Truth & Rumors > MLB

07:11 AM ET 05.24 | Good news, Cards fans -- well, better news, anyway. The pair of February news conferences took on a tone of solemnity and reflection as general manager John Mozeliak and, a week later, Chris Carpenter, painted a picture void of optimism. Carpenter refused to utter the "R" word, but the idea of career finality was certainly palpable as he spoke. ... A little more than three months later, Carpenter is now beginning to believe he can do even better than that. An April game of catch with his son started a comeback trail that, if finished, would be as remarkable as any in Carpenter's career. He has come back from injuries several times before, but he has never made a return as unexpected as this.

MLB.com

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07:10 AM ET 05.24 | From a payroll standpoint, Brewers owner Mark Attanasio seems to have done his part, spending small fortunes in a small market. But are his players rewarding him by doing the same? One scout who recently watched the Brewers for a stand said the Brewers players don't appear to be putting put out maximum effort. More times than they should, the scout said, they'd make a 90-degree turn toward the dugout before even reaching the first-base bag on groundouts. He didn't say it was everyone, just too many guys. "I haven't heard that from the GM or manager. The guys may be a little down. But I saw them before (Wednesday's game), and there was a lot of energy and enthusiasm. That was a very spirited dugout," Attanasio said in a phone interview with CBSSports.com.

CBS Sports

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07:08 AM ET 05.24 | Andrew Cashner can bring triple-digit heat, but it comes with side effects. [What would you expect Padres pitching coach Darren Balsley] to say when asked if he'd rather have Cashner sending a charge through the ballpark radar gun with 100 mph fastballs or pitch efficiently so he could get outs deep in a start? "If I could have it both ways ... I would want both," Balsley said, smiling. The truth is, Balsley and the Padres can't have it both ways with Cashner, and, honestly, everyone is perfectly fine with that. "I don't think that he's backing off his pitches," Balsley said. "He's learning efficiency. It's not all about velocity." With Cashner, it doesn't have to be, which is a dramatic departure from a year ago.

MLB.com

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07:08 AM ET 05.24 | Even away from the diamond, Alex Rodriguez has had trouble getting his dreams just right. [Rodriguez] is selling his Miami Beach waterfront dream house for $30 million because he believed he was being constantly watched while at home. Sources exclusively tell us the Yankee slugger was often photographed from the water or nearby buildings while he was relaxing indoors or in his infinity pool. We're told A-Rod now plans to build another home with a privacy level similar to his teammate Derek "Philip" Jeter's sprawling compound in Tampa -- possibly closer to his daughters in Coral Gables. The deal for Alex's 20,000-square-foot Miami Beach estate closes [Friday], we're told. The buyers are a "wealthy couple from Palm Beach."

New York Post

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07:07 AM ET 05.24 | Few jobs in sports take on more hours than a trainer's, and good ones are coveted. Tucked away in the background, working miracles that defy explanation, is the single greatest asset in baseball that next to nobody recognizes. Herm Schneider is 60. For the last 34 years, he has been the athletic trainer for the Chicago White Sox. And over that time, they have put together a run of health that when compared to their peers is flabbergasting and can be explained by one of two things. Either the White Sox happen to have come upon an inconceivably healthy group of players for more than a decade, or Schneider leads a training staff more than twice as good as the rest of the league's.

Yahoo! Sports

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