Cashman finding a way to make things work in new era  —  In a bygone era, New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman would have pushed the trade button by now, and Washington left fielder Alfonso Soriano would be back in pinstripes.  Or Philadelphia right fielder Bobby Abreu might be wearing them for the first time.

Nationals fall to Fish in Florida  —  Club tripped up despite first Washington homer for Lopez  —  MIAMI — A home run, his first as a member of the Nationals, allowed Felipe Lopez to move a step forward in the adjustment to his new team.  Unfortunately, a mental mistake in the next inning brought him a step back.

Rangers GM looking for pitchers  —  Market tricky for starters; GM won't mortgage the future  —  TORONTO - A weekend's worth of dreary offense did not dampen the sunny optimism general manager Jon Daniels has about his lineup.  —  He is still making the acquisition of pitching the Rangers …

Yankees save hurtin' A-Rod  —  Needs X-rays on toe after 3 E's  —  There was no beauty and little grace to this one.  Just a lot of sweaty palms, sticky foreheads and what the Yankees hope is little more than a badly stubbed toe.  —  They won't complain about the aesthetics, of course.

2 more years for Baker isn't crazy  —  Actually, there's no better alternative to manage the Cubs  —  More than two months ago, on the subject of the Cubs, I wrote that "firings appear almost inevitable, if not imminent."  Two weeks ago, the view here was the sacking of manager Dusty Baker had become imminent, as well as inevitable.

Audition, Round 2  —  Pelfrey gets another look and Peterson is bullish on his future  —  CHICAGO — The Mets' dream of someday adding Barry Zito to their rotation will likely have to wait until the offseason, when he becomes a free agent.  But Zito's former pitching coach, Rick Peterson …

Graffanino back on the block  —  Trade rumors swirl around KC second baseman, but not to Boston.  The Red Sox are solid at that position.  —  It was a year ago this week that he arrived here, in a trade from the Royals to the Red Sox.  On Monday, he returned to Fenway Park, back with the Royals but again on the trading block.

4 and then floored, for him  —  An upper back strain KO's Wakefield early  —  Terry Francona sat behind his desk in the Red Sox clubhouse at 4 p.m. yesterday talking about his knuckleballer.  It had been 10 days since Tim Wakefield last pitched, the 39-year-old's aching back the cause.

'It was the right thing to do' (cont.)  —  Around the majors  —  • The White Sox asked the Mets for Duaner Sanchez and Mike Pelfrey for Freddy Garcia.  No go.  The Sox have spoken to several clubs about Garcia and Javier Vazquez but prefer to keep Vazquez since he's contractually tied to the team for three more years.

Under The Knife  —  Muse  —  Let's get right to this today.  Powered by Muse's "Revelations and Black Holes," on to the injuries:  — Mets fans like to see Pedro Martinez on the mound, even if it's just a side session.  Despite his problematic hip and a severe case of what the team thinks …

Skid creates shake-up  —  Pittsburgh - Frustration spawned roster reconfiguration.  —  Saddled with a season-high eight-game losing streak after falling Monday to the Pirates, the Rockies promoted rookie reliever Manuel Corpas and first baseman Ryan Shealy and benched center fielder Cory Sullivan.

Mariners Notebook: Pineiro linked to Yanks  —  Mariners unlikely to make trade involving righty  —  NEW YORK — Joel Pineiro's name has been all over the Internet lately.  —  Word is the Yankees have a more than passing interest in Pineiro, who starts tonight at Yankee Stadium.

Dodgers Stuck in a Time Lapse  —  A particularly ugly 8-3 loss to Arizona extends L.A.'s skid to five games and increases the heat on Colletti as the trade deadline approaches.  —  PHOENIX — The trading deadline can turn time into taffy.  Ned Colletti, general manager of the rapidly disintegrating Dodgers …

Notes: Lowe works on pitch mechanics  —  Right-hander has worked three straight days in bullpen  —  PHOENIX — Most starting pitchers throw a bullpen session between starts.  —  Struggling Dodgers starter Derek Lowe on Monday threw his third bullpen session in as many days as he attempts …

KEEP IT HEAL  —  WRIGHT BACKS OFF 'REVIVAL'  —  CINCINNATI - A television advertisement for the "Salvation Miracles Revival Crusade" in which David Wright is featured has caused the third baseman and the Mets to clarify that neither team nor player is officially linked to the religious program.