Fresh faced

Back in the desert for the remainder of spring training. ... Danny Haren, the young pitcher the A's acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals in the Mark Mulder trade, showed up in the clubhouse with a lot less hair and no longer sporting his bushy beard. He had them cut a couple of days ago. On the wall heading out of the clubhouse was a "before and after" shot of Haren. The "before" was a photo of a Cro-Magnon man. The "after" was the new-look Haren. Haren said he was heckled in his last start in Tucson, but that's not the reason he headed to the barbershop. "The fans were yelling at me to cut my mullet," he said. "My hair was out of control. It was bothering me every time I was running." ... This is a loose team. Manager Ken Macha was holding court with reporters on the field before Sunday's game when outfielder Mark Kotsay wandered over to the pack and began chatting up his manager. He wanted to talk about the NCAA Tournament. Macha is from Pittsburgh and understandably roots for the Panthers. Macha knows his basketball. He's also quite a player in the pick-up game with writers _ so I've been told. I haven't played in one of those games in years after tearing my calf muscle. A sign of old age, friends. Macha is 54, but in great shape. He shows up in the clubhouse in the wee hours of the morning, before many players have arrived, and works out in the weight room.