Notes: Lo Duca goes off duty early  —  Mets catcher not happy about double-switch move in opener  —  WASHINGTON — Paul Lo Duca was miffed when he was removed from the game in the sixth inning on Monday night.  Teammates said as much following the Mets' unbecoming 12-4 loss to the Nationals.

Sox are left hurting  —  Thomas's 3 homers sink depleted team  —  TORONTO - Daisuke Matsuzaka may not know this, because he only dresses as one, but the Teletubbies are known for saying "bye-bye" three times.  —  Last night, so did Frank Thomas of the Blue Jays.

YANKEES' WIN O SO GOOD  —  SOAR PAST BIRDS, GAIN ON SAWX  —  The Yankees' mantra for weeks has been that they're still chasing a division title not a wild-card berth.  That goal is starting to look more serious than silly.  —  After dispatching the Orioles 8-5 last night at the Stadium …

Sox hammered by Hurt in opener  —  Thomas cranks three homers as Boston falls in Toronto  —  TORONTO — Frank Thomas, the 39-year-old designated hitter with a lot of wallop still left in his bat, will retire one of these years.  Don't expect the Red Sox to complain whenever that happens.

E-Ian: Rangers drop tough one, 5-4  —  egrant@dallasnews.com  —  MINNEAPOLIS - Here's the thing about an errorless streak: The minute it ends, you have made an embarrassing mistake.  —  Which was exactly the situation Ian Kinsler found himself in Monday night.

A dull victory, and Escobar isn't sharp  —  Right-hander gives up six runs, continuing his late-season struggles, in win over Devil Rays that drags on nearly four hours.  —  There was nothing crisp about the pace, or the play, at Angel Stadium on Monday night.

Derek Jeter moves into 4th place on Yanks' all-time hit list  —  The names not only are links to the Yankees' fabled past, but they are baseball royalty.  Known as much by their nicknames as for what they accomplished on the field.  —  The Iron Horse.  The Babe.  The Mick.

Pittsburgh (66-83) at San Diego (81-67)  —  The San Diego Padres opened their 10-game homestand with a bang over the weekend.  —  They'll be looking to build on a three-game sweep and move closer to the top of the NL West when they open a four-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday.

5 Questions with... Rob Neyer  —  When it came time to select an interview subject for our One-Year Anniversary Celebration, it was really no contest.  There may be more powerful figures in sports (Bud Selig, I'm still awaiting your call).  There may be more controversial subjects …

Most Hated Mets Reliever Since Benitez?  —  Guillermo Mota is not only the worst relief pitcher on the Mets, but one of the worst in all of baseball.  Mota has, for instance, the second worst earned run average of any National League reliever who's pitched at least 40 innings …

Mulder suffers setback  —  Cardinals lefthander Mark Mulder may not pitch for the remainder of the season after alerting the team's training staff Sunday to discomfort in the front of his surgically repaired left shoulder.  —  Mulder, activated Sept. 5 after making four rehab appearances …