Cubs anticipate a cool reception at Wrigley Field after 1-8 road trip  —  SAN FRANCISCO — After ending their West Coast nightmare Thursday with a 9-3 loss to San Francisco, the Cubs know the Friendly Confines may be anything but that when they come home to Wrigley Field on Friday.

Mets' Randolph tinkers with lineup  —  PHILADELPHIA — Let's put it this way: moving Cliff Floyd from sixth to second in the batting order couldn't have hurt.  —  Mets manager Willie Randolph juggled his lineup for last night's game against the Philadelphia Phillies by sandwiching …

Rain Beats Mets, 2-0  —  For all intents and purposes, the Mets lost this game in the first inning.  —  Phillies starter Gavin Floyd had walked the bases full with two outs.  David Wright, one batter previous, had narrowly missed a three-run homer that curved foul instead.

Damon to deal with pain  —  Johnny Damon streaked back to the center field wall, leaped at the 408-foot marker and snared Doug Mirabelli's drive as the ball appeared to be going over the fence for a two-run homer.  —  The spectacular play in the fourth inning was one of two highlight-reel catches …

Tracy: Pirates Not Delivering In Clutch Situations  —  Jim Tracy has no idea what ails this team. … Well, Tracy could fix some of the hitting problems by playing the right hitters.  Not to sound like a broken record, but when you start Jose Hernandez at first base against a right-handed pitcher …

It All Swings Wrong Way For Nationals  —  After Washington Takes Lead in Top of 11th, Griffey Hits Three-Run Homer in Bottom Half: Reds 5, Nationals 4  —  CINCINNATI, May 11 — It was the kind of swing that replays on television screens and in minds for the rest of the night …

Under The Knife  —  U.S.S. Enterprise  —  I live in a fantasy world, almost literally.  We all love baseball but I get to spend all day surrounded by it, rather than having it be just a hobby.  Unfortunately, that existence doesn't preclude the problems of the normal world.

How is youth being served?  —  A first-place team is sending Jose Lima to the mound tonight, and it is doing so with a straight face.  Injuries in the Mets' rotation have put them in a bind, and their solution somehow calls for the resurrection of Lima Time.  They are calling up minor leaguer Jeremi Gonzalez to start on Saturday.

Phils to take plunge with Hamels  —  The prized prospect will face the Reds tomorrow.  He is being called up after three starts at triple-A Scranton.  —  The Phillies could have kept Cole Hamels with triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for a few more starts.  He could have picked up a little …

For starting pitchers, 'off days' aren't what they seem  —  If all goes well, a starting pitcher will make an appearance for about two hours every five days.  —  He'll be in the spotlight, with his performance replayed, analyzed and packaged into the nightly recap shows.

Friars open series in Chicago  —  San Diego (19-16) at Chicago (15-19) 11:20 a.m. PT  —  The Padres hit the road for nine games, taking their sparkling record in May with them.  —  First up on the trip are the Cubs at Wrigley Field, a team the Padres swept in a four-game series last week at PETCO Park.

M's down, but not out  —  TACOMA — The Rainiers clubhouse is cozy and crammed full Thursday afternoon.  Two players sit at a rickety table playing checkers.  Another microwaves instant noodles and eats them with a plastic fork.  —  This is not the big leagues, not The Show …

Diamondbacks Preview  —  Sorry if you experienced any problems accessing the site today — evidently the good folks at Savvis were having networking problems.  Whaddaya gonna do?  —  So, the entire top deck of the game on Wednesday was filled with kids.  School trips left and right …

Dave Myers to Pilot 'Sox in '06  —  Everett - The Everett AquaSox announced today that Dave Myers will serve as field manager for the 2006 season.  Myers, who was with the AquaSox last season as a special assignment coach, fills the void created by the promotion of Jim Horner to manage …

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.