Quick positive updates on Morse, LaRoche

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - Before I pass along notes and quotes on Jordan Zimmermann's outing and Ian Desmond's 4-for-4 day, here are some postgame updates on Michael Morse and Adam LaRoche. How many injury entries can I write on those two guys over a month-long span? I'm not sure. I'm trying to set an unbreakable record. I told you earlier today that Morse was scheduled to throw from 60-90 feet today and then have a sonogram on his strained (or torn, depending on which terminology you prefer) lat muscle. The results of the sonogram were positive. "The sonogram showed that the tear has flattened down and healed," manager Davey Johnson said, "and Lee (Kuntz, head trainer) said they can kind of accelerate the baseball program." Johnson called the sonogram results "the best news I had" before making a joke about the fact that his projected cleanup hitter needed to undergo a sonogram in the first place. "It looks like we're not having a baby," Johnson said. It still looks likely that Morse will need to start the season on the DL, but the fact that the lat has improved during Morse's last couple weeks of inactivity is obviously a good sign that he'll be available sooner rather than later. As for Adam LaRoche, the first baseman ran the bases in a minor league game without incident, Johnson said, and the training staff has cleared him to play in a Grapefruit League game as soon as tomorrow. Johnson might opt to rest LaRoche tomorrow just to give him some extra recovery time, but he's unsure of how exactly he'll proceed. "I may still give him tomorrow off - that's what usually do," Johnson said. "We're running out of a little time so I might go against what I usually do because of the lack of games left before the start of the season. So I may get him in, get him a couple at-bats and then get him out of there. "I'll see how I feel tomorrow, how I sleep tonight." He might sleep better now that he knows Morse isn't with child.