A few quick links to start your day ...

• Well, that was easy. Team USA advanced to the WBC's second round with a 15-6 romp over Venezuela Sunday night in Toronto. As our own Gordon Edes writes, this edition of the American team is playing a lot looser than its 2006 counterpart and Dustin Pedroia is playing the part of the team's class clown. Personally, I like having Mark DeRosa (four RBI against Venezuela) on my side for just a little while longer.  [Y! Sports]

• No surprises here: Chipper Jones is probably out for the rest of the WBC with an oblique strain. (Now there's a word that hasn't left these fingers in a few months ... oblique. See? It's spring training for the bloggers, too.)[MLB.com]

• MONDAY'S WBC ACTION: Two elimination games on tap tonight with the loser of Canada-Italy (6:30 ET) and Mexico-South Africa (10:00) headed home. Meanwhile, the Netherlands gets a chance to advance with a win over Puerto Rico (6:30). 

• Get used to seeing Jawn Lestah atop the mound at Fenway. The Red Sox pitcher just signed a 5-year, $30 million extension over the weekend.[Red Sox Monster]

• Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo lives aboard his Sarasota Bay yacht during spring training and it appears he's quite the party hoster. Click the first link for picture including a diving Arroyo, a shirtless Pedro Martinez and several women in bikinis. Click the second for a more family-friendly story about the boat and a picture of Arroyo with that guitar of his. [Busted Coverage] [Cincinnati Enquirer]

• If you want a personalized A-Fraud jersey — and if you do, please just PayPal me the $175 instead — you better learn how to sew. MLB.com won't sell you one. [CNBC]

• The cost of MLB's Extra Innings package on DirecTV is increasing 13 percent, but you don't have to pay $50 extra for HD access this season. I can live with that. [Biz of Baseball]

• If you don't read anything else this morning, make sure to check out this story about Cody Ransom's "brush with death" when he was playing for a juco in the '90s. [NorthJersey.com]