JOHNSON TO MAKE SPRING DEBUT MONDAY (9:58 p.m. ET)
Diamondbacks left-hander Randy Johnson, who hasn't pitched in a live game since having back surgery last season, will make his spring debut in an exhibition game Monday against the Colorado Rockies.
Johnson, who is going into the final season of a two-year, $26 million contract, threw a side session at the Cubs' spring complex in Arizona on Saturday, MLB.com reports.
The five-time Cy Young winner threw off flat ground and showed himself ready for game action after mixing in sliders and changeups, according to manager Bob Melvin.
"This is exactly where we kind of had it mapped out to," baseball's Internet site quoted Melvin as saying. "We're right on schedule."
Melvin said he's not sure how many innings Johnson will pitch Monday, but the team is eager to get the All-Star back into game action.
"Sure, I think everybody is, him more than anybody else," Melvin said.
-- ESPN.com news services
SORIANO SAYS FINGER IS 'OK' (7:28 p.m. ET)
Alfonso Soriano returned to the Chicago Cubs' lineup Saturday and had two hits in a 4-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Soriano had played in only one game this spring because of a minor break at the top of his right middle finger. He went 2-for-4, both singles.
"The finger is OK, not a problem," Soriano said. "I hit a couple balls off the end of the bat, and I didn't feel anything at all in my finger."
Soriano had issues with both legs last season -- a strained left hamstring and a strained right quadriceps -- and said he's running at 85 percent this spring.
"It's not my leg, it's in my mind," he said. "As soon as I play every day and run every day, that's going to be out of my mind."
-- The Associated Press
ZIMMERMAN GETS SLIGHT BUMP IN PAY (7:27 p.m. ET)
Ryan Zimmerman began Saturday by signing a new one-year contract, then kept making his case for a longer and more lucrative deal.
The Washington third baseman homered and drove in four runs in a 12-10 win over the split-squad Houston Astros, before agreeing to a slight raise that bumps his salary this season to $465,000.
The renewed deal gets the runner-up in the 2006 NL Rookie of the Year voting by for now, while his agent keeps talking with the Nationals about a longer commitment. Zimmerman becomes eligible for arbitration after this season.
"It's just part of the system," Zimmerman said. "I'm not upset by any means. They have control for three years and that's just how it goes. Many people before me have done it the same way. There's no hard feelings either way.
"I'm not opposed to doing the deal. It's just going to be a matter of having it make sense for both sides. But as far as me being involved, now it's time for baseball. My job is to help this team win, not worrying about getting a new contract."
-- The Associated Press
MADDUX FINDS RHYTHM AGAINST RANGERS (7:23 p.m. ET)
Greg Maddux wasn't perfect this time, just good.
After needing only 18 pitches to get six outs in his spring debut Tuesday, Maddux worked three innings Saturday, allowing one run on one hit in a 9-5 victory over the Texas Rangers.
Maddux gave up a leadoff double to Ian Kinsler, who eventually scored on Michael Young's sacrifice fly. Maddux retired eight straight batters until hitting Kinsler with a pitch with two outs in the third inning. He struck out one and walked none.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia's comebacker hit Maddux on the lower left leg, but Maddux, who won his record 17th Gold Glove Award last year, recovered and threw him out to end the second.
Maddux said his leg's OK, but he's looking forward to getting out of running drills the next few days.
"I appreciate being on this side, being able to watch him," said Tony Clark, who was signed to back up first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. "I have a high level of respect for him, for Hoffy [closer Trevor Hoffman], for guys when it's all said and done are going to hang their cleats with a special group. This is my second time in his two starts playing behind him and it's a pleasure to watch him work."
-- The Associated Press
RAYS' EYES PEELED TO PRICE (5:08 p.m. ET)
Rays starter Matt Garza had something more important on his mind than discussing his second spring outing with reporters.
"We have to make this quick," said Garza, who allowed one hit in three scoreless inning against the Yankees. "David Price is pitching next inning."
Price, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft, made his spring training debut Saturday, leaving the Rays glued to the TV in the visiting clubhouse in Tampa, Fla. Carl Crawford said Price was going to hit the first batter he faced because he had so much adrenaline pumping.
The first pitch Price unleashed was a 98-mph fastball to Francisco Cervelli for a called strike.
"Oh, snap!" Garza yelled. Was that 98? Damn, he's bringing the heat!"
Price hit Cervelli with his next pitch. "I told you he was gonna get hit," Crawford said.
Price then struck out Shelley Duncan, Jason Lane and Wilson Betemit to end his inning. When Betemit flailed at the 17th and final pitch of Price's outing, the entire clubhouse erupted.
About two minutes later, Price entered the clubhouse, huffing and puffing, receiving congratulations from his teammates before disappearing for treatment. His first outing against major leaguers was deemed a success.
-- Amy K. Nelson, ESPN.comBYNUM TO HAVE KNEE SURGERY (1:56 p.m. ET)
Freddie Bynum will have arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and miss at least five weeks, ending his bid to be Baltimore's starting shortstop on Opening Day.
Bynum complained about a sore knee early in camp and an MRI revealed a torn meniscus. After trying to play through the pain, he decided surgery was the best option.
"I wasn't thinking about the 25-man roster or anything," Bynum said Saturday. "I was just thinking about my career, trying to be healthy and doing the things I know that I can do, which my knee won't let me do right now.
"Me being a speed guy, I want to get it taken care of so I won't miss much time."
Bynum was competing with Luis Hernandez and Brandon Fahey to fill the void at shortstop left by the offseason trade of Miguel Tejada to the Houston Astros. By submitting to surgery, Bynum eliminated himself from contention.
-- The Associated Press
GARLAND GUNNING FOR OPENING DAY (11:51 a.m. ET)
Jon Garland bolstered his chance to be on the mound for Opening Day at Minnesota. The right-hander allowed one run in three innings against the White Sox (his former team) Friday.
Angels ace John Lackey isn't likely to be the Angels' starter March 31 after getting off to a late start because of a sore elbow.
"I think it would be a great honor," said Garland, who has never started on Opening Day. "It's really never made any difference to me."
Garland won 92 games over eight seasons with the White Sox before being dealt to L.A. for shortstop Orlando Cabrera this past offseason. He downplayed any extra significance to Friday's outing.
"There were only a couple of guys [in the lineup] that I played with that long," said Garland, who allowed two hits, struck out one and walked none.
McCARTHY'S MENTAL ANGUISH (11:36 a.m. ET)
Brandon McCarthy's first appearance of the season was stopped short Friday, and now the Rangers pitcher said he'll wait and see if his sore right elbow is something more serious.
McCarthy, scheduled to throw two innings against Milwaukee after Jason Jennings did, pitched just one and felt soreness when he threw his third curveball of the day. He will be re-examined on Saturday.
"Hopefully, it's nothing too serious and it's something we can get past soon," McCarthy said. "But, it's not fun right now."
McCarthy, who went 5-10 with a 4.87 ERA in 23 games in his first season in Texas last year, has been delayed this spring because of the elbow.
"You get pretty sick of talking about yourself and your injury," said McCarthy, who spent two stints on the DL last season with a blister and a stress fracture in his right shoulder blade. "I'm not too worried, it's just annoying."
-- The Associated Press
SORE SPOTS STILL IN ATLANTA (11:21 a.m. ET)
Braves closer Rafael Soriano, bothered by a sore elbow, threw a bullpen session Friday and is expected to make his spring debut by the middle of next week. Reliever Peter Moylan is taking a couple of days off because of his tender elbow.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, team officials believe Soriano and Moylan are experiencing only typical soreness.
Soriano hands-down is the only pitcher on the roster -- forget about John Smoltz -- who has closer experience. Soriano, who had Tommy John ligament-replacement surgery in 2004, has yet to pitch in a game this spring.
Moylan, meanwhile, has made just one appearance this spring.
"It's been an annoyance for about two weeks," he told the Journal-Constitution, referring to his soreness. "Rather than keep throwing with it, we're trying to knock it out early."
DON'T YOU FORGET ABOUT MOISES (10:20 a.m. ET)
Moises Alou, who had hernia surgery on Thursday, is hardly a stranger to comebacks and said we can expect another one. Soon.
"You know what? Everybody is already saying, 'Can he come back?' Before you know it, here I come back again," the 41-year-old left fielder told the New York Daily News in a phone interview. "It makes me want to work harder to come back sooner. ... Am I going to just pack it up and go home? No way."
Alou playing on Opening Day will not happen. He is expected to resume baseball activities in four to six weeks and told the Daily News he wants to begin riding a stationary bike in a week's time. His 2008 Mets debut will come sometime in May.
"I'm sorry that it happened. It's frustrating," Alou told the paper. "But I'm not rushing anything. We have a good team. I missed 2½ months last year and we stayed in first. We can't panic now."
MATSUI READY TO ROLL (9:38 a.m. ET)
Left fielder/DH Hideki Matsui, coming off right knee surgery last November, is scheduled to make his spring training debut for the Yankees on Sunday.
Matsui, who also missed three days of batting practice after experiencing neck stiffness last Saturday, is on the travel list for the game against Minnesota.
"I'm ready," Matsui said Saturday. "I'm good."
Matsui likely will be limited to DH duties for a few games before playing in the field.
-- The Associated Press
MY KINDGOM FOR A MANICURE (8:49 a.m. ET)
For the want of a nail, the curveball was tossed.
Toronto starter A.J. Burnett allowed four hits and struck out two against the Twins on Friday. And he did it without using his curveball -- he can't throw one because of a broken nail on his right index finger.
"I can start the season the way it is if need be," Burnett said. "Worst case is I will glue on a fake one."
"He'll have it [curve] by the time the season starts," manager John Gibbons said. "He'll be good to go then."
-- The Associated Press
VAN BENSCHOTEN AT THE CROSSROADS (8:31 a.m. ET)
John Van Benschoten was the Pirates' minor league pitcher of the year last season. But he pitched so badly in the majors he was a candidate to be released.
Now, without a guaranteed spot on the roster, he faces some big questions: Does he stay with the Pirates, go back to the minors again or move on to another organization? Does he hope a move to the bullpen turns things around? Or does he return to first base, the position he played at Kent State?
The right-hander probably didn't help his case Friday against the Reds, giving up four runs and five hits in three innings, elevating his spring ERA to 9.00 in two games. It was the kind of outing that was reminiscent of so many, a year ago, when he was 0-7 with a 10.15 ERA in 11 Pirates games.
"Of course," Van Benschoten said Friday when asked if he worries about his status now that the Pirates have a new manager and GM. "New, old, it doesn't matter. When you're not slated to be on the team before spring training, there's always urgency."
-- The Associated Press
