Masked man rides to the rescue  —  Any skilled professional can catch Curt Schilling or Josh Beckett.  But is Doug Mirabelli the only man on this planet who can catch Tim Wakefield?  —  We know this much: He did it with aplomb for 4 1/2 years, and the five games Wakefield had thrown …

Nats Throw One Away on Error in 9th  —  NEW YORK, May 1 — The play won't show up on the splashy back pages of the tabloids, for that territory this week will belong to the Yankees and the Red Sox, the two teams receiving postseason hype for a three-game series in May.

Padres-Giants Preview  —  One week after suffering through a season-worst five-game skid, the San Diego Padres try to win three straight contests for the first time this year when they conclude a two-game series with Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants .

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.

Floyd working hard to find way out of darkness  —  There really is a light at the end of the tunnel.  Cliff Floyd can see it clearly, which is more a commentary on the brightness of the light than on how close he is to the end.  —  Floyd truly believes this Mets team is good, and if he didn't, he would say so.

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.

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 …

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.

Clutch: What the Numbers Say  —  By twist of fate, I had just completed loading all of the available play-by-play Retrosheet data into a shiny new database when I noticed yet another "Clutch" slash "Bobby Abreu" thread on PhilliesPhans.com.  I decided to test out my new toy …

Loe and behold: Rangers pitcher blanks Rays  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Rangers finished April leading the AL West.  Yet, Kameron Loe and Francisco Cordero, two key members of the pitching staff, wanted to forget the month as quickly as possible.  —  The amnesia arrived Monday night.

Clemens Still Undecided, and Cashman Won't Push Him  —  BOSTON, May 1 — Brian Cashman exchanges e-mail messages with Roger Clemens now and then.  But Cashman, the Yankees' general manager, insists he will not pester Clemens about returning to the Yankees.  —  Clemens, a free agent …

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.