Mulder in St. Louis to have back examined  —  HOUSTON - Lefthanded starting pitcher Mark Mulder returned to St. Louis Tuesday night to be examined for back stiffness that has bothered him for much of the last two weeks, club officials confirmed Wednesday afternoon.

Groundbreaking Scheduled For New Ballpark  —  WASHINGTON — A ceremonial groundbreaking ceremony is planned for this morning at the site of the new Washington Nationals ballpark.  —  D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams and the Nationals' new owner, Bethesda businessman Theodore Lerner, will be part of the 10 a.m. ceremony.

Notes: Rotation facing makeover?  —  Little indicates Perez may not make his next scheduled start  —  LOS ANGELES — Odalis Perez's next turn in the rotation comes up on Sunday.  Whether he makes it appears doubtful.  —  Perez took a 6-0 lead into the fifth inning on Tuesday night in Arizona.

On the Lidge  —  Wednesday's game ended up as a mark in the wrong column, but it was a treat to watch.  Certainly, our crimson-clad superheroes played a hard nine.  Some things I think:  —  Jason Marquis: I either called this one, or I jinxed him.  I left a comment on VEB's Game 28 thread about 10 minutes before first pitch:

New pastime: Needling Barry  —  MILWAUKEE - There's a statue of Hank Aaron outside the main gate at Miller Park.  The plaque underneath contains the information that the Hall of Famer played for the Milwaukee Braves from 1954 through 1965, after which the franchise relocated to Atlanta …

Notes: Shoulder sends Ohka to DL  —  Righty expected out at least one month; no surgery scheduled  —  MILWAUKEE — The Brewers placed Tomo Ohka on the disabled list on Wednesday with a shoulder injury that will sideline the right-hander for at least a month.

Sox win in 11  —  With 37 come-from-behind victories and 35 one-run victories last season, you might think the White Sox had found every possible way to win a baseball game.  —  Nope.  They discovered a new one in Wednesday night's 6-5, 11-inning victory over Seattle—Pablo Ozuna's first major-league home run after 1,333 at-bats.

Flashback From The Subconscious  —  Any similarities to Tike Redman and Braden Looper are completely coincidental.  —  We hope.  —  This is the game that you don't want to take a nap in the middle of...especially anytime after the ninth inning.  Because after Country Time spit the bit …

Chavez fills in nicely  —  Willie Randolph may want to drop a little a something on that big horse race in Kentucky this Saturday.  His hunches seem to be right on these days.  —  Before last night's game, Randolph, going strictly with his gut, decided to sit Xavier Nady in the opener …

PLAYERS: JETER OVER-RATED  —  May 3, 2006 — BOSTON - Derek Jeter smiled at the news that his peers named him the most over-rated player in the big leagues.  —  In a Sports Illustrated poll of 470 players, Jeter was named on 9 percent of the ballots as the most over-rated.

Solid start lacking national attention  —  Atlanta - The Rockies' search for respect remains an elusive thing.  —  Despite a 15-10 April record, appreciation hasn't arrived, at least not at the national level.  Highlights on ESPN or a kind word or two in national publications remain as scarce as two-dollar gas.

The Diary of Carlos Delgado  —  The students wanted to present Carlos Delgado with a gift he could actually use, something that did not cost a lot of money but showed a lot of thought.  —  Johnathan Polanco was watching the Mets on television when he thought of the perfect thing.

Late long ball sinks Braves in Philly  —  Remlinger unable to preserve lead; Andruw hits ninth homer  —  PHILADELPHIA — Andruw Jones drilled the most impressive homer of the evening.  But it was Aaron Rowand who delivered the most meaningful one, handing the Braves yet another one-run defeat.

Angels losing skid hits six  —  Offense struggles against hot Tigers' pitching  —  DETROIT — The Angels' hitting woes coninued Wednesday night.  —  Held to four hits by three Detroit Tigers' pitchers, Los Angeles dropped a 2-1 decision as it helplessly watched Alexis Gomez single …

Barkley claims gambling problem has cost him $10M  —  Former NBA star and current TNT NBA analyst Charles Barkley revealed his own struggles with gambling in an interview with ESPN after being asked about golfer John Daly, who claims to have lost between $50 million and $60 million in the past 12 years due to gambling.