Notes: Angels thinking pink  —  Colored bats and story behind them a hit with players  —  ANAHEIM — Major League Baseball broke out the pink bats on Sunday in support of the fight against breast cancer.  —  In a collective effort to raise money for the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation …

Silva demotion temporary, team says  —  MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Twins made a move with their struggling rotation Monday morning, sending shaken right-hander Carlos Silva to the bullpen temporarily and promoting lefty Francisco Liriano.  —  Liriano, 22, is one of baseball's top prospects …

Role reversals are possible  —  BOSTON — Ian Kinsler lost his job as the Rangers' starting second baseman because of a dislocated left thumb.  —  Francisco Cordero ceded the closer's role because of his ineffectiveness.  —  Both players are close to being able to make a case to reclaim their jobs.

He's a keeper  —  D'backs reward Tracy with three-year extension  —  PHOENIX (AP) — Third baseman Chad Tracy and the Arizona Diamondbacks agreed Monday to a three-year, $13.25 million contract extension through 2009 that includes a team option for the following season.

Mailbag: Much ado about Milledge  —  Beat writer Marty Noble answers Mets fans' questions  —  With Cliff Floyd slumping and Lastings Milledge hitting around .300, isn't it time to consider bringing up Milledge?  —  No. It's time to give Milledge more time.  And it's time to afford Floyd more time as well.

First Pitch, May 15  —  CROWDED  —  The Colorado Rockies have a big decision to make on right-handed pitcher Sunwoo Kim, who allowed one hit in eight shutout innings of a rehabilitation start for Class AAA Colorado Springs against Omaha on Saturday.  At some point, the Rockies are going to be faced …

Prospectus Today  —  He's Baaaaaaack  —  So yesterday afternoon, instead of my usual routine of flipping through a number of ballgames, I had settled on the Yankees/A's tilt.  I liked the pitching matchup, with one of my favorite young pitchers, Dan Haren, going up against someone who's …

Big Unit looks more like Big Problem  —  Southpaw showing his age, despite his denials, and Yanks are in trouble  —  Randy Johnson's ERA is up to 5.13 and he has given up 54 hits in 52 innings, the first time since 1988 that has he given up more hits than he has innings pitched.  —  Mike Celizic

Catch Me If You Can  —  Alternate Title: Oh, Wiki You're So Fine...  Nationals 8, Braves 1  —  I realize it's been a long, long time since I've done a game recap, but it's been a long time since there's been a game that I've (a) seen and (b) felt any urge to revisit.  (Cable monopolies... they're COM-CASTIC!!!)

Future Shock  —  Howie Kendrick's first taste of the big leagues turned out to be one to forget, as arguably the best hitter in the minor leagues went just 3-for-26 before being sent back to Triple-A Salt Lake to make way for shortstop Erick Aybar.  The Angels already have three players …

Minor Matters: Unlisted Hitting Prospects Worth Knowing  —  We're just six weeks into the minor league season and it's already time to throw away your favorite "Top Prospect" lists from this past winter.  Young players can mature significantly during the offseason, when they rest nagging injuries …

Hall of Fame Game canceled due to rain  —  Sixtieth annual event — between Reds, Bucs — called in third  —  COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — The annual Hall of Fame Game requires nearly 12 months of planning on the parts of Hall of Fame officials and Cooperstown, N.Y., village employees …

Is this the swan song for Alou, Bonds, other veterans?  —  IT WAS EARLY Sunday morning, hours before his team's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Giants manager Felipe Alou was packing his suitcase for the upcoming road trip.  —  That's when the question popped into his head.

Ugly game, wasted effort  —  Mother's Day brought the Cardinals another typical start from Chris Carpenter, neglected pitcher.  —  The National League's reigning Cy Young Award winner threw six innings without allowing an earned run.  His reward was no decision in his team's messy 7-6 loss …

Notes: Tigers staff being stingy  —  Bonderman leads rotation that tops MLB in pitches per inning  —  CLEVELAND — Jeremy Bonderman struck out eight batters in eight innings here Saturday, yet needed just 98 pitches to do it.  Kenny Rogers used just 90 pitches to last eight scoreless innings April 30 against the Twins.

Power Rankings: Phils bust into top 10  —  Gotta love Aaron Rowand.  Going all-out, sacrificing the nose, getting bloody, making a Web Gem grab, helping save a rain-soaked victory.  —  And you've gotta love Rowand's Phillies right now, as well.  Their nine-game win streak might have ended this week …

Notes: Elbow lands Mercker on DL  —  Right-hander Burns recalled from Triple-A Louisville  —  CINCINNATI — Veteran reliever Kent Mercker was asked to describe the lingering soreness he felt in his left elbow.  Was it an ache, a dull pain or throbbing?  —  "Um, yeah.

Going Deep: Designated for assignment  —  There's more strategy to the move than meets the eye  —  It was probably a pretty nice weekend for Trish Shouse.  Last Monday, her husband Brian had been designated for assignment, making him the baseball equivalent of a dead man walking.