DEMPSTER SOLID IN CUBS' LOSS (10:08 p.m. ET)
Ryan Dempster is trying to make the transition from closer to starting pitcher.
So far, so good.
After a 32-pitch first inning, Dempster rebounded to work three innings in the Chicago Cubs' 10-6 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers Tuesday.
Dempster began his career as a starter with the Florida Marlins in 1998. He underwent reconstructive elbow surgery in 2003 while with Cincinnati. The Cubs converted him to a closer in 2005. Now, Dempster is looking to return to the rotation.
Also, the Cubs say left fielder Alfonso Soriano will be out close to a week with a broken right middle finger. Soriano injured the finger Sunday during flyball drills. Originally, the Cubs said they hoped Soriano would be out 3-5 days.
Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez is expected to make his Cactus League debut Thursday against Oakland. Ramirez had not played yet because of a sore right shoulder. He has been able to take batting practice. Ramirez also has fielded groundballs, but he has not thrown.
-- The Associated Press
YANKEES TOSS PERFECT GAME (8:26 p.m. ET)
Phil Hughes can add his name to the Yankees record book. Sort of.
Hughes combined with three relievers to throw a perfect game over five innings against the Toronto Blue Jays in a spring training tilt Tuesday.
Yankees Hall of Famer Yogi Berra, who is a spring training instructor for the team, joked that it didn't rank up there with Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series when Berra was the catcher.
In other Yankees news, the team renewed the contract of right-handed pitcher Joba Chamberlain. He will get the minimum $390,000 in the majors and $69,000 if he is sent to the minors. Hughes agreed to a one-year deal worth $406,350 in the majors and $199,000 in the minors; Right-handed pitcher Ian Kennedy agreed at $394,275/$62,500, while outfielder Melky Cabrera previously agreed at $461,200/$259,440.
-- The Associated Press
BATISTA LEAVES START (6:40 p.m. ET)
Miguel Batista left the Seattle Mariners' 7-5 loss to the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday because of a sore back.
Batista gave up two runs and two hits in three innings. His back stiffened up on him while he was sitting on the bench after the second.
"I've had problems with it the last few days, and we've been working on it," Batista said. "It was really bad; I couldn't finish my pitches."
Batista trotted out for the third inning before Mariners manager John McLaren could remove him.
"I found out about it the last inning," McLaren said. "I went to talk to the trainer about it and it sounded like it was not a big thing. I thought he threw well. He had good stuff. That was encouraging."
Also, Mariners' second baseman Jose Vidro was to see the team doctor on Tuesday for pain in his right elbow. Mariners 3B Adrian Beltre remains in Mexico after the death of his wife's grandmother. He's due to return on Thursday. A's shortstop Bobby Crosby (sore back) expects to return to the lineup on Wednesday.
-- The Associated Press
DICE-K TO MISS TRIP HOME? (6:20 p.m. ET)
Daisuke Matsuzaka is progressing toward a start in Japan he hopes to make in the second game of the regular season.
Depending on how his wife's pregnancy goes in Boston, the right-hander revered in his native country may be a late arrival there, if he makes the trip at all.
"It's one of those things you have to leave to nature, so I can't say one way or another right now," Dice-K said through a translator after allowing one run in three innings of Boston's 5-3 win over Pittsburgh. "Of course, I'd like to go to Tokyo. I just hope that everyone can be happy."
His wife's due date is March 19, the same day the Red Sox leave for Japan, where they'll play two exhibition games before facing the Oakland Athletics in the first two games of the regular season on March 25 and 26. Josh Beckett is expected to pitch the opener.
Manager Terry Francona has said the team has several plans, depending on when Matsuzaka's wife gives birth. He said Tuesday he doesn't know who will start the exhibitions in Tokyo, largely because of the uncertainty about Matsuzaka's availability.
--The Associated Press
RANGERS GET GOOD NEWS (4:44 p.m. ET)
Texas starter Brandon McCarthy, off to a slow start this spring because of a tender right elbow, had a positive bullpen session. As a fringe benefit, he received a few tips from the Rangers' new club president, Nolan Ryan.
"It's like Tiger Woods coming up to you on the range and telling you how to hit your sand wedge,'' McCarthy said. "The other day he was standing behind the catcher in the bullpen when I was throwing, and I said, 'I don't care who you are or what you've done in the game. It's so cool to have Nolan Ryan watching you.'''
McCarthy, who went 5-10 with a 4.87 ERA in 23 outings last season, is expected to join Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla, Jason Jennings and Kason Gabbard in Texas' Opening Day rotation. He's working with Ryan on adding more snap to what he calls a "loopy'' curveball, and is scheduled to make his first Cactus League appearance Friday.
"I was always jealous when the Dodgers had Sandy Koufax as a spring training instructor,'' McCarthy said. "I was like, 'That's not fair.' Now we've got Nolan Ryan, and it's pretty cool. He's so down to earth and easy to talk to. I like having him around.''
-- Jerry Crasnick, ESPN.comBIG UNIT CLOSE TO GAME ACTION (4:39 p.m. ET)
Randy Johnson threw another batting practice session and hopes to pitch in a game for the Diamondbacks after his next side session.
"I threw a few more pitches, another step forward to pitching in a game," Johnson said after the 36-pitch outing. "So we'll see how I feel."
After another side session Saturday, the 44-year-old left-hander plans to sit down with manager Bob Melvin and pitching coach Bryan Price to "see when they want to slot me in."
The latest pitching session, five days after he first threw batting practice, was on one of Kansas City's practice fields at the Surprise complex before the Diamondbacks' game against Texas. He faced three rotating batters, with Jesus Merchan hitting a home run on the first pitch after Johnson took a short break.
Johnson took a break after 19 pitches, then went back for 17 more. During the session that simulated a two-inning outing, Johnson went through his full repertoire of pitches.
"He's very encouraged," Melvin said. "His back, knock on wood, hasn't given him any problems. It's free and easy. ... He still has the stuff to be a dominating force. But health is the major concern and he knows not to push it."
-- The Associated Press
'FRANCHISE' LOOKS GOOD (4:35 p.m. ET)
Francisco Liriano faced three batters on Tuesday -- Jose Morales, Jon Knott and Brendan Harris -- and threw 40 pitches, finishing just before 11 a.m.
With a crowd numbering 25-30 people watching from a field behind the Twins' complex, the three batters made contact 10 times in 40 tries, with the ball traveling out of the cage just four times, only once in the air to left.
Rick Knapp, the Twins minor league pitching instructor, was overseeing the affair, with the major league staff at a road game. Knapp thought Liriano did well.
"He looked fine," Knapp said. "He did exactly what he was supposed to do."
Liriano, nicknamed "Franchise" by many of his teammates, is coming back from Tommy John surgery on his left elbow, performed in the fall of 2006.
As long as he feels healthy tomorrow, Liriano will be slated to make his first start either on Thursday at the Twins' complex against the Orioles or Friday on the road at either the Red Sox or Blue Jays.
"I didn't feel any pain, any soreness at all," Liriano told The Associated Press. "I feel real good. I guess I'm trying to take it easy and not throw too hard."
-- Amy K. Nelson, ESPN.com
CHURCH FEELING BETTER AFTER CONCUSSION (4:32 p.m. ET)
Ryan Church felt much better and experienced no dizziness while working out in a pool, the first step in his recovery from a concussion.
The Mets' new right fielder was injured in a violent collision with teammate Marlon Anderson on Saturday against the Dodgers and will miss at least a few spring training games. The team said Church will resume playing when he is free of concussion symptoms.
Church returned to camp Monday and spent Tuesday doing drills in a pool on the minor league side of the Mets' complex. It was his first day without dizziness since the collision.
"It's a good sign, a good start," he said. "I feel a lot better."
Church ran on a special treadmill in the pool and showed he could keep himself afloat. He's eager to resume baseball activities and hopes to take batting practice soon. He said the training staff would tell him Wednesday what his next step is.
-- The Associated Press
LOWRY LIKELY TO MISS NEXT START (4:26 p.m. ET)
Giants pitcher Noah Lowry was diagnosed with tendinitis in his left wrist and sent back to San Francisco to see a hand specialist.
"It's frustrating," Lowry said, who is expected to miss at least three days. "You go out there and you want to compete at the level that you know you're capable of competing at and sometimes your body doesn't allow you to do that. At this level you have to be right physically. Right now it's not."
After consulting with manager Bruce Bochy and team trainers, Lowry met with Dr. Gary Waslewski on Tuesday in Scottsdale. A series of tests revealed the injury.
Later in the afternoon Lowry boarded a plane for the Bay Area and was scheduled to meet with Dr. Gordon Brody, the Giants' hand specialist. He is expected to return to Arizona on Wednesday.
Lowry will take anti-inflammatories and wear a splint on his left thumb for the next few days. He will not do any throwing, making it almost certain he'll skip his next scheduled start on Saturday.
-- The Associated Press
DODGERS OWNER OPTIMISTIC (3:13 p.m. ET)
With one of baseball's highest payrolls and proven winner Joe Torre as manager, the Dodgers may be the team to beat in the NL West, although the Diamondbacks, Rockies and San Diego Padres all appear capable.
Although he has high hopes, owner Frank McCourt knows better than to take anything for granted.
"It's time to win," he said during an hour-long informal news conference Tuesday at the Dodgers' spring training facility. "We need to play the games. We look like a very good team. I think Joe Torre and his staff are terrific additions to the ballclub. [Torre] being here is a statement. I feel that things are more purposeful, more directed.
"I'm optimistic. That's part of spring training. Will we get the results? We're going to find out real soon. I see a pursuit of a common purpose in a very clear way."
-- The Associated Press
CARDS LOCK UP WAINWRIGHT, OTHERS (3:06 p.m. ET)
Pitcher Adam Wainwright, who won 14 games in his first season in the rotation, agreed to terms on a one-year contract. The 26-year-old Wainwright got a split contract that will pay him $438,000 if he makes the team and $246,000 if he's in the minors -- an unlikely scenario considering he's expected to be the ace and Opening Day starter.
Wainwright was 14-12 with a 3.70 ERA in 32 starts and pitched 202 innings. He filled in as the closer while Jason Isringhausen was sidelined following hip surgery for the Cardinals' World Series championship team in 2006. Wainwright recorded three saves in the Series, including the clincher in Game 5 against Detroit.
The Cardinals also agreed to terms with pitchers Anthony Reyes, Brad Thompson, Blake Hawkesworth, Kelvin Jimenez, Tyler Johnson, Josh Kinney, Kyle McClellan, Jason Motte, Mike Parisi and Mark Worrell; infielders Brian Barden, Jarrett Hoffpauir and Brendan Ryan; and outfielders Chris Duncan, Brian Barton, Cody Haerther, Ryan Ludwick, Joe Mather and Skip Schumaker.
The Cardinals have their entire roster under contract for this season.
-- The Associated Press
BLALOCK IN CAR ACCIDENT (12:53 p.m. ET)
Rangers third baseman Hank Blalock has been in a car accident and was not in Tuesday's spring training lineup against Arizona.
Blalock, his wife and their 3-year-old son were stopped at an intersection in their Cadillac Escalade when they were rear-ended Monday. Blalock said he was stiff and sore from the crash but that everyone was OK. The accident happened during a trip to a restaurant.
Coming off shoulder surgery last year, Blalock sat out three games to rest his shoulder and will miss his fourth straight game Tuesday.
-- The Associated Press
MATSUI MIGHT HIT WEDNESDAY (12:51 p.m. ET)
Yankees left fielder Hideki Matsui has been slowed by neck stiffness and hopes to resume taking batting practice Wednesday.
Matsui hasn't hit since experiencing tightness in his neck while hitting on Sunday.
"It's much better now," Matsui said through a translator Tuesday.
In other news, Yankees closer Mariano Rivera threw 36 pitches in batting practice Tuesday and is scheduled to make his first game appearance Friday. The right-hander has been taking a slower approach in spring training the past few years.
-- The Associated Press
HILL MIGHT MISS OPENER (12:48 p.m. ET)
Nationals pitcher Shawn Hill does not need another operation to relieve tightness in his right forearm.
Hill traveled to Duke Medical Center on Monday for a second opinion after receiving negative results from an MRI exam Friday. The 26-year-old right-hander had surgery on his right forearm, right elbow and left shoulder in November.
"It was good news in a sense that the nerve checked out fine; the MRI was clear," Hill said Tuesday. "We just have to figure out how to get it under control."
Hill's status for the season opener remains in doubt as he begins taking new medication and undergoes strengthening exercises, Nationals manager Manny Acta said.
-- The Associated Press
A CHANGE OF HEART FOR SWEET LOU? (9:08 a.m. ET)
Lou Piniella hinted that he might be willing to manage the Cubs beyond the 2009 season, when his current contract expires. That would be a change of plan for Piniella, who said when he signed with the team that he wouldn't skipper the team past 2009.
"All I'm saying is I've got this year and next year--nothing more, nothing less," he told reporters when asked a series of questions about whether he'd entertain a contract extension. "As long as I'm enjoying it and as long as the club is playing well and the ownership group here is satisfied, I'm open for discussion.
"But I'm not looking ahead. No, I'm looking to this year and with this year's team and doing the best I can, and next year will take care of itself."
