Under The Knife  —  May Day  —  May?  Already?  Time flies and, small sample size or not, flipping the calendar over to Miss May—I mean, May—is a landmark that we all seem to notice.  We have records based on a month that are impressive (14 homers?!) but relatively meaningless.

Notes: Maine to get first start Tuesday  —  Second product of Benson trade to make Shea debut  —  NEW YORK — John Maine will make his Mets debut on Tuesday, filling in for the injured Brian Bannister, the team announced Monday.  —  Maine, a right-handed pitcher who turns 25 next week …

Padres-Giants Preview  —  Barry Bonds has just six career hits off Jake Peavy - but one moved the seven-time NL MVP into an exclusive club, while another temporarily ended questions about his hitting prowess.  —  The matchup between Bonds and Peavy will be the highlight when the San Francisco Giants welcome …

Major step for Tejeda  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Rangers will finally receive a big league return from their end-of-spring trade of David Dellucci.  —  After a chaotic spring training and a month in the minors, Robinson Tejeda joined the Rangers on Monday and will officially join the rotation today.

Mulder aims for 100th career victory  —  St. Louis (17-8) at Cincinnati (17-8), 6:10 p.m. CT  —  Milestones are nicer when they are accomplished during victories.  In Mark Mulder's case, it's going to take a victory if he's going to achieve a milestone on Monday night in Cincinnati.

Notes: Willingham happy to be in left  —  Outfielder also enjoys batting behind slugger Cabrera  —  MIAMI — Years of waiting for a big-league chance is paying off for Marlins left fielder Josh Willingham.  —  A slugger throughout his Minor League career, Willingham was blocked of a big-league break the past few seasons.

Marlins' Hermida leaves rehab game early  —  JUPITER — Jeremy Hermida's quest to return to the Florida Marlins' lineup may have suffered another setback Monday night.  —  Hermida left his first minor-league rehab game early after feeling tightness in his right hip, the same hip that led him to the disabled list April 17.

Lerner Expected To Get Nationals  —  Barry, Orange Say Developer Lacks Real Minority Input  —  Major League Baseball is likely to award ownership of the Washington Nationals to a group led by Bethesda developer Theodore N. Lerner, after efforts by District politicians and others to steer …

Mirabelli returning  —  Johnny Damon won't be the only player making his return to Fenway tonight.  —  The Red Sox today re-acquired Doug Mirabelli from the Padres in exchange for catcher Josh Bard, minor-league pitcher Cla Meredith, and either a player to be named later or cash (which figures to be in the six-figure range).

The Upcoming CBA and the Battles Within It (Part 2) - Revenue Sharing  —  Baseball has to address the disincentives created by large scale transfers of revenue from successful clubs to less successful clubs.  - John Henry, owner, Boston Red Sox  —  I'd like to see everybody competing …

Minor league umps reject settlement  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Striking minor league umpires rejected a tentative strike settlement by a 2-1 margin.  —  The umpires, who have been on strike since the start of the minor league season on April 6, had reached a tentative agreement last Thursday following …

Astros' pitching corps impressing early  —  One of the season's most surprising early developments is that the Astros lead the majors in rotation ERA by a considerable margin — even without right-hander Brandon Backe, who is out until at least June 1 with a sprained elbow, and right-hander Roger Clemens …

Ortiz flaw detected; Cruz stays  —  SAN FRANCISCO - The Diamondbacks think they might have isolated part of the problem that was making pitcher Russ Ortiz so ineffective.  Even if they fix it, however, it isn't known when or if Ortiz will make it back into the starting rotation.