The A's are still educating themselves on right-handed reliever Ryan Cook. But they learned yet another thing about the pitcher in Thursday's intrasquad game: His fastball can break a bat — or two.

Buster Posey must pass two baserunning tests, sliding and rounding the bag, before the Giants will allow him to appear in an exhibition game. That explained why manager Bruce Bochy said once and for all Thursday that Posey, who's recovering from extensive left leg injuries, won't play in Saturday's Cactus League opener against Arizona.

Alongside the established players are the Rockies of the future, with a shot to show the baseball world they have what it takes to take the field with big leaguers in June and July, not just March.

D-backs shortstop Stephen Drew is back to intermittent baseball activities, but he's nowhere near the point in his recovery from a shattered right ankle that he's ready to play, he told MLB.com on Thursday.

Major League Baseball's Department of Investigations is reviewing the documentation of top international prospect Jairo Beras to determine his age before the league will approve his multi-million-dollar agreement with the Texas Rangers, Rafael Perez, director of Dominican operations for Major League Baseball said Wednesday.

Reds manager Dusty Baker revealed on Thursday that Mike Leake would start the team's Cactus League opener vs. the Indians on Saturday. Homer Bailey will start on Sunday vs. Cleveland. Both pitchers are expected to go two innings.

Outfielder Josh Hamilton was ready to go in Thursday's first intrasquad game. After grounding out in his first at-bat, he lined a hit to right-center his second time up.

Brewers right-hander Santo Manzanillo is ahead of schedule as he tries to return from serious injuries suffered in an accident this offseason.

Three words uttered by Jake Peavy prior to Thursday's workout should serve as music to the ears of White Sox fans at any time of year. “I feel awesome,” said Peavy, sitting in front of his locker before taking the field.

When the dust finally settled on the Padres' 71-91 season last year, Jesus Guzman had a .312 batting average. The success at the Major League level was a long time in coming for Guzman, who signed a contract with the Mariners in 2001 at the age of 16.

From time to time, Alexei Ramirez logs on to his computer and takes a quick trip over to eBay. The White Sox shortstop's pursuit falls upon one item — a gold medal from the 2004 Summer Olympic Games held in Athens, Greece. That particular medal belongs to Ramirez as part of Cuba's champion baseball squad.

Jeff Samardzija is eager to build off last season and grab one of the spots in the Cubs' rotation.

Hiroki Kuroda has made more difficult transitions than switching from the National League to the American League.

No one was probably happier to see the Padres acquire outfielder Carlos Quentin than starting pitcher Dustin Moseley, who last season was backed by the worst run support among starting pitchers in the Major Leagues.

Believe it or not, Curtis Granderson still doesn't consider himself a home run hitter. He doesn't view himself as a middle-of-the-order bat, either. Not yet, at least.

Ryan Ludwick didn't feel that he needed to open up the hood on his hitting approach and do a whole lot of tinkering. The newest Reds outfielder knew plain as day what made him successful in the past, and what caused his more recent struggles.

R.A. Dickey's next ambition may have grown its roots in early 2010, some months before his life transformed forever. Frustrated by baseball and considering a leap into academics, Dickey attended classes in existentialism and modern American literature at Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville.