A Broken Wrist Ends Matsui's Streak  —  On one gruesome play in the first inning at Yankee Stadium last night, a streak ended and a problem intensified.  —  Hideki Matsui, the Yankees' left fielder who had played in 1,768 consecutive games, fractured his left wrist while trying to catch …

Rowand to have surgery on Friday  —  Phillies unsure of how long center fielder will be sidelined  —  PHILADELPHIA — Phillies center fielder Aaron Rowand left Thursday's game with a broken nose and lacerations to the face after crashing into the center field fence to make an over-the-shoulder catch …

Live Arm Puts Pelfrey on Mets' Fast Track  —  BINGHAMTON, N.Y., May 9 — Deep in the heart of the bushes, in upstate New York, a tall, lean young man in a Mets uniform stood on a pitcher's mound.  —  The ballpark was cozy, a third full with about 2,000 fans present on a pleasant Tuesday evening.

Column: Well, at least Bonds can still hit  —  SAN FRANCISCO —Barry Bonds still uncoils at the plate like a striking cobra.  Unfortunately, he plays left field like a hippopotamus looking for a good mud bath.  —  For one day, or even one historic homestand, it hardly matters.

Umps miffed?  You make the call  —  PHILADELPHIA — The Mets have beaten up the Nationals, thrashed the Marlins and shown they are capable of dethroning the Braves.  But in the pursuit of their first National League East title since 1988, are the Mets good enough to be infuriating the umpires, too?

Infection sends Chavez to hospital  —  A's notebook  —  TORONTO — A's third baseman Eric Chavez missed his third straight game with what the team is calling a bacterial infection.  —  He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital on Thursday morning, receiving IV fluids and undergoing a blood test …

Baseball bigots  —  If you played the game, then you know that you go through ...- Jim Tracy defending keeping Jeromy Burnitz in the lineup.  —  I talked about Tracy's rant once already today, but earlier I was so taken with his indefensible defense of Burnitz I let my biggest pet peeve of them all slip through the cracks.

The Truth About the Grounder  —  Ground ball pitchers have suddenly become the biggest commodity in baseball, it seems.  With baseball statisticians discovering the importance of keeping the ball out of the park (not that this wasn't an obvious fact before—just perhaps not thought …

Yard Sticks: Will 2006 be bigger bang for Pujols?  —  In 1998:  —  Mark McGwire hit his 18th home run of the year in the 43rd game.  He finished 1998 with 70 home runs.  —  In 2001:  —  Barry Bonds hit his 18th home run of the year in the 42nd game.  He finished 2001 with 73 home runs.

Notes: Schneider still banged up  —  Catcher trying to overcome nagging injury  —  CINCINNATI — Catcher Brian Schneider was back in the lineup for one game, and what do you know?  Schneider now finds himself on the mend again.  —  His tender hamstring, which had caused Schneider to sit …

Damon takes a beating  —  As if the Yankees needed anything else to worry about with their outfielders, now comes this: Johnny Damon said he re-injured his left shoulder and right foot last night.  —  Damon suffered the injuries when he crashed into the centerfield wall to rob Doug Mirabelli of an extra-base hit in the fourth inning.