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.

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.

Dutch walk off vs. Taipei, advance to Round 2  —  Dutch center fielder Jurickson Profar drew a bases-loaded walk to help the Netherlands complete a wild late-inning comeback and punch a ticket to the second round of the World Baseball Classic with a 6-5 win over Chinese Taipei at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul …

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 …

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.

Manny Machado made dad proud by picking Dominican Republic  —  SARASOTA, Fla. — The World Baseball Classic is billed as a fierce competition pitting country against country with national pride on the line.  —  However, the motivation to compete runs even deeper than that for Baltimore …

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,” …

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 …

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.

Why Tim Tebow is good for baseball  —  Tim Tebow signs a ball for Mackenzie Demers before Wednesday's spring training game.  —  MORE FROM:  —  PORT ST. LUCIE — As Tim Tebow left the Mets' clubhouse Wednesday to go back to the minor league side, he saw Terry Collins and told the skipper, “See you Friday, coach.”

J.D. Martinez Debunks Conventional Wisdom, Thinks a Tipping Point Is Near  —  Editor's Note: the following post contains spicy language.  —  J.D. Martinez had just concluded a chat with a Tigers beat reporter when I approached him Monday afternoon.  I sensed him preparing to escape …

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 …