A reasonably mild winter throughout most of the country -- the water-logged Northwest is an exception -- becomes spring on Thursday morning when pitchers, catchers and players coming off injuries for seven teams have their first Spring Training workouts in Arizona and Florida.

The early-bird clubs in Arizona are the Angels, Mariners, Rangers, Cubs and Giants. And in Florida, the Tigers and Dodgers share the honor of being first out of the gate. Six teams, including the division champion Yankees, Braves, Cardinals and Padres, begin workouts on Friday.

The Brewers and Twins share the distinction of being the last to get started, holding their first formal workouts on Feb. 24, one day before full-squad workouts become a daily regimen in every Major League camp.

The World Series champion White Sox have their first spring workout on Saturday in Tucson, Ariz., five days after visiting the White House to be personally congratulated for the organization's first Series title since 1917 by President Bush.

Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and general manager Ken Williams will make the trip, but manager Ozzie Guillen had a previous engagement and won't be able to attend an event that has become a staple for champions at almost any level.

Second baseman Tadahito Iguchi is being recognized in his homeland of Japan with a ceremony that could not be changed, while Scott Podsednik currently is on his honeymoon and Freddy Garcia is in Venezuela preparing for the World Baseball Classic. Frank Thomas and Bobby Jenks also will not be in attendance on Monday.

But several players no longer wearing White Sox will be there, including center fielder Aaron Rowand, who was traded to the Phillies during the offseason, left-handed reliever Damaso Marte and infielder Geoff Blum.

"It's even more exciting now than it would be if I was still on the team," Rowand said. "It's going to be the last time I get to see the guys for a while. This will be a good reunion."

Every major award winner in 2005 returns to the same team he played for in '06.

But for the first time since 1990, the Sox won't have a Spring Training clubhouse locker reserved for Thomas, who signed a one-year contract with the Athletics. The Big Hurt takes with him a .307 career batting average, 448 home runs, 1,465 RBIs and his name at the top of practically every offensive record in Sox franchise history.

It's time to move on, not only for Thomas, but also for several others:

• When the Red Sox have their first full-scale workout on Feb. 23, center fielder Johnny Damon won't be there to show off his very long hair and whiskers. After four successful seasons in Boston, the two-time All-Star will be playing for the clean-shaven, short-haired Yankees in '06 and beyond, while Coco Crisp (a really cool name) takes over in center for the Red Sox.

• Mike Piazza, one of the best-hitting catchers in MLB history, also switched addresses, moving from the Mets to the Padres. Once he's finished playing for Italy in the World Baseball Classic, Piazza joins his new Padres teammates in Peoria, Ariz.

• Right-handed pitcher Kevin Millwood, the American League ERA leader last season (2.86), took the free-agent route in moving from the Indians to the Rangers. Don't tell him the ball just flies out of the Ballpark in Arlington during hot summer months.

• The Mariners will unveil a new battery this spring when left-hander Jarrod Washburn pitches to catcher Kenji Johjima, a perennial All-Star in Japan. Johjima is the first player at his position to test his skills in the Major Leagues. Washburn, who finished fourth in ERA (3.20) last season, joins the Mariners after eight seasons with the Angels.

• Jim Thome, one of the AL's most feared hitters from 1994-2002 when he played for the Indians, and his first two seasons in the NL with the Phillies (2003-04), returns to the junior circuit as a big question mark with the White Sox. Injuries limited him to 59 games and seven home runs last season -- the first time since '95 that he didn't hit at least 30 home runs.

• Fans watching the Marlins this spring definitely will need a program. Gone are catcher Paul Lo Duca (traded to Mets), first baseman Carlos Delgado (traded to Mets), second baseman Luis Castillo (traded to Twins), third baseman Mike Lowell (traded to Red Sox), center fielder Juan Pierra (traded to Cubs), right-handed starting pitcher Josh Beckett (traded to Red Sox) and right-hander A.J. Burnett (signed by Blue Jays). However, the D-Train (lefty Dontrelle Willis) still runs through South Florida right on schedule.

• Shortstop Rafael Furcal, who played for a division champion in each of his six MLB seasons with the Braves, now bleeds Dodger blue and getting to October could be more of a challenge.

• And as of Sunday, veterans Sammy Sosa (.274, 588, 1,575 RBIs), Rafael Palmeiro (.288, 569, 1,835), Kevin Brown (211-144, 3.28 ERA) and Roger Clemens (341-172, 3.12) remain unemployed.

• The same goes for such notable players as Tino Martinez, Bobby Higginson and Jeff Weaver, a right-handed starter who undoubtedly will find a new home any day now.

Wild intro to the WBC: The Caribbean Series held in Venezuela was a terrific prelude to the upcoming World Baseball Classic. The host team captured its first Caribbean title since 1989, beating the Dominican Republic, 5-4, in a wild finish. The game-winning run scored when a routine popup in shallow left field bounced off the head of Dominican shortstop Erick Aybar and the ball rolled past the left fielder, allowing Alex Gonzalez to score from first base with the winning run and send a team -- and country -- into full-throttle celebration.

But as good as the Venezuelan team was in the Caribbean Series, it could be even better in the WBC, which will be played from March 3-20 in Japan, Puerto Rico and the United States.

"The Classic will be something different because we will be a stronger team," catcher Henry Blanco said. "The addition of Bobby Abreu, Magglio Ordonez, Freddy Garcia, Johan Santana, Omar Vizquel, the two Zambranos, Victor and Carlos, and the rest of the big leaguers will make us the favorites in that event."

Among the other Venezuelan stars listed on the 60-man provisional roster are Angels pitchers Kelvim Escobar and Frankie Rodriguez, Juan Rincon and Jorge Julio. Miguel Cabrera, Endy Chavez and Richard Hidalgo are listed among the 10 outfielders, while the infield could feature Vizquel, Melvin Mora, Carlos Guillen, Marco Scutaro and Edgardo Alfonzo.

"I truly believe that winning the Caribbean title has a great effect on the World [Baseball] Classic because it will make us the favorites," Guillen said. "If we also win the Classic there will be no doubt of who is the best team in the world."

Slight nod to owners: With a week remaining in salary arbitration, the owners have a 2-1 edge over the players. In the biggest arbitration case of this year, the Nationals were awarded a "victory" over second baseman/outfielder Alfonso Soriano. The former Rangers All-Star will receive $10 million in 2006 instead of the $12 million he wanted. He made $7.5 million last season.

Meanwhile, Royals outfielder Emil Brown won his salary arbitration case and will make $1.775 million this season instead of the $1.4 million offered by the club.

Brown, invited to camp last season as a non-roster player, led the Royals with 75 runs and 86 RBIs and was second in hits (156), home runs (17), doubles (31) and slugging percentage (.455). His batting average was .286.

On Feb. 2, a three-judge panel in St. Petersburg, Fla., sided with the Rockies' offer of $600,000 to pitcher Sunny Kim rather than the $800,000 Kim wanted.

As of Sunday, there were eight unsettled cases, including Adam Dunn (Reds), who wants $8.95 million while the Reds are offering $7.1 million.