The Buzz

Just how hard up are some teams for lefthanded pitching? Los Angeles asked 38-year-old Fernando Valenzuela to come to Dodgertown and battle for a bullpen gig. Valenzuela, out of baseball last season, declined....

One of Padres general manager Kevin Towers's priorities this winter was to unload reliever Randy Myers and his $6 million salary for 1999. Last August, Towers made the mistake of acquiring Myers, 36, from the Blue Jays. His thought at the time: Don't let the Braves get him. His thought now, after Myers put up a 6.28 ERA in San Diego and closer Trevor Hoffman was just re-signed to a four-year, $32 million extension: Help!...

Copies of Heat, the recently released autobiography of Indians righthander Dwight Gooden, were scattered throughout the Cleveland clubhouse. Don't expect the Tigers' Gregg Jefferies to ask the author for an autographed copy. In the book Gooden recalls his former Mets teammate as "a baby" who'd "been catered to his whole career."...

Third baseman Pete Rose Jr. is in the Dodgers' camp after his father called G.M. Kevin Malone and asked for the favor. Rose Jr., 29, who made his major league debut with the Reds in September 1997 and was cut loose a month later, says he thinks he'll make L.A.'s major league roster. According to team officials, Pete Sr. has a better chance....

Milton Bradley, a 20-year-old outfielder in camp with the Expos, says his favorite game is Scrabble.