Delgado Has the Will and Finds a Way  —  The weather during last night's game between the Mets and the Pittsburgh Pirates was miserable.  The wind at Shea Stadium was howling during the first pitch, and rain began falling in the third inning.  —  But the stormy conditions did not begin in earnest until the top of the ninth.

Prior's recovery runs into another roadblock  —  PHOENIX — Pitchers Kerry Wood and Wade Miller were with their teammates Wednesday in the Cubs' clubhouse at Chase Field, but Mark Prior was missing and no gear was in his empty locker.  He is dealing with a physical setback that has nothing to do with his right shoulder rehab.

Pavano can't wait to butt in  —  ST. PETERSBURG - Carl Pavano believes this will be it.  The injury-plagued righthander is scheduled to begin his minor-league rehab assignment on Sunday and is optimistic it won't be long before he is able to take his spot in the Yankees' rotation.

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.

Notes: New faces added to roster  —  Two players called up from Triple-A, inserted into lineup  —  DETROIT — Two players who began the previous day in the Minors were in the starting lineup and making their Major League debuts in Thursday afternoon's game against the Detroit Tigers.

Nats' Brass Say They'll Rebuild From Within  —  Lerner, Kasten Promise No Precipitous Moves  —  Stan Kasten, the man who will run the Washington Nationals as their president, has been involved with professional sports for nearly three decades, virtually the entire span of free agency.

The New Owner Is Old School  —  A billionaire can still hit the lottery.  —  Or, as Ted Lerner put it after becoming the new owner of the Nationals yesterday, "This is a 'wow' kind of day."  —  Everyone will have their own first impressions of Lerner, one of the few American tycoons …

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New Owner, Same Result For Nationals  —  Washington Loses in 9th, Falls to 9-19: Marlins 6, Nationals 5  —  Optimism and promise swirled around them yesterday, and the Washington Nationals found it all quite contagious.  Between jokes and laughs in their pregame clubhouse …

Losing one game is not the end of the world  —  While I was watching the blessed Reds get shutout by the Rockies and the Nats blow an awesome comeback in the ninth inning last night (yes, at the same time on the same computer screen), a friend of mine was dining next to Bono, Condi, and Queen Nour at Galileo.

Notes: Leyland loves small ball  —  Veteran skipper doesn't want team to depend on home runs  —  DETROIT — The Tigers are on a historic pace for home runs at Comerica Park, but that's the last thing Jim Leyland wants his club thinking.  —  The more they homer, the more he seemingly worries about them relying too much on it.

Giles was almost a Dodger when Padres budged  —  LOS ANGELES - Brian Giles said it wasn't a bluff.  The native San Diegan and longtime Padres fan nearly became a Dodger in November.  "It was probably a day away," Giles said yesterday from the visiting clubhouse at Dodger Stadium.

The survival guide: Jones credits his mother  —  If you think a few boo-birds are going to keep Jacque Jones down, then you don't know much about the Cubs right fielder.  Sure, he was disappointed about being booed at Wrigley Field.  No one likes to be booed.  But when you look at the big picture, the boos don't mean a thing.

Rain delay provided an opportunity to soak the fans  —  Despite more brutal weather, they played baseball at Fenway last night.  Hallelujah.  But had they not played, the Red Sox still would have been winners at the cash register.  The $ox always win these days.