Prospectus Matchups  —  Seems?  Nay, It Is.  —  friendly  —  Contact  —  Best Matchup (opponents with best combined Prospectus Hit List rankings): Milwaukee Brewers (6th) @ New York Mets (5th)  —  The Mets have their first real challenge of the year in the Brewers.

Sox rally falls short  —  Clement hit hard in first home start of season  —  BOSTON — There's never a good time for a bad start.  But Matt Clement knows his timing Thursday night wasn't the best, especially considering his counterpart's recent success against the Red Sox.

Wood may be nearing minor-league rehab  —  Kerry Wood could begin a minor-league rehabilitation assignment in about 10 to 12 days.  If Wood's strong comeback from shoulder surgery last August continues in a simulated game Saturday in Mesa, Ariz., the usual routine would be one more simulated game …

Mariners to tangle with Sox at Fenway  —  Seattle (5-5) at Boston (6-3), 4:05 p.m. PT  —  The Mariners' first road trip of 2006 won't get any easier, but they go into Boston on a positive note.  —  Seattle's 9-5 win over the Indians on Thursday capped a series in which the Mariners won …

Dodgers' Brazoban out for season  —  Reliever to undergo elbow reconstruction surgery  —  LOS ANGELES — Reliever Yhency Brazoban will require Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery and be lost for the season, the Dodgers learned Friday.  —  Brazoban told the club he felt the elbow …

Park leads Padres into Atlanta  —  San Diego (3-5) at Atlanta (4-6), 4:35 p.m. PT  —  Padres manager Bruce Bochy keeps telling his players there are some turbulent ups and downs to the typical Major League season.  They've seen a few already.  The Padres certainly didn't expect to lose three home games to the Rockies.

Notes: Brewers stress fundamentals  —  Yost wants team to emulate Cardinals' winning style  —  ST. LOUIS — It did not take long for Brewers manager Ned Yost to call the first team meeting of 2006.  —  Yost gathered his coaches and players behind closed doors Thursday morning …

Boy Who Helped Yankees Is a Hit Again  —  Jeffrey Maier, a senior at Wesleyan, had two doubles against Bates on Wednesday to reach 170 hits.  He hopes for a career in baseball.  —  MIDDLETOWN, Conn., April 12 — The pitch was a fastball on the outside part of the plate …

Bidders For Nats May Join Forces  —  With Major League Baseball poised to select a new owner for the Washington Nationals within the next week, the family of local real estate patriarch Theodore "Ted" Lerner yesterday was very close to teaming up with former Atlanta sports executive Stan Kasten …

Brand New Shoes  —  Ladies, here's a sneak view inside the Guy Code — that unwritten set of rules that govern what American Guys do in social situations, covering everything from the type of drinks which are acceptable to order to the selection of urinals in a public restroom.

Mariners Notebook: Willie waits his turn  —  Utility player hasn't received much game time  —  CLEVELAND — Ten games into the season, Willie Bloomquist's starting percentage is .200  —  His batting average is .200.  —  The two are not unrelated.  Bloomquist isn't a regular starter …

Under The Knife  —  Memes  —  There are two memes working their way around baseball right now that need to be addressed.  First is the preposterous notion that ten days of data tells us we haven't solved the steroid problem with the new testing, or that something like Hawk Harrelson's …

Rockies report, April 14  —  Etc.  —  Brad Hawpe became the sixth player in team history to hit a home run in four consecutive games.  The others were Larry Walker (four times), Vinny Castilla (two), Dante Bichette, Todd Helton and Ellis Burks.  The franchise record for hitting a home run …

Casey injured in third, leaves game  —  First baseman catches unintentional elbow in back  —  PITTSBURGH — Pirates first baseman Sean Casey was forced to leave the game in the top of the third inning on Friday after catching an inadvertent elbow in the back from Cubs outfielder John Mabry.

Wily Mo gets more help  —  Wily Mo Pena was standing in front of his locker yesterday, his hands outstretched, clutching an imaginary bat.  —  Pena lifted his hands a little and pulled them closer to his body.  —  "David Ortiz told me to do this.  And then you do this," said Pena …

Cards Notebook: Scoreboard boo-boos  —  One of the new features at Busch Stadium is a system that allows fans to send a text message that will appear on the scoreboard in right-center field for $2.99.  That system, however, broke down on the Cardinals on Wednesday night when an obscenity slipped through …