Hoodie ban leaves Rays' Maddon out in cold  —  Baseball's fashion police have raided Joe Maddon's hood.  —  The Tampa Bay Rays manager has been told by Major League Baseball that he can no longer wear his favorite hoodie.  Maddon likes to put on the pullover during cold days at the ballpark …

Pineiro guides Angels to fourth straight win  —  ANAHEIM — When the Angels signed right-hander Joel Pineiro as a free agent this offseason, they knew exactly what they were getting — a sinkerball pitcher coming off a career year with the Cardinals in which he won 15 games and had a 3.49 ERA.

High anxiety, as owner Henry exhibits concern  —  The Red Sox' struggles are no longer a media/fan concern.  —  The concern goes much higher up.  —  “Of course I'm concerned,” wrote Sox owner John Henry in an e-mail.  “We can't dig ourselves too deep a hole.  The Yankees and Tampa Bay are so strong.”

Five things you need to know about Ike  —  Mets' new first baseman may have trouble with lefties, but hey, he's not Mike Jacobs  —  Smart people with lives went out on Saturday night, but plenty of baseball fans couldn't leave their couches, entranced by the marathon of comedic incompetence that was the Mets-Cardinals game.

Odds & Ends: Bell, Dye, Ortiz, Davis, Strasburg  —  Links for Monday...  - The MLBTR Forums are rocking with over 3,600 members.  Join the discussion today!  Just added a prospects section; we've also got areas to discuss trade rumors, free agents, the draft, general baseball, fantasy baseball, and every team.

JAYS POUND ROYALS IN FRONT OF SMALLEST-EVER CROWD AT DOME  —  TORONTO — They finally broke out after a weekend of relative silence.  The Toronto Blue Jays batters sprayed the ball across the field and over the fence on Monday night, but whenever it left the playing surface …

Pie could miss next three months  —  Orioles outfielder Felix Pie underwent an MRI this morning and learned that he could miss up to three months with an injury to his latissimus dorsi muscle.  —  Pie went on the disabled list April 16 with an injury classified as a strained muscle in his upper back …

LaRoche returns to D-backs lineup  —  First baseman missed four games with quad strain  —  PHOENIX — After missing four consecutive games with a strain in his upper right quadriceps, Adam LaRoche was back in the D-backs lineup Monday for their homestand opener against the Cardinals at Chase Field.

Eckstein's HR in 10th lifts Padres to fifth straight  —  SAN DIEGO(AP) David Eckstein homered in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the San Diego Padres their fourth straight win, 3-2 over the San Francisco Giants on Monday night.  —  Eckstein's leadoff shot against Jeremy Affeldt (2-2) …

Marquis trying to be too perfect on hill  —  Starter admits to not letting natural athleticism take over  —  WASHINGTON — A day after having the worst outing of his young season, Nationals right-hander Jason Marquis learned he will start against the Dodgers on Friday at Nationals Park.

Inbox: Too soon to fret over pitching?  —  Brewers beat reporter Adam McCalvy fields fans' questions  —  Is it too early to worry about the Brewers' pitching staff?  —  Too early to panic and start making drastic changes?  Definitely.  But too early to worry?  I don't think so.

Does the stretch cost a pitcher fastball speed?  —  Earlier today, Rob Neyer wrote about Ubaldo Jimenez's no-hitter at his Sweet Spot blog at ESPN.  He linked to an article by Thomas Harding about Jimenez's switch of pitching deliveries mid-game: … That's certainly fascinating to me …