Mixed nuts

Good news, bad news with Kip Wells:

"I can still tell that my circulation is still off," Wells told Houston station KRIV-TV Tuesday night. "Like when we decided when we did the surgery, we were not looking for the perfect solution, we just need some relief."

The problem was particularly troublesome when temperatures dropped. Wells said he went through one six-game stretch last season when his middle finger was numb. He said he could hardly feel the baseball and was hit hard.

"It would just go numb," Wells told the station. "So I would just be out there basically trying to effectively pitch and get people out with a finger that felt kind of like a sausage. Try to throw a slider on the outside corner to get a guy out with two men on and two outs. It's a tough assignment with a numb finger."

That from Jim Molony's report on Wells' prospects for 2005. We need this guy healthy.

MLB.com reporters Ed Eagle and Jim Molony describe the second-base job as a Spring-Training competition between Freddy Sanchez and Jose Castillo. Eagle has far more detail; Molony's piece profiles all the middle infielders in the league.

"I look forward to beating them," says Ty Wigginton when asked about the Mets and their offseason spending. He describes the Pirates as a team on the rise for the Asheville Citizen-Times. Look for Wigginton to emerge as the Pirates' MVP this season.

Leeeny found that Big Ben song she was looking for.

Tony Alvarez signed a minor-league deal with the White Sox. Mark Guthrie did the same with the D'Rays.

Finally, the Rockies, who are going to field a crazy-young team of contact-hitting prospects, will switch to a sleeveless jersey look at the request of their players. Add another piece to the mountain of evidence that most ballplayers want nothing more than a chance to play for Pittsburgh. Sure, most of them repress this desire pretty effectively ...