The competition between Boone Logan and Royce Ring to serve as the Yankees' second bullpen left-hander might not be the most glamorous fight in camp this spring, and it might not be an official battle at all.

In Sunday's outing, CC Sabathia retained command of his fastball, which in turn improved his other pitches. He allowed just three hits in 4 1/3 innings, striking out two.

Robinson Cano is the youngest regular on the Yankees, but that only counts for so much on one of the league's oldest teams. Just ask manager Joe Girardi, who considers Cano -- now with five full seasons to his credit -- a veteran.

Nick Johnson homered and CC Sabathia pitched into the fifth inning, but the Yankees were defeated, 10-5, by the Pirates on Sunday afternoon.

Brian McNamee's defense attorneys might call on Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera to testify about their former New York Yankees teammate Roger Clemens as the ex-pitcher attempts to appeal a judge's decision to dismiss his defamation suit against his former trainer.

It's not often positives can be drawn from an outing in which a starting pitcher allows five runs on nine hits over 3 2/3 innings. Spring Training is one of those times.

Mike Lowell's future with the Red Sox is very much in doubt, but for one afternoon at least, all of those issues were put aside.

David Ortiz and Josh Reddick each blasted two-run homers and Mike Lowell went 1-for-2 in his debut, but Tim Wakefield struggled in the Red Sox's 8-4 loss to the Orioles on Monday.

It wasn't quite as big a step as was hoped for Daisuke Matsuzaka on Monday afternoon, but at least it was in the right direction.

Sunday's goal was to get Jason Varitek a pair of at-bats and that did occur, though it meant the catcher did a little more squatting than initially anticipated.

There were two main surprises for Mark Buehrle in his return to the mound during Monday's 9-1 loss to the Royals at Camelback Ranch, following a personal 10-day absence.

After allowing his first run of the spring in a four-inning outing against the White Sox, Zack Greinke said it was his best Cactus League start.

Madison Bumgarner seemed to fall behind in the race for the Giants' No. 5 starter's spot Monday but moved forward in his preparation for the season, by his estimation.

Nationals right-hander Chien-Ming Wang had his first bullpen session of the spring Monday afternoon, and pitching coach Steve McCatty gave him glowing reviews.

Bill Parcells is a good friend of Tony La Russa's and an unabashed Cardinals fan, and St. Louis' skipper has incorporated some of the famed football coach's philosophies into his management techniques.