Pitchers and catchers reporting

Today arrived what some baseball fans consider the real first day of spring.

The first pitchers and catchers reported to spring training.

Twelve teams required their batteries to be in camp: the Cubs, Reds, Rockies, Royals, Angels, Giants and Mariners in Arizona; the Orioles, Yankees, Phillies, Pirates and Cardinals in Florida.

No official workouts were held. Almost every team has its players report the day before the first workout -- to undergo physicals, get equipment in order, check in to team hotels or dorms, kind of first-day-of-school stuff. For some reason, the Mets report two days before their first workout.

Pitchers and catchers will continue to report to other teams every day until Monday, Feb. 22. That's when the Indians will be the last to require players to report before pitching and catching in cages.

Monday also will be the first day for 12 teams' other position players to report to spring training. For the most part, those are the same teams that had pitchers and catchers show up today.

Most teams (18) have the two groups report five days apart, but the time difference is as few as three days or as many as eight. The biggest difference is with the Rockies, who always seem to need pitching help but always have plenty of hitters.

Some pitchers may report on time, but not be ready to pitch. For example, Red Sox RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka's throwing will be delayed because he has a sore upper back. Royals RHP Zack Greinke will miss some time after having two teeth pulled. Orioles RHP Brad Bergesen expects to be out 10 days because of a shoulder injury suffered in December. However, Bergesen's teammate, RHP Koji Uehara, recovering from a torn flexor tendon in his elbow, arrived early. He threw off a mound Tuesday and said he felt no pain.

The Braves don't expect RHP Jair Jurrjens to pitch for a while. He underwent an MRI exam on his shoulder, and was encouraged by the results.

In the equivalent of last-minute Christmas shopping, teams have been adding free agents and waiver claims to their roster.

The Nnationals, who had some success with cattle-call spring trainings while they were in Montreal (RHP Dennis Martinez was their best reclamation project, have been one of the most active teams in picking up inexpensive free agents. They're likely to reach a final agreement soon with ex-Yankees RHP Chien Ming-Wang to go with such players as LHP Ron Villone, 2B Adam Kennedy and CF Willy Taveras.

Other signings to watch for are Cs Rod Barajas (Yankees?) and Jose Molina (Rangers?), 1B/3B Russell Branyan (Indians?) and OF Johnny Damon (White Sox or Tigers?).