Manny's going to be a bad man for quite some time ...

For the first time since the last time the Sox were reigning champs, Manny has reported on time. He's not making any contract demands or creating controversy. And his workouts in Arizona have done him so much good that he's saying he may play until he's 50:

You've said you want to be like Julio Franco. How long are you going to play?

"I'm going to go until the wheels fall off. I'm going to keep going. API, they're one of the greats. They're great people to go and work out and I'm going to keep doing it."

He'd like to finish his career in Boston, but he won't demand a new contract.

Philly's big man got his new contract - an arbitration record win of $10 million. Did the Phillies mind losing this one since it assures one year of contract peace with Ryan Howard? Or will it make the long-term deal he wants harder to reach?

MVP Jimmy Rollins, scraping by on a five-year, $40 million contract, isn't complaining. His pay has been subsidized by Nike:

Nike rewarded the Phillies shortstop with his own custom-made sneakers. They are red, white and blue, and feature a Liberty Bell logo and, of course, the letters MVP.

"They definitely look nice," said Rollins, hoisting one of the shoes from a box yesterday. "Definitely hooked up."

How does no one have a picture of this masterpiece?

He also responded to Beltran:

One, there are four other teams in our division who are going to make sure that doesn't happen. And, two, has anyone ever heard of plagiarism?

Uh-oh. Is J-Roll fearing the Nationals this year?