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.

Matsui ahead of schedule  —  Thursday is an important day for Hideki Matsui, who is scheduled to visit the doctor and could be given the go-ahead to begin basic hitting drills.  —  Matsui, who is recovering from a broken left wrist, already has been taking dry swings in which he allows …

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.

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.

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 …

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.

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.

Dodgers lose and may lose Kent to DL  —  Sele allows five runs, nine hits in five-plus innings to D-Backs  —  PHOENIX — Jeff Kent said Monday was "not a good day," and he wasn't talking about the Dodgers' fifth consecutive loss that dropped them below .500 for the first time since May 11.

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 …

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.

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 …

Ortiz is hoping 3rd time charm … Russ Ortiz will make his third start for the Orioles tonight, and if it's not better than the first two, his future in the rotation may be uncertain.  —  When asked if Ortiz must pitch well to earn another start, manager Sam Perlozzo did not say yes …

Confidence not flagging  —  Garland, on a roll, may repay Guillen's faith in his starters  —  DETROIT — Manager Ozzie Guillen has kept his faith in the White Sox's starting pitchers despite the 17 runs in 17 innings they gave up in a three-game sweep by the New York Yankees.

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.

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.