Theme for Martínez Could Be From 'Rocky'  —  On its own, the fastball that rammed into Jose Guillen's upper arm in the fifth inning last night was merely an errant pitch, one that got away from Pedro Martínez.  But by that point, Guillen had had enough.

Gagne's season in doubt with surgery looming  —  LOS ANGELES — Dodgers closer Eric Gagne will have surgery Friday to remove a nerve from his pitching elbow — his second arm operation in less than a year — leaving his season in doubt.  —  Dodgers trainer Stan Johnston …

Clement out to ground Birds  —  Boston (2-1) at Baltimore (2-1), 7:05 p.m. ET, Friday  —  He enters the season under the radar, the forgotten man in a rotation that includes Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, Tim Wakefield and David Wells.  —  But that suits Matt Clement just fine.  He just wants to pitch.

Bonds will see pitches till he hits a few out  —  The Padres went after Barry Bonds in the season opener, and Giants manager Felipe Alou expected more of the same last night.  Although Bonds went 11-for-23 in spring training with four home runs, he played less than he usually does …

Comcast Wants to Show Nats  —  Cable Co. Offers Plan To End Its Blackout  —  One day before the House Government Reform Committee holds hearings on why Washington Nationals games are not shown on Comcast, the cable carrier asked Major League Baseball to break its contract with the regional sports network that carries the team's games.

WFAN scores with 'Sandman'  —  Call it inane.  (True.)  Call it absurd.  (Duh!)  Call it ridiculous.  (We have.)  —  Just make sure you also call it this: brilliant.  —  This week's manufactured bizarro-controversy - soundtrack by Metallica - from the babble factory at WFAN is the handiwork of masters at work.

Prospectus Notebook  —  Royals, Yankees  —  KANSAS CITY ROYALS  —  Say this for the Royals—they cut right to the chase.  Following their 25th Opening Day loss in their 38-year history, the Royals have already made themselves comfortable in the last-place confines that have been reserved for them all winter.

Omission raises question  —  Is Colorado the majors' most forgettable team? … Was the Rockies' "capsule" inadvertently left out of this morning's USA Today baseball preview?  Does that say something about how the Rox are perceived by sports writers?  — Dave, Centennial

Yankees Win as Council Approves Stadium  —  The New York Yankees' effort to build a new stadium cleared its biggest hurdle yesterday with lopsided City Council votes supporting the team's ambitious plan to knock down the Bronx institution known around the world as the House that Ruth Built.

Notes: Roster move expected Friday  —  DeRosa's injury, Dickey's outing could lead to changes  —  ARLINGTON — The Rangers are expected to make a roster move Friday and bring up pitcher Rick Bauer from Triple-A Oklahoma.  —  The question is if they'll have to put infielder Mark DeRosa …

Cards Notebook: Looper is still waiting  —  The Cardinals won a game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday night without righthanded set-up man Braden Looper entering a tied eighth inning.  —  And that arrangement may not change for awhile, manager Tony La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan said Thursday.

Sick Vic says hammy's OK  —  Victor Zambrano declared that he's "ready to go" for his slated start Sunday after testing his sore hamstring yesterday in a bullpen session.  —  Pitching coach Rick Peterson wouldn't officially commit that Zambrano, who threw nearly 55 pitches before last night's …