Willie Davis, a speedy center fielder who collected two World Series rings, three Gold Gloves and was a two-time All-Star during his 14 seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, has died. He was 69. "He was beloved by generations of Dodger fans and remains one of the most talented players ever to wear the Dodger uniform.

One pitch, one swing and Mark DeRosa showed the kind of threat he can be for San Francisco's offense. DeRosa lined a sharp single over shortstop Omar Vizquel's head in his debut at-bat after being limited following October wrist surgery, and the Giants beat the Chicago White Sox 6-2 on Tuesday.

Tim Lincecum gave up three runs in the first inning of his first exhibition on March 3.

No worries.

The big contract hasn't made him soft. The back-to-back Cy Young Awards haven't made his head too big for his tiny body.

It's early, of course. Lincecum needs time to get his timing down, especially with his funky mechanics, and no one seemed bothered by Lincecum's rough debut.

Anyway, he walked a couple of Mariners, and one of the runs was unearned. He threw 33 pitches and didn't come out for the second inning.

No worries.

His best memory of the day came after his outing. In the clubhouse speaking with reporters, he received a visitor who wowed him. It was Ken Griffey Jr., a boyhood idol of Lincecum, who grew up in the Seattle area.

Griffey...

Russell Martin's replacement as Los Angeles catcher is a little-known guy named A.J. Ellis, an 18th-round draft pick out of Austin Peay. The defending NL West champion Dodgers are depending on him behind the plate -- big time. Ellis worked six innings in Los Angeles' 3-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Monday in his first start since Martin was sidelined by a pulled groin that likely...

By now, Randy Wolf has become accustomed to spending his spring in a new home. "I've done it a few times already. You kind of get used to it," said Wolf, who threw two innings of one-hit baseball in the Milwaukee Brewers' 12-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday . "It's nice to get out there." Milwaukee is the fourth team he started a season with -- the...

After a long winter, there's nothing like taking a pitch in the middle of the back to get the bad blood flowing again. Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder was the target of apparent retaliation on Thursday when he was hit by the first pitch from San Francisco left-hander Barry Zito in the first inning of a 5-3 victory by the Giants on Thursday.

Tim Lincecum abandoned the windup and threw out of the stretch hoping that he would throw more strikes. It didn't work. The two-time Cy Young winner lasted just one inning in his spring debut, but the San Francisco Giants beat the Seattle Mariners 8-7 in 10 innings Wednesday. "I had been struggling out of the windup," he said.