LAROCHE TO HAVE SURGERY, GARCIAPARRA HURTS WRIST, (9:20 p.m. ET)
Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Andy LaRoche tore a ligament in his right thumb today and will need surgery that could sideline him for eight to 10 weeks.
Nomar Garciaparra, competing with LaRoche for the starting job at third base, was hit by a pitch on his right wrist during the Dodgers' 6-4 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. X-rays were negative and he will be reevaluated on Saturday. He is day to day.
LaRoche was injured while attempting a pickoff play at third when the ball deflected off his thumb. A time and date for the surgery has not been set.
-- The Associated Press
PINIELLA TO NAME CLOSER DURING THIRD WEEK OF MARCH (7:44 p.m. ET)
Lou Piniella said Friday he will decide on Ryan Dempster's replacement as the Cubs closer during the third week of March.
"For the closer role I think you give it to one and we go from there," said the Cubs manager. "Let's just wait and see, and I'll make a judgment on that towards the end of the third week of this month."
Bob Howry, Kerry Wood and Carlos Marmol are the three main candidates to fill the opening left by Dempster, who is trying to claim a spot in the Cubs starting rotation.
"I thought Howry threw the ball better yesterday. Kerry has been throwing it really, really well. Marmol is ahead of everybody because of the fact that he pitched in winter ball. He's throwing the ball well too," Piniella said.
Last season, Howry and Marmol served as the two main setup pitchers for the Cubs. Wood was limited to 24.1 innings of relief pitching after joining the Cubs in early August due to shoulder problems.
"If you don't have good setup people, your closer is going to get overused and at the same time, sometimes you're not going to get to him," Piniella added. "Whatever decision we make it will be the right one because we've got three very capable people."
-- Pedro Zayas, ESPNdeportes.com
YANKS' RIVERA THROWS PERFECT INNING IN FIRST OUTING (6:22 p.m. ET)
Mariano Rivera made quick work of his first appearance this spring in Tampa, Fla.
The Yankees closer needed just eight pitches to throw a perfect fourth inning in New York's 9-5 loss to the Astros on Friday.
"Someone made the comment, 'See you next week, Mo,' " Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "He understands his craft as well as any pitcher I've ever been with, on what he needs to do to get ready. He's so good at what he does."
Rivera struck out two, throwing all but one pitch for a strike.
"I'm happy with everything," Rivera said.
-- The Associated Press
CUBS' SORIANO SET TO PLAY SATURDAY (5:55 p.m. ET)
Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano is scheduled to play Saturday after injuring his right middle finger six days ago while practicing fly-ball drills in the outfield.
"We've got him in the lineup tomorrow," Lou Piniella said Friday at HoHoKam Park. "He took batting practice yesterday. It didn't bother him at all."
"I feel ready," Soriano said. "I still feel some pain when I throw, but it'll be fine."
-- Pedro Zayas, ESPNdeportes.com
RANGERS DON'T EXPECT BRADLEY TO CHANGE (4:29 p.m. ET)
Milton Bradley doesn't want to get personal. Nor does he plan to explain his actions or apologize. Not for losing his temper, his run-ins with umpires and managers, or anything else in his enigmatic career.
"Whatever is the past is the past," Bradley said bluntly after warning a reporter that he'd cut short an interview if questions got personal. "If you look at me and don't like me, then you've got a problem, I don't."
Rangers manager Ron Washington, an Oakland assistant in 2006 when Bradley was there, doesn't expect -- or want -- Bradley to change. And despite past incidents and being unable to play spring games now while rehabbing from the knee surgery, Bradley has gained the respect of teammates in Texas, as he did on previous teams, with his work ethic.
"You can never say the guy dogs it," pitcher Kevin Millwood said. "You can tell just seeing him around the clubhouse that he's focused and he wants to play."
-- The Associated Press
'KING FELIX' HAPPY TO SHARE SEATTLE KINGDOM (4:33 p.m. ET)
It has been the highlight of recent spring trainings with the Seattle Mariners: Felix Hernandez is pitching! Now? "King Felix" is a relative prince, second in line behind new ace Erik Bedard. No cameras. No crowds. No commotion.
And no issue.
"Not a big deal," the 21-year-old Hernandez said. "I get to pitch behind Erik. It's not a problem for me."
The expectations that it must be Hernandez alone who leads Seattle into its first postseason since 2001 are gone now. Bedard and his $7 million contract are here to share those.
"We have two or three starters who can ultimately stop a losing streak," first baseman Richie Sexson said. "A lot of good teams maybe only have one."
-- The Associated Press
NATS HAVE-NOTS AT CATCHER (3:40 p.m. ET)
Calling all catchers! Johnny Estrada was given a cortisone shot in his right elbow Thursday, leaving the Nationals in somewhat of a bind at the position.
"I can't do anything, just run," Estrada said, according to The Washington Post. "It stinks."
Estrada hasn't played in a game this spring, and Paul Lo Duca, the presumed starter who was signed in the offseason, is coming off knee surgery and not expected to be game-ready for another week.
Stay tuned. Jesus Flores, 23, will not be Lo Duca's backup if Estrada is not ready by Washington's March 30 season opener, manager Manny Acta said.
"That doesn't mean we can't change our mind," Acta told The Post. "We reserve the right to do it. But we said all along ... we don't want the kid [Flores] to be playing twice, three times a week."
COLON COLOSSALLY GOOD OUT OF PEN (3:07 p.m. ET)
Burly right-hander Bartolo Colon threw his third bullpen session Friday since signing a minor-league contract with the Red Sox and is scheduled to throw batting practice for the first time Sunday.
"His body type has always been short and stocky, as pitchers go, but it's certainly worked for him over time," pitching coach John Farrell said. "He's been a very successful pitcher and the early read here, again, on the bullpen sessions he's thrown, has been very good."
Colon has been penciled in to make his spring training debut on March 15 against the Reds.
RANDOLPH PLEASED WITH PEDRO'S OUTING (2:57 p.m. ET)
Willie Randolph was on hand Friday to watch Pedro Martinez pitch a simulated game in Port St. Lucie, Fla., and liked what he saw.
"He looked good. He got his work in," Randolph said. "Threw 50-some pitches. Threw off-speed, everything. The important thing is he's healthy and happy and looking forward to a full season."
Randolph also discussed the Mets' challenges on offense. He said the club is looking to use its own personnel to fill the void left by injured Moises Alou (hernia surgery) and that no one in the organization has even brought up the names of Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa or Kenny Lofton to him.
"What can you do? You can't see a hernia coming," Randolph said. "I feel so bad for [Alou]. So many things have happened to Moises. He can't get a break. He's such a great hitter, and such a good guy to have in the clubhouse."
CALF STRAIN SIDELINES EDMONDS (12:40 p.m. ET)
Padres center fielder Jim Edmonds said he "tweaked" his right calf muscle during a first-inning at-bat on Thursday when his spikes caught in the batter's box. He left an inning later and was scheduled to have an MRI on Friday.
"We'll know much more as we move into the day," manager Bud Black said Friday morning.
"It's pretty tight," Edmonds said, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. "That's exactly what I didn't need."
If Edmonds is out for an extended amount of time, the Padres would look at playing Scott Hairston, Jody Gerut, Jeff DaVanon or Callix Crabbe in center field. Hairston is also in the mix in left field.
"I'd been running great," Edmonds said, according to the Union-Tribune. "I was telling Scotty Hairston that I was finally getting my legs under me. Then this happens.
"I did a bunch of things so things wouldn't happen, and this happened," added Edmonds, who was plagued by nagging injuries last season. "We'll have to see how it goes. It's not what I was looking for."
DUSTY WANTS REDS TO GO DOWN SWINGING (11:42 a.m. ET)
Dusty Baker says the game's current emphasis on on-base percentage is taking away from something else hitters need to do: swing the bat.
"A lot of this on-base percentage is taking away the aggressiveness of some young kids," he said, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. "Most of the time you've got to put handcuffs on a young guy to keep him from swinging. [The young players are] playing good, real good. I'd like to see them more aggressive."
"I really, really hate the called third strike. I hate that. You're guessing and you ain't ready to hit."
The topic came up when Baker was discussing his desire to see Joey Votto, who has twice led his minor-league teams in walks, get more aggressive at the plate. Baker says the same goes for Adam Dunn, too.
"He doesn't have to tell me," Dunn said, according to the report. "I know I [need to be aggressive]. It's hard for me to swing at that first pitch. But that may be the best one I get."
Votto is getting the message, too. "I am an aggressive hitter," he said, according to the Enquirer. "It just took me a little bit of time, a few at-bats, to get comfortable up there. And it just takes me a little longer to get my timing down, to get my swing ready to go. I'm not one of the guys who can just pick up and hammer fastballs. It takes me a little while."
BUCS TO OUT-OF-SHAPE PLAYERS: WALK THE PLANK (11:35 a.m. ET)
Get in shape or get on the bus. That's the message in Pirates camp, where reliever Josh Sharpless and catcher Carlos Maldonado have been sent down to minor-league camp after management was less than impressed with their failure to follow their offseason workout plans.
"Those who have done everything they needed to do are still here," Pirates GM Neal Huntington said, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "Those who didn't have been weeded out."
Sharpless worked out with a former prep teammate, but the Pirates wanted all players in or near Pittsburgh to train with their coaches at PNC Park. And Maldonado was expected to report to camp slimmer than his usual 255 pounds.
THERE'S A NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN (8:30 a.m. ET)
Royals manager Trey Hillman served notice on Thursday that things have changed in Kansas City.
Ryan Shealy's game-winning home run, giving the Royals a 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks, was quickly forgetten when immediately after the game, manger Hillman lectured his team at home plate for about 15 minutes, and then talked to veteran second baseman Mark Grudzielanek near third base for another 10. Usually, such talks take place in the clubhouse -- not in front of departing fans and the other team.
"We had a couple of mistakes today. I'm not displeased. We won the ballgame," Hillman said of the talk, according to the Kansas City Star. "We've got to run the bases the right way all of the time. And today, we had a couple of mistakes. We could have been in a better position."
Asked more about the talks, Hillman declined to elaborate and put an end to follow-up questions with a single word: "Done."
"He was unhappy with some base running and other things the last few days. He had everyone there, and he wanted to make sure that we chatted," Grudzielanek said, according to the Star. "It brings back the younger years, doesn't it? But that's all good. He wanted to get it off his mind right away."
