Marlins right fielder Mike Stanton now wants to be known as "Giancarlo" Stanton. With spring training cranking up and Stanton touted as a future home-run champion, he said he prefers Giancarlo. That is now the way he's identified on Miami's roster. That's also the name on his paycheck and above his locker.

Derek Jeter is "indifferent" to recent comments made by Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine about the Yankees. "I'm indifferent, really," Jeter said. "I don't know Bobby well enough to know what he's trying to do. I could care less. I guess that's the best way to put it." Speaking to reporters in Red Sox camp on Tuesday, Valentine questioned whether the Yankees really practiced the famous "flip play" Jeter made at home plate against the Oakland A's in Game 3 of the 2001 ALDS that caught Jeremy Giambi at the plate, as Jeter has always maintained, and implied that the fabled play, which protected a Yankees 1-0 lead, was in fact a misplay. "I think [Jeter] was out of position," Valentine said. "And the ball gets [Giambi] out if [Jeter] doesn't touch it, personally." Jeter seemed more bemused than annoyed at the assertions. "We do practice it, but not the flip home," Jeter said. "But who cares? Why are we talking about this? He must be bored over there, huh? I don't understand."

Joe Girardi has indicated that Hiroki Kuroda will join CC Sabathia in New York's starting rotation. The rest of the spots are to be determined. "We've got six guys for five spots ... and you really can look at it as, you've got CC and you've got Kuroda," Girardi said. "So, you've got four guys for three spots." Michael Pineda, Ivan Nova, Phil Hughes and Freddy Garcia are in the mix for the remaining three spots. "Sometimes the five that you leave with aren't the five that you end up with," Girardi said. "We've got time, and there's no rush. You're going to go with what you feel are your five guys."

Anthony Rendon has turned heads this spring in camp with the Nationals, but there is one small problem. Rendon is a third baseman and Washington just signed Ryan Zimmerman to a contract that could reach $150 million in value. The Nationals drafted Rendon with the sixth overall pick out of Rice last year. "They had to lock him down," Rendon said of Zimmerman. "He's done great for this organization. He's a great player. Why wouldn't you want to lock him down?" For now, Rendon will alternate between third base, shortstop and second base during spring training. Rendon feels comfortable at both second base, where he played last year at Rice upon returning from a shoulder injury, and shortstop, where he played through high school.

Austin Jackson is working on his swing to reduce his strikeouts this season. The Detroit outfielder is forcing himself to keep his front leg down in a change that he said won't be drastic. He struck out 181 times in 2011 as the leadoff hitter. "We are excited that he's getting rid of the leg kick," manager Jim Leyland said. "He knew he had to make a change and he had to want to change. We had to sell it to him."

Bobby Valentine continued to add his own flair to the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry on Tuesday with comments made about New York's Derek Jeter. While discussing Boston's practice of the fundamentals of relays and cutoffs, Valentine took a shot at Jeter's renowned backhand flip in Game 3 of the 2001 AL Division Series against Oakland. On the play, Jeter raced from his shortstop position to the first-base line to retrieve a throw that had sailed over both cutoff men, then threw out Jeremy Giambi with a backhand flip at home plate. "We'll never practice that," Valentine said. "I think [Jeter] was out of position and the ball gets [Giambi] out if [Jeter] doesn't touch it, personally."

A man that claims he is the collector who took Ryan Braun's urine samples last fall says he followed the same protocol with the slugger as he had with hundreds of previous samples. In an e-mail sent Tuesday, Dino Laurenzi Jr. said he issued the statement "to set the record straight" about his role in testing Braun, whose 50-game suspension under baseball's drug policy was overturned last week. "This situation has caused great emotional distress for me and my family. I have worked hard my entire life, have performed my job duties with integrity and professionalism, and have done so with respect to this matter and all other collections in which I have participated," Laurenzi said. Braun tested positive in October for elevated testosterone. His case marked the first time a baseball player has successfully challenged a drug-related penalty in a grievance. Friday, Braun proclaimed his innocence. He said the collector had kept the samples for 44 hours in his home, believing that the FedEx office he was to use to ship the samples for testing was closed. Braun said because of the delay, the testing was "fatally flawed."

Alfonso Soriano hasn't produced as much as the Cubs had hoped when he signed an eight-year, $136 million contract. He was booed when introduced during opening ceremonies at the Cubs Convention. "They don't see me as a baseball player," Soriano said of the fans. "They see me as the contract. They don't see my heart, nothing like that. That's what it is. I know I have a big heart." Soriano's teammates understand his plight and they believe in him. "You give anyone $136 million and unless he's in the top 10 in the MVP every year, he's going to get booed," Marlon Byrd said. "It'll be interesting to see what happens with Albert [Pujols] with the money he got [from the Angels]. [Alex Rodriguez] is one of the best right-handed hitters of all time and he was booed in New York. "Once you get that contract, it happens," Byrd added. "'Sori' is used to the boos and it doesn't bother him. It's all worth it when he gets those cheers, and that's what he loves. When he hits that big home run and goes to the outfield and the entire left field is applauding him and bowing to him, that's what he loves. Boos come with the big market. He played in New York, he knows what that's about." Cubs manager Dale Sveum has heard about Soriano's work ethic. "He's a guy who still put up 28 home runs and drove in almost 90 runs," Sveum said of Soriano, who hit 26 homers and drove in 88 runs in 137 games last season. "You need that kind of bat in the lineup."

The Cubs got a scare on Monday when right-hander Kerry Wood hit Starlin Castro in the wrist with a fastball. Castro walked out of the cage in obvious pain, holding his right hand. He showed off a red welt on his forearm afterward, but said he was fine. "I was never scared," he said. "I'm only scared if it hits me in the head."

The Athletics have named Brandon McCarthy their starter for Opening Day 2012. McCarthy was an easy choice based on last year's results and trades that left the team without All-Stars Gio Gonzalez and Trevor Cahill. Oakland will open their season in Japan on March 28. "He was a natural pick after last year and with the pitchers we ended up trading away," Bob Melvin said of McCarthy. "He's been focused this spring knowing he has to get ready a little earlier. He looks like he's in midseason form."