Chat transcript: Matthews the Rangers' leadoff answer?  —  Russ: Two questions: Do you forsee Brad Wilkerson moving down in the lineup and Ian Kinsler moving to leadoff?  Is it time for Laynce Nix to go back to the minors?  OK, one more, if this road trip continues on the downfall, could Buck Showalter be out relatively soon?

Greene could have been a Cardinal  —  MIAMI - Back in 1998, when the Padres were destined to go to a World Series, Khalil Greene was choosing shortstop over a big payoff from the St. Louis Cardinals.  —  "The Cardinals told me that if Khalil would have agreed to switch to catcher …

No big-time performance  —  Who knew that David Wells and Dick ''Big Time" Cheney had so much in common?  —  Think about it: Both love to hunt.  Both wear pants with a waist size larger than the inseam.  And on back-to-back days in April 2006, both had trouble finding their spots …

Sheffield Jolts Bowa, Then Stings the Ball  —  With a runner on second base, the best place for Larry Bowa to stand is in front of the third-base coach's box, about 75 feet from home plate.  That is where the runner can see him, so that is where Bowa was stationed with Gary Sheffield batting in the first inning yesterday.

Cool Heads, but Cold Bats  —  Nationals Fail to Hit Back at New York's Martinez: Mets 3, Nationals 1  —  Here it was, the moment Jose Guillen expected, the one when he finally would show Pedro Martinez what was right, what was wrong and how things should be done.

Pitching problems continue in loss  —  Dodgers' hurlers give up 14 hits to the Pirates  —  PITTSBURGH — There were malfunctions on Wednesday night with the Dodgers' starting pitching, relief pitching and even the dugout phone used to call the bullpen.  —  "It got rectified," …

Run Slowly And Carry A Big Bat  —  I suppose have always known that Bengie Molina was slow.  —  Being a fan in an American League city, and one with a slavish dedication to watching playoff baseball, I've been familiar with Molina for some time, thanks to his fine work as catcher for the Los Angeles Angels.

Zambrano finally takes the mound  —  WASHINGTON - A persistent fever, hamstring strain and rain kept Victor Zambrano confined to the dugout for the season's first seven games.  Today, nearly two weeks after he last pitched in a game, he takes the mound as the Mets conclude a series against the Nationals.

Manny Being Manny  —  The season's barely started and Manny Ramirez has already pulled a classic stunt.  While watching the Red Sox home opener, Uni Watch noticed that Manny had a pin on his jersey, or a button, or something, right between "Red" and "Sox.".

Boss' boys down-write mean  —  The Yankees' three-game winning streak seems to have George Steinbrenner in a happy mood.  —  His security forces, however, were quite surly yesterday, shoving away two reporters as they tried to ask The Boss for his thoughts about yesterday's 12-5 win over the Royals.

Pirates Notebook: Wells set to resume throwing Monday  —  Kip Wells' recovery from a vein transplant is proceeding smoothly enough that he will resume throwing a baseball Monday.  —  Maybe sooner, if he has his way.  —  "As an athlete, you always want to push it," Wells said from Bradenton, Fla., where he is rehabilitating.

Dealing winning hand  —  Padres reap huge rewards from trade with Texas in beating Marlins  —  MIAMI - The Padres easily defeated the Marlins yesterday - but the bigger win came Jan. 4, when General Manager Kevin Towers did one of the things he does best.  —  Towers sold high on a pitcher …

An early slump slowly gnaws at Floyd  —  WASHINGTON — Think Cliff Floyd obsesses over a batting slump?  When asked, "What's up?" yesterday at his locker, Floyd quickly replied, "Not my average."  —  Even Floyd realizes there's no sugar coating his early-season doldrums at the plate.