Martin makes a statement by hitting Padres' Giles with pitch  —  An otherwise forgettable Wednesday afternoon for the Colorado Rockies was spiced up in the eighth inning.  —  That's when Rockies left-hander Tom Martin hit Brian Giles in the right buttock with the first pitch he threw to him.

Wakefield set to wrap up homestand  —  Tampa Bay (7-8) at Boston (11-4), 7:05 p.m. ET  —  Though many of the faces have changed this season, the Red Sox might well maintain the swagger they've had at Fenway Park for the last several years.  They go into Thursday's contest against the Devil Rays looking …

Notes: Pudge open to other spots  —  Catcher willing to DH, play other positions to keep bat going  —  OAKLAND — Ivan Rodriguez will play at DH Friday.  He'll play first base if Chris Shelton needs a day off.  He might play shortstop if you ask nicely.  —  "Give me a glove," …

Mets-Padres Preview  —  After winning 10 of 12 games to open the season, the New York Mets have lost two straight games as their offense has gone dry.  —  The Mets hope to see their lineup get back on track and end their first losing streak of the season when they open a four-game series against the San Diego Padres on Thursday.

Lee sidelined by fractured hand  —  Cubs slugger will wear cast for up to six weeks  —  CHICAGO — Chicago Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee has a fractured right hand and will be in a cast for up to six weeks, the team announced late Thursday.  —  Lee has a fracture of the distal radial and the distal ulna bone in his hand.

Hocked Up By A LOOGY  —  Live by the LOOGY.  Die by the LOOGY.  The Nats have two LOOGYs, short for Lefty One Out Guy.  Yesterday, both LOOGYs pitched.  And both LOOGYs failed.  Unfortunately for the Nats, they failed at the wrong time, and turned a three-run lead into a one-run loss.

Notes: Hernandez placed on DL  —  Sore back sidelines starting second baseman; Matsui recalled  —  NEW YORK — The pained look on Anderson Hernandez's face said it all.  —  "Not good," Hernandez said, wincing.  "Bad."  —  Hernandez was placed on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday …

Forbes.com: The Business Of Baseball … Baseball owners continue to slam the ball out of the park.  Team values increased an average of 15 percent for the second consecutive year, to $376 million, in our 2006 survey of Major League Baseball's 30 franchises.

A's sold on Kendall's leadership skills  —  Jason Kendall was an impressive hitter in his nine National League seasons.  —  As a Pittsburgh Pirate from 1996 to 2004, he hit .306.  One year, he hit 14 home runs.  Another year, he had 75 RBI.  Three years ago, he hit .325.  He was on three All-Star teams.

Game 14: Which Flag Do We Fly?  —  BOX SCORE - Sure, that win flag is flapping in this post, but I seriously debated flying both the win and the loss flag for obvious reasons.  The Cubs mad a good comeback in the 8th inning last night but lost not only Derrek Lee, but also Scott Eyre on the same play.

Note: Matthew Cerrone, Full-Time Blogger  —  In the last few week or so I've received several e-mails from long time readers saying that I am not putting forth enough original insight, nor providing the constant stream of interviews I once did at MetsBlog.com...  They are correct.  I am not.

Saying hey to Shea, finally  —  I got off my couch on Tuesday night for a trip down to Shea Stadium.  Amazin'-ly it was my first trip to the beautiful home of the New York Mets.  The sad thing is I grew up a Mets fan.  Since we didn't have a major league team in Denver until '93 …

Pirates' Gerut agrees to resume playing  —  PITTSBURGH (AP) — Outfielder Jody Gerut will report to the Pittsburgh Pirates' extended spring training camp for conditioning and will not have knee surgery.  —  The agreement was reached Thursday, shortly before a scheduled hearing on the grievance filed …

Culprit of Mench's painful April: Wrong shoe size  —  SEATTLE — Kevin Mench entered Thursday night's game against the Seattle Mariners with zero RBI in his first 10 games.  —  Why?  —  Perhaps because his shoes were too small.  —  The Texas Rangers right fielder has missed five games …

Under The Knife  —  Expert  —  I'm often introduced as a "baseball expert."  I always chuckle, because to me, the more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know.  Every discovery, every analysis, every set of data leads to new conclusions and often just as many questions as answers.

Chat transcript: Cordero is still the Rangers' man  —  Evan Grant: Well, I'm here.  Barely.  Long game made for a long night.  I've got the Eggs Benedict heading up the room and prepared to answer all your wide-ranging questions.  But let me guess, you want to talk some Francisco Cordero, don't you?

Q&A with Rangers' Kameron Loe  —  After posting a 9-6 record with a 3.42 ERA in 48 appearances (including eight starts) with Texas in 2005, 25-year-old right-hander Kameron Loe earned a spot in the Rangers rotation this season.  Loe, who features a fastball, heavy sinker, slurve and changeup …