CC ROUNDING INTO FORM IN NEW DIGS (12:05 a.m. ET)
CC Sabathia is off to a steady start with the New York Yankees.
The big lefty allowed an unearned run and two hits over two innings Friday night in his first outing for the Yankees, helping them to a 7-3 spring training victory over the Detroit Tigers. He struck out two during a 26-pitch outing that included 20 strikes.
Tigers designated hitter and former Yankees slugger Gary Sheffield thinks Sabathia will have no trouble adjusting to playing in New York.
"Like I told CC, I talked to him before he signed here, I told him, 'They're going to love you, man,'" Sheffield said. "Just pitch the way you always pitch. Make a bad pitch, give up a big inning, know that you're still CC and go back to the dugout. That's all you have to know. Try to focus on everything and carry a team, this ain't the team to carry. They've got a lot of superstars over there that know what they're doing. Just do your part and you'll be fine."
-- Associated Press
LINCECUM THROWS THREE MORE HITLESS INNINGS (7:43 p.m. ET)
Tim Lincecum is dominating hitters this spring the same way he did last season.
The 2008 NL Cy Young Award winner pitched three hitless innings for the San Francisco Giants in a 5-4 loss to the Los Angeles Angels on Friday, giving him a total of seven scoreless innings in three exhibition starts.
Brad Coon hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to win it for the Angels in front of their first big crowd this spring (7,364).
-- Associated Press
JONES KEEPING BUSY IN RANGERS' CAMP (7:28 p.m. ET)
Andruw Jones got quite a workout at Texas Rangers camp Friday.
Jones went 2-for-4 with a walk in Texas' 8-7 loss to Kansas City, a game that started less than an hour after the five-time All-Star and non-roster outfielder went 3-for-5 with a home run in a "B" game against the Royals on a back field.
Brandon Boggs, one of the outfielders who could end up back in the minors if Jones makes the team, went 3-for-5 with three RBIs for the Rangers. Boggs' RBI double in the eighth scored Jones to snap a 4-all tie before John Whittleman's two-run homer.
-- Associated Press
CARDS' CARPENTER MAKING PROGRESS (6:54 p.m. ET)
Chris Carpenter is healthy and making progress.
Beset by arm injuries the past two seasons, Carpenter made his second start of the spring Friday and pitched out of trouble for two scoreless innings in the St. Louis Cardinals' 5-4 loss to the New York Mets.
"He didn't have great command of his fastball, but they didn't score -- and they had guys on base to do it," St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said. "I would rather him not get taxed, but he passed the test and felt fine."
It wasn't as smooth as Carpenter's first outing last Saturday, when the 2005 NL Cy Young Award winner tossed a pair of hitless innings on 19 pitches against Washington. But he managed to keep the Mets off the scoreboard, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out one.
-- Associated Press
MCCARTHY FEELS GOOD; NO BREAK FOR WILSON (5:21 p.m. ET)
Rangers right-hander Brandon McCarthy threw 62 pitches in three innings in a "B" game Friday without any problems in his shoulder.
McCarthy felt stiffness in his right shoulder this week. The team scratched him from his Friday Cactus League start but later decided to let him pitch in a "B" game against Kansas City after he played long toss and threw off a mound Thursday.
"It felt good. I came out of it with positive thoughts," McCarthy said. "It was loose, ready to go. ... It felt like a normal arm."
Left-handed reliever C.J. Wilson, who left Thursday's game with a swollen left index finger after facing only one batter, said his finger was feeling better and he planned to play catch.
Wilson was injured when he reached up to field a chopper, and the ball ricocheted off his bare hand. The swelling had subsided and his range of motion increased Friday. X-rays didn't reveal any breaks, though the Rangers' team doctor was expected to evaluate it this weekend.
-- Associated Press
REALLY, THIS TIME IT'S FOR SURE (3:41 p.m. ET)
Reliever Russ Springer had planned to retire after the 2008 season, but he elected to return on a one-year, $3.3 million contract with Oakland. Springer has pitched 16 seasons, and the Athletics are his eighth professional organization.
Springer, 40, vows that this is absolutely, positively his final career stop.
"My little girl told me, 'Daddy, you said the same thing three years ago. You're going to be going out there pitching with a walker,' '' Springer said. "But this is going to be my final season. I'm 99.2 percent sure I'm done.''
-- Jerry Crasnick, ESPN.com
GLAVINE BACK ON THE MOUND (2:38 p.m. ET)
Despite having soreness in his left shoulder, Tom Glavine was satisfied after throwing about 20 pitches with the Atlanta Braves in his first round of batting practice Thursday.
Glavine, who turns 43 on March 25, underwent elbow and shoulder surgery in August.
"There's always that little bit of concern in the back of your mind when you're not feeling as good as you want to," Glavine told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "But I feel good about everything being structurally sound, based on the way I was able to do what I did today. It's just a matter of getting my arm strength back to where I want it to be."
Glavine was happy with his location and spin after throwing to Matt Diaz, Jason Heyward and Brandon Hicks, but will continue to work on his velocity in his next round of batting practice on Sunday.
Glavine is aiming to play in a game late next week.
"He's got 43 days," manager Bobby Cox said, according to the report. The Braves will not use a fifth starter until April 19.
WILL THE REAL NYJER MORGAN PLEASE STAND UP? (12:47 p.m. ET)
Pittsburgh Pirates manager John Russell would love to bat Nyjer Morgan in the leadoff slot this season. That is, if Morgan can play like he did last August upon returning from Triple-A Indianapolis, when he reached safely in 25 of 27 games, scored 20 runs and hit .366 -- and not the way he did to earn that demotion, when he batted a paltry .142.
So who's the real Nyjer Morgan? "I know which one," Morgan said, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "I just have to bring it out all the time. That's the key."
"I'm very comfortable at leadoff, and I have been since I was a kid," Morgan said, according to the report. "I feel like I have so much energy, and I love to be out there trying to get the boys going, be a pest, you know? That's my game."
Morgan still has to earn the job, however, And so far, not so good: He's hitting .211 (4-for-19) this spring. If he can't get it going, Eric Hinske could be the Pirates' starting left fielder.
"It's a huge opportunity, and I know that," Morgan said, according to the report. "This is what every kid dreams of, and I want it to be mine."
MY LEFT FOOT (11:49 a.m. ET)
Kansas City Royals left-hander Ron Mahay was on his way to a strong 2008 when the pain in his left foot became too much to pitch through. But two months after surgery to alleviate plantar fasciitis, he's back on the mound and feeling good, making his debut with a scoreless inning against the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday.
For the Royals, that's a good thing. Mahay's being counted on to bolster the bullpen, with John Bale recovering from thyroid surgery and Jimmy Gobble having difficulty getting out right-handed hitters.
"The foot is fine," Mahay said, according to The Kansas City Star. "I don't think about it because I know it's fine. I'm going to do what I normally do. If I have to field a bunt, I'm going to go after it like I would normally."
"We're gradually working into things," he said, according to the report. "We're just not going to pound [the foot] to the point where it's an issue."
Mahay, 37, entered August at 5-0 with a 1.75 ERA in 47 appearances. But the swelling and pain in his foot worsened and limited him to 10 appearances over the last two months. Without the ability to push off the rubber with his left foot, he struggled in those 10 games, allowing 14 runs and 16 hits in eight innings as his ERA soared to 3.48.
GIANTS CUT DAVE ROBERTS (11:30 a.m. ET)
The San Francisco Giants released veteran outfielder Dave Roberts on Thursday, a surprise move that
could cost them $6.5 million this season.
The 36-year-old Roberts signed a three-year, $18 million contract with the Giants in 2007, but played only 166 games in his first two seasons because of elbow and knee injuries. He entered
camp this spring as the fifth outfielder behind starters Fred Lewis, Aaron Rowand and Randy Winn, and young prospect Nate Schierholtz.
"It's a surprising blow. I have to rebound from this. I was expecting to see this thing through. I love the makeup of this ballclub. I really wanted to be a part of things," Roberts said.
"There just wasn't a light at the end of the tunnel for him," Giants GM Brian Sabean said. "I was honest with him. We wanted to get younger and quicker. That's not his résumé. To wait any longer would have been
an injustice to our kids. This will also give him a chance to find a place to play."
-- Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
