SPRING TRAINING ROUNDUP \ News and notes

Yankees: Jason Giambi quieted the caustic Red Sox crowd with his first homer of spring training. With fans chanting "Steroids! Steroids! Steroids!", Giambi hit a solo shot in the fifth inning of New York's 9-2 victory over Boston at Fort Myers, Fla. The public face of baseball's steroids controversy was booed before each of his five at-bats -- he finished 2-for-5 and is 3-for-12 this spring. But Giambi took it all in stride. He gave a mass interview, got a hug from Kevin Millar, took batting practice and signed autographs for 25 minutes. Giambi, one of only a handful of Yankees regulars who made the two-hour bus ride for the split-squad game, was prepared to face Red Sox Nation. Giambi said he tuned out the taunts. "Tonight was a good night for him," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "I'm sure he feels good about it. I know we were pleased because he didn't let the emotion of where we were and who we were playing against interfere with what he was working on."
Braves: Tim Hudson's sinker looked just as nasty in an Atlanta uniform as it did when he was one of Oakland's Big Three. Making his Braves debut, Hudson worked two scoreless innings Monday in a 5-0 victory over the New York Mets at Port St. Lucie, Fla. He threw 21 of 29 pitches for strikes and got four groundouts, showing off the sharp stuff that made him a huge winner with Oakland the past six years. "It was good to finally get it out of the way," Hudson said. "I was just mainly trying to locate my fastball, stay down in the zone." The Braves sent three players to the Athletics in a trade for Hudson last December, and he agreed to a $47 million, four-year contract extension last Tuesday. The trade broke up the trio of Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito -- known as the Big Three starters. Atlanta's new closer Dan Kolb followed with a perfect inning, striking out Kaz Matsui on a high slider. Kolb was acquired in an offseason trade with Milwaukee, allowing the Braves to shift John Smoltz back into the rotation. "The first day is a little rough, the adrenaline," Kolb said. "Especially when you get traded and you're replacing pretty much a legend in Atlanta. I probably put a little too much pressure on myself."
White Sox: Frank Thomas arrived Monday for his first day of spring training and said his recovery from off-season ankle surgery could have him back in the starting lineup by the first week of April. There were some concerns that Thomas might not be ready until June. Thomas spent the morning in therapy with trainer Herm Schneider before taking batting practice in the cages, throwing and doing some light running. Thomas credited a mostly fish diet in the off-season with helping him to lose 15 pounds, bringing his weight down to about 270 pounds. He said losing the weight will help speed his return to the lineup and he might even play in an exhibition game if his rehab goes well. "At the end of spring, if I'm ready to go, I'm going to try and test it," the two-time MVP said. "Herm is telling me, 'No, no, no, no.' And the doctors are telling me, 'No, no, no, no.' But I'm going to see how it feels. It's not the first time I've had an ankle injury, not the first time I had ankle pain. I'll see if I'm ready to play." Thomas had a bone graft and two screws inserted on Oct. 6 to repair a partial stress fracture of his left ankle, which he injured while fielding a grounder June 17.
Orioles: Pitcher Sidney Ponson was scratched from his first spring training appearance Monday because of visa problems associated with his court case in Aruba. Ponson was slated to start against the Marlins, but the right-hander learned Monday morning that he could not pitch in a game in which admission is charged, according to rules set in place by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. It's been an unpleasant spring for Ponson since the Orioles opened their exhibition schedule on March 3. Ponson returned to Aruba that day to stand trial on assault charges stemming from a Christmas Day brawl in his homeland. Ponson is accused of hitting an Aruban judge in the face after several people on a beach told the pitcher that he was harassing people with his personal watercraft and operating it recklessly.
Associated Press