Johan Santana brings some sunshine to Mets  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - These were Johan Santana's final warm-ups before taking the mound against the Cardinals on Tuesday afternoon, as big a homecoming as the Mets have had in two seasons.  Their ace left-hander ran through his pre-start regimen …

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.

Steve Swindal, Steinbrenner's Once Heir Apparent, Finds New Success  —  TAMPA, Fla. (AP/WFAN) — The man who was once heir apparent to run the New York Yankees stood on the suite level at Steinbrenner Field as employees and friends stopped to shake hands and say hello.

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 …

Baseball: Lucas Giolito hurts elbow, might be lost for season [Updated]  —  Standout senior pitcher Lucas Giolito of Studio City Harvard-Westlake, the No. 1 high school pitching prospect in the nation, sprained his ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow in the seventh inning on Tuesday …

Kuroda gets work in as Yanks blanked by Rays  —  Newcomer goes two innings; offense held to four hits  —  TAMPA, Fla. — Stephen Vogt's two-run triple highlighted the attack as the Rays touched up Hiroki Kuroda in his first outing in a Yankees uniform, and Tampa Bay held on to post …

Fenway Park hits National Register of Historic Places  —  History has been made at Fenway Park [map] again.  —  The 100-year-old ballpark has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places, according to Secretary of State William Galvin.  —  The Massachusetts Historical Commission …

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.