A REELING RODRIGUEZ TOSSES INJURY CARD IN  —  WHEN the lineups were announced before yesterday's Angels-Yankees game, the Stadium crowd once again amped up an ovation for Alex Rodriguez hoping, obviously, that the brew of encouragement and support would finally spur the most talented player to the most wonderful deeds.

D-Backs' Green Snakes into discussion  —  WASHINGTON - The Mets have spent plenty of green putting this year's NL-East leading team together.  It's possible they could add a little more green to the roster.  —  The East Valley (Ariz.) Tribune reported that the Diamondbacks planned …

Robertson tries to revive Tigers  —  Detroit (76-41) at Boston (66-48), 7:05 p.m. ET  —  Nate Robertson got to know Josh Beckett just after the Marlins drafted Beckett second overall in 1999, the same year Florida took Robertson in the fifth round.  They were roommates when Robertson was first called up to the Major Leagues in 2002.

Zambrano the big wheel in Cubs' rotation  —  DENVER — Carlos Zambrano was a solitary figure on a stationary bike Sunday in the visitors' clubhouse at Coors Field, pedaling away and going nowhere.  —  The parallel is obvious.  Zambrano (12-5) has been pitching well most of the season …

Rockies, Astros discussing Wilson deal  —  Houston outfielder one of 12 'designated' players available  —  Will it be a Rockies' redux for Preston Wilson?  —  Colorado and Houston have been discussing a deal that would reunite the outfielder with the franchise he played for from 2003 through the first half of last season.

Martinez 15 strikeouts away from 3,000 … In Major League Baseball annals, 13 pitchers have reached 3,000 strikeouts, more than 100 have won 200 games or more, and countless others have finished their careers with an ERA below 3.00.  —  But among the thousands of pitchers that have toed …

Family dysfunction  —  Personal troubles cause Doc and Darryl to lead list of reunion no-shows  —  This tale, of course, carries more than enough darkness already.  But this past week, while looking through Dwight Gooden's 1999 autobiography "Heat," I stumbled upon another layer of tragic irony.

Mailbag: Time to retire No. 17?  —  Beat reporter Marty Noble answers fans' questions  —  After the remarkable treatment afforded Mike Piazza at Shea Sadium last week, I got to thinking that the Mets should retire his uniform number.  He is a certain Hall of Famer who played some of his best and most important years in New York.

Going Deep: Going interactive  —  You've got procedural questions, we've got answers … Q: What are the rules regarding roster expansion and subsequent playoff rosters?  Do players on the expanded roster have to be added to the 40-man roster?  Does it burn up their service time?  — B.King and F.Miv

Dave Duncan: Change is on the way  —  PITTSBURGH — Jason Marquis presumably kept his oar in the water Sunday to remain in the Cardinals' rotation, even when lefthander Mark Mulder returns from his shoulder problems, by holding the Pittsburgh Pirates to three hits — two of them second-inning home runs …

Prospectus Today  —  AL MVP  —  The question of who should win the American League Most Valuable Player Award hasn't had an easy answer in a few years, and 2006 will not change that.  There are, once again, multiple viable candidates for the award, and they range from the best hitters …

Cabrera continues hot streak  —  Miguel Cabrera had two hits, including a home run, and drove in four runs to lift Florida.  'To do what he's doing, he's in a different league now.' Wes Helms said.  `He's a special kid.'  —  kbaxter@MiamiHerald.com  —  PHOENIX - Wes Helms has played …

Under The Knife  —  Liriano Watch  —  I spent the last few days being the dumbest guy in the room.  Once a year, BP gets the team together to discuss business, a meeting that occurred over the weekend in Chicago.  In between those discussions, the topic always came back to our shared passion …