NY Mets' Johan Santana able to locate his pitches in spring training start while recovering from shoulder surgery  —  Left-hander may not be pitcher of old, but he looks close  —  Mets ace Johan Santana (l.) talks things over with manager Terry Collins Tuesday.

Major step forward for Duquette  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. - Full circle.  Ten years after.  Lots of water under the Edison Bridge.  —  Exactly one decade after he was fired by John Henry and Larry Lucchino at the Sanibel Harbour Resort, Dan Duquette returned to Fort Myers yesterday.

Mo will know by midseason  —  TAMPA — Saving 603 games for the Yankees to become the greatest closer of all-time is one thing.  There is a much higher calling for Mariano Rivera.  —  All signs point to the great Rivera retiring after the 2012 season.  When he retires, in many ways …

What Felix Hernandez really said on the radio yesterday; nice things, but not as strong as made out to be  —  Some buzz in the blogosphere yesterday about Felix Hernandez telling Jim Bowden and Casey Stern on their Sirius satellite radio program that he has a plan to stay in Seattle the rest of his career.

Righty Matt Garza's a rah dealer for Cubs  —  MESA, Ariz. — Friends of Matt Garza from his Tampa Bay days say there was a point last season when the up-tempo Cubs pitcher was disappointed, maybe even irritated, at being asked by the team to tone down his loud and hyperactive cheering and yelling …

Colorado Rockies' Christian Friedrich leaning on advice from Philadelphia Phillies' Cliff Lee  —  SCOTTSDALE, ariz. — The idea of a Phillie helping a Rockie seemed blasphemous a few years ago.  The clubs were in the throes of a mushrooming rivalry.  The Rockies knocked the Phillies …

The Terrible Twins of 2012?  —  First, let's get this out of the way: The Minnesota Twins will probably be pretty bad, at best, this season.  They lost a lot of games in 2011, and though many of the names and faces have changed, they'll take the field in 2012 looking a lot like the same team.

Cincinnati Reds' Joey Votto still a student of hitting  —  Cincinnati slugger a disciple of famed Ted Williams  —  Cincinnati Reds slugger Joey Votto hit .309 with 29 home runs and 103 RBIs last season.  / Rich Pilling/Getty Images  —  Buy Tickets  —  GOODYEAR, ARIZ. —

The Dropkick Murphys Won't Let Jonathan Papelbon Use His Old Entrance Music  —  For the longest time (or at least since The Departed made it famous), Jonathan Papelbon has been entering to the bagpipes-and-guitars opening riff of the Dropkick Murphys' “I'm Shipping Up To Boston.”  It made sense.

Ramirez Homers, Marlins Beat Miami Hurricanes 7-6  —  MIAMI (AP) — For Hanley Ramirez, at least, the Miami Marlins' new home seems to be a hitter's park.  —  Ramirez hit the first home run for the Marlins in their new ballpark Tuesday night, and their split squad beat the Miami Hurricanes 7-6.