Spring Training News & Notes, 3/22: Catching Up With Everyone

Mariners: Erik Bedard’s scheduled Tuesday bullpen has been called off, but the Mariners’ team trainer insists this isn’t a setback. Bedard remains well ahead of schedule, and will continue long toss while throwing flat-ground bullpens, which put different forces on the shoulder than throwing off a mound...Doug Fister, who was hit by a line drive on Friday, is scheduled to play catch Tuesday, but still has a lot of fluid in his arm...Cliff Lee will spend Monday doing shoulder exercises, and should play catch Tuesday...Garrett Olson is set to play catch Monday after taking a ball off of his left hand...the Jose Lopez/Chone Figgins position switch is final, says Don Wakamatsu...Milton Bradley got ejected for the second time in three days last Friday, but seems to be committed to giving himself a fresh start.

Angels: Ichiro and Hideki Matsui faced off for the first of several times this season...Jered Weaver had another rough outing on Sunday, but did manage to try out a new, tighter slider recommended to him by Joel Pineiro...nagging injuries have prevented the Angels from fielding their entire regular lineup so far.

Dodgers Eric Gagne was formally released by the Dodgers. Said GM Ned Colleti, “Both sides thought at this juncture it was in Eric’s best interest to see if he can find another opportunity.” Gagne has struggled with injury, on a number of teams, pitching only 113.2 major-league innings in total over the past five seasons, after making three straight All-Star teams and winning the NL Cy Young in 2003.

Giants Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum opted to start against the Giants Double-A team on Sunday, rather than travel to Tucson to face division rivals Arizona. He threw 5.2 shutout frames, but did walk five batters in the outing. Said Lincecum, “I feel my stride is where it needs to be. It comes back to leg strength and flexibility. The more I throw, the more my body will get used to that motion again.” He added that his unique delivery does take more time to get back under full control.

Cardinals: The team received plenty of good injury news over the weekend, as Matt Holliday is expected to return to action Monday, and Brendan Ryan returned on Saturday. Holliday has missed almost two weeks of action with a strained intercostal muscle, and Ryan was playing for the first time this spring after having wrist surgery in February.

Cubs: Top prospect Starlin Castro opened a lot of eyes with a strong performance this spring, but will have to wait a little longer for his major league debut. Castro was optioned to the minors on Saturday, despite hitting .423/.444/.692 in Cactus League play…Greg Maddux, working as an assistant for GM Jim Hendry, spent Saturday’s game with scouts, learning a bit about their practices and teaching them some things to watch for with pitchers…In injury news, Carlos Silva left Sunday’s game after two innings with tightness in his right quad. He was able to throw in the bullpen to complete his expected outing.