Jason Varitek to announce retirement from baseball on Thursday  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. — Jason Varitek, a two-time World Series champion and the captain of the Red Sox from 2005-11, will announce his retirement here on Thursday, sources told the Globe today.  —  Varitek is expected to stay with the organization in some capacity.

NY Mets' David Wright is unimpressed with Jeff Wilpon's ‘Underdog’ T-Shirt motivational tactics  —  Cartoon shirt gets under third baseman's skin  —  David Wright isn't thrilled with the “Underdog” T-shirt motivational ploy from ownership.  —  PORT ST. LUCIE — Can even Underdog save the Mets?

Astros turn to Myers to be their closer  —  Veteran right-hander saved 21 games for Phillies in 2007  —  KISSIMMEE, Fla. — The Astros' search for a closer ended with a surprise announcement Tuesday morning.  —  Veteran right-hander Brett Myers, a starter in all but one of his 10 Major League seasons …

Free-agent fantasy  —  Would Trout, Harper and Moore get more on the open market than Darvish?  —  Baseball Prospectus  —  If there is one thing we learned from the $111.7 million (including posting fee) that the Texas Rangers spent on Yu Darvish this winter, it's this …

Scott Sizemore out for season with torn ACL in left knee  —  Scott Sizemore injured his left knee during a fielding drill on Saturday and the Athletics just announced that he'll miss the entire 2012 season due to a torn ACL.  Jane Lee of MLB.com reports that the 27-year-old will be reevaluated in two weeks before surgery is scheduled.

Broadcaster Rankings (TV): #30 - #21  —  Beginning in late November, we've spent much of the offseason asking readers to rate the television broadcast teams (on a scale of 1-5 for charisma, analysis, and then overall) for all 30 major-league clubs — with the intention, ultimately …

Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen: Don't be bleeping late for the National Anthem  —  Manager Ozzie Guillen says he doesn't have many rules for his players, but he was adamant about one: Be on time for the singing of the National Anthem.  —  “Stand up for National Anthem and don't be late,” …

Cards, Molina soon to finalize extension  —  JUPITER, Fla. — Citing an unnamed source, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch published a report on Monday stating that the Cardinals and catcher Yadier Molina are expected to finalize terms of a multiyear extension by the end of the week.

Chamberlain throws off full mound, tests elbow  —  TAMPA, Fla.—New York Yankees reliever Joba Chamberlain has thrown off a full mound for the first time in eight months after elbow ligament replacement surgery.  —  Chamberlain made 16 throws during the session on Tuesday, and said “everything went great.”

Magic Johnson leads one of seven Dodgers bidding groups to advance  —  The owner of the Memphis Grizzlies and a Milwaukee Brewers investor are in two groups eliminated from the process Monday.  Sources say Johnson's group is among five potential owners with L.A. ties that remain in contention.

Royals To Extend Salvador Perez  —  The Royals announced that they signed catcher Salvador Perez to a five-year contract that includes three club options.  Perez will earn a guaranteed $7MM over the course of the five-year contract, Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports (Twitter links).

Reds Extend Sean Marshall  —  The Reds announced a three-year extension with lefty reliever Sean Marshall, which runs through 2015.  The contract is worth $16.5MM, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Rosenthal notes there's $2MM in performance bonuses each year, $1MM for games started and $1MM for games finished.