(AP)That discomfort Phil Hughes felt in his back while covering first base during fielding drills on Monday? Turns out it was a symptom of something fairly significant.

According to MRI results revealed on Wednesday, the Yankees right-hander is dealing with a bulging disc between the T5 and T6 vertebrae. As a result, Hughes will be a given a "two-week timeout" to rest and recover. He'll also be treated with anti-inflammatory medicine, which already appears to be easing the discomfort, but Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman will not be taking any chances whatsoever with a key member of their starting rotation.

From MLB.com's Adam Berry:

The 26-year-old spoke optimistically about the injury Wednesday morning, admitting it was a setback but pointing toward a best-case scenario in which he's back to throwing within six or seven days. But Cashman and manager Joe Girardi were a little more reserved.

Both said Hughes' likely return date was closer to two weeks and advised a wait-and-see approach regarding whether this will alter Hughes' Spring Training schedule or keep him from making his first start of the season.

Red Sox manager John Farrell communicates with Alfredo Aceves. (AP)To say Alfredo Aceves hasn’t displayed the soundest judgment during his short tenure with the Boston Red Sox would be an understatement.

In fact, during August of last season, Aceves found himself suspended for three games after verbally (and loudly) challenging manager Bobby Valentine’s decision to use Andrew Bailey — whom the club acquired to be their closer, mind you — in a save situation shortly after his return from the disabled list.

[Also: David Ortiz takes swings at rekindling Idiots era magic in Boston]

Granted, not many Red Sox agreed with the way Valentine handled just about every situation during his one year stint with the club. That would include the closer switch-a-roo, as it was admitted that Bobby V. failed to communicate that the next save opportunity would go to Bailey. Aceves was probably owed that much considering he’d filled in admirably throughout most of the season. But there were certainly better ways for Aceves to handle his frustrations than making a scene in the manager’s office.

(AP)Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost said he had endured two years of recurring pain and just couldn't stand it any longer. Besides, he didn't want the discomfort he felt to prevent him from enjoying legendary Kansas City barbecue, to which he has become accustomed.

So, on Tuesday night, Yost left Royals camp in Surprise, Ariz. for nearby Phoenix, where a doctor who works for the Arizona Diamondbacks removed his gallbladder. By Yost's count, the surgeon made three incisions. Yost's wife had to drive him home after the outpatient surgery. And yet, by the next morning, he was back at work.

[Also: Alfonso Soriano waits on rebuilding Cubs]

What is the polite way to ask this? Ned, are you bonkers?

MLB.com's Dick Kaegel has an answer:

To hear Yost tell it, there wasn't much to it.

"Two holes here, a hole here and they got it and yanked it right out," he said.

The surgery came at an opportune moment.

"The doctor said, when he was done, 'We got this out in the nick of time because you were really fixin' to have some problems,'" Yost said.

Yost, 57, said his gallbladder "started acting up" when he arrived at spring training and, after getting himself checked out, doctors found "two or three big stones," including one that was completely blocking a duct. How bad was the pain?

The World Baseball Classic is almost here. The tournament starts March 2 and runs through March 19 with 16 teams hoping to rule the baseball world. Since international baseball brings new players and storylines, Big League Stew is helping you get ready this worldly clash with previews of each team.

CHINA

Pool: A, Japan

'09 finish: 11th, 1-2, eliminated in first round.

First game: Sunday, March 3 vs. Japan

Jayson Werth's beard is making a strong case this spring that it's the best in all of baseball. It's looking marvelous in Washington Nationals training camp. It has its own Twitter account. And, sorry Brian Wilson, you're not even on a team right now.

Add this to the epicness of Werth's beard: A glaring photo day shot that looks into your soul ... and just happens to be perfect for meme-ing.

(Getty Images)

The Miami Marlins best player by a mile, slugger Giancarlo Stanton, walked back to the clubhouse a little bruised Wednesday. Top prospect Jose Fernandez followed him, a little sheepish. Fernandez wanted to apologize for hitting Stanton in the back of a helmet with a wayward 95 mph fastball. Fernandez said he was sweating a lot and the ball slipped. (And he still got that much on it?)

Stanton, who stands 6-foot-5 and weighs about 250 pounds, said in the Palm Beach Post that the beaning didn't make him dizzy, but it did cause "grayness and fuzziness on the outside of my eyes" that was subsiding. Once he caught up to him, Fernandez said Stanton acted like the whole thing was no big deal.

"When I asked him how he was doing, he laughed," Fernandez said. "I told him I was sorry. He said, 'Bro, it's OK. It's baseball. It happens.' "

Stanton was seen icing the back of his neck and the club said X-rays will be taken, though signs of a concussion were not obvious. It's hard to tell from the video if Stanton was wearing one of the new batting helmets, but it would be wise for him — once he returns — to use the bigger, stronger models that become mandatory starting with the first spring games of the season later this week. Stanton led the NL in slugging percentage and was second in home runs a season ago and, with a lot of the Marlins best talent shipped off to Toronto and elsewhere, he's the main attraction at Marlins Park.

Fernandez added:

(Getty Images, BLS Illustration)Sounds like the World Baseball Classic is turning into a spy game. Chinese Taipei was caught sending spies — cleverly pretending to be umpire trainees — to glean information about their Korean foes.

Taiwan was forced to issue an apology Tuesday, after its spy try went awry. "Argo" this undercover mission was not. Korea figured things out rather quickly.

Once inside the umpires' room, the scouts began timing the delivery of the national team's pitchers, which drew the suspicions of [Korea Baseball Organization] officials.

"We had our suspicions because there seemed to be too many people in the umpires' room," one KBO official said. "They kept saying they were umpire trainees. But we later learned that they were really scouts and we ejected them from the stadium (in the fourth inning)."

A KBO official said the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), the Taiwanese pro baseball governing body, apologized to the KBO via e-mail. The CPBL said the scouts had gone to the game "without

Bryce Harper is already making headlines for packing on 20 pounds this offseason and reporting to spring training in linebacker shape. Now, via his new Under Armour commercial, the 20-year-old Washington Nationals phenom, is letting the world in on his training secret: glow-in-the-dark weight lifting.

Pay close attention to 26-second mark.