pre-Season Predictions  —  Staff Picks for 2011  —  Today we reveal the Baseball Prospectus staff predictions for the division standings and the major player awards (MVP, Cy Young, and Rookie of the Year) in the American and National Leagues.  Each staff member's division standings predictions may be found later in the article.

Giants Designate Travis Ishikawa For Assignment  —  The Giants designated Travis Ishikawa for assignment, according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter).  Rookie Brandon Belt made the Giants' Opening Day roster, bumping Ishikawa from the team.

MLB on FOX ready to tie one on  —  Walking out of Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia after the final game of the NLCS, I was grabbed by Jim Bernard, a FOX Sports VP.  —  “Are you ready to wear the bow tie?”  Jim said.  “We're getting you some in San Francisco.”  —  The what?