Dusty leans on family, tries to stay positive  —  Maybe the perch would be biting Monday off Waukegan Harbor, where Cubs manager Dusty Baker, hitting coach Gene Clines and clubhouse managers Tom Hellman and Gary Stark planned a fishing trip on their day off.

Zambrano could be finished  —  ST. LOUIS - Victor Zambrano's career is in jeopardy after the righthander yesterday unexpectedly had a second Tommy John elbow surgery.  —  Team doctor David Altchek found a torn ligament that required replacement during what was expected to be a less intense procedure.

Padres blow hot then cold in desert  —  Barfield takes blame for loss after Green's single lifts D-Backs in 10th  —  PHOENIX - Padres rookie Josh Barfield blamed himself for a 6-5, 10-inning loss to the Diamondbacks last night.  —  The second baseman chafed over defensive miscues …

Beckett lights up Birds  —  Right-hander celebrates 26th birthday by dominating Orioles  —  BALTIMORE — The game face wasn't quite there when Josh Beckett first entered the visiting clubhouse on Monday afternoon.  The right-hander noticed ace Curt Schilling slumped over on the couch …

San Antonio pulls Marlins stadium offer  —  As expected, San Antonio played a game of Texas Fold 'Em on Monday with the Florida Marlins.  —  Bexar County leaders formally pulled out of the Marlins relocation sweepstakes, throwing the spotlight on the team's rising hopes to build a stadium in Hialeah.

Padilla to test ankle  —  NEW YORK - The Rangers are relatively certain who will pitch for them Thursday and Friday.  They aren't quite as sure about the order in which Vicente Padilla and Robinson Tejeda will start.  —  Padilla, who has been bothered by right ankle tendinitis …

Ayala's Absence Has Left a Hole in the Bullpen  —  Luis Ayala wasn't in Atlanta over the weekend, and he did not join his Washington Nationals teammates in Chicago, where the team begins a three-game series today.  Instead, Ayala will be in Phoenix, the site of his rehabilitation from season-ending elbow surgery.

Mets know dealing with Pujols no walk in park  —  Albert Pujols could get the Barry Bonds treatment when the Mets open a three-game series tonight against the Cardinals in St Louis.  The slugger was named NL Player of the Week yesterday after hitting .429 with three homers in 21 at-bats during a seven-day span.

Back end of rotation is biggest concern  —  Every day, Omar Minaya pays another visit to the buffet table of possible trades.  He's hungry; the Mets need another starting pitcher as they embark on a critical nine-game stretch against the Cardinals, Yankees and Phillies.

Baseball Is a Game of Numbers, but Whose Numbers Are They?  —  Like no other corner of American popular culture, baseball communicates in numbers.  From .406 (Ted Williams's 1941 batting average) to 755 (Hank Aaron's record home run total) to countless digits bandied about water coolers every morning …

Baseball's greatest showmen  —  It was a great made-for-TV moment.  Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols took Pirates pitcher Oliver Perez deep, then flicked his bat high and deep to celebrate the homer and taunt his foe.  —  Jaws dropped in the Pirates dugout.

Struggling Vargas demoted to AAA  —  ATLANTA — Left-hander Jason Vargas arrived in spring training with high expectations on how he would follow up his 2005 Marlins Rookie of the Year season.  —  A demotion to the minor leagues wasn't what he had in mind, but that's what he got for struggling to a 1-1 start and 6.40 ERA.

Healthy Park has reaped the benefits  —  PHOENIX - Pitcher Chan Ho Park's improvement, attributed to an array of factors, starts with hamstring and back health, said Park's longtime agent Scott Boras.  —  "A lot of people don't realize what happened to Chan Ho Park," Boras said.