Bill Webb, Tailor of TV Baseball Excitement, Dies at 70  —  Bill Webb, whose direction of baseball broadcasts nationally for Fox Sports and locally for the Mets featured exceptional anticipation and rapid camera cuts to heighten tension, died Tuesday in Morristown, N.J.  —  He was 70.

Israel reaches 2nd round of the WBC with Mensch power  —  TOKYO (AP) With a little help from “The Mensch on the Bench” mascot, Team Israel is into the second round of the World Baseball Classic.  —  Just 41st in the world rankings, Israel shocked third-ranked South Korea 2-1 in its opening game …

Royals send top prospects Josh Staumont and Kyle Zimmer to minor-league camp  —  SURPRISE, ARIZ.  —  The Royals began the process of thinning out their spring training roster on Wednesday morning, sending five pitchers and four position players to minor-league camp.

Notes: Reds' rotation battle yet to narrow  —  GOODYEAR, Ariz. - When spring training began, Cincinnati Reds manager Bryan Price said he'd likely be pulling from a group of five pitchers to fill the final two spots in his rotation.  Almost a month into camp, that competition hasn't narrowed.

Why the Phillies built an analytics think tank with non-baseball brains  —  Around the corner from the general manager's office on the second floor of Citizens Bank Park, through the conference room where some of the franchise's most important decisions are made, is a place unlike any other at the ballpark.

Fashion Statement: Matheny cracks wise on home wins & haberdashery  —  The front of the Cubs' spring training T-shirt shows a meditative bear, wearing Ernie Banks' No. 14.  The slogan on the back — which is a mantra the team used during a January mini-camp — reads, “In Blue Out Red,” …

Latest On Angel Pagan  —  We've heard mostly crickets on the market for veteran outfielder Angel Pagan, who turned in a strong bounceback year in 2016 (.277/.331/.418 with 12 home runs and 15 stolen bases) but remains unsigned with camp well underway.  MLBTR's Steve Adams recently looked …

Matheny widens net in looking for leaders  —  JUPITER, Fla.  • A year after coming to Cardinals camp to speak with a small group of players and coaches, an author renowned for leadership guidance got an eyeful Tuesday of how things have changed this spring for the Cardinals.

Socrates Brito Undergoes Surgery On Dislocated Finger  —  Diamondbacks outfielder Socrates Brito required surgery to repair an “open dislocation of the fourth finger on his left hand” this evening, the Diamondbacks announced.  A specific timetable for the 24-year-old's recovery has yet to be determined …

North Port approves Braves spring training deal  —  The Braves' planned move of their spring training home to southwest Florida cleared another governmental hurdle Tuesday.  —  City commissioners in North Port - the Sarasota County city where the new Braves complex is to be built …

Sandy Alderson says Michael Conforto's future is bright — as a Met … Not once this offseason did Michael Conforto go searching for news about his future with the Mets.  But it found him anyway, in the form of questions from his workout partners.  —  One of them was Matt Boyd …