Yankees' Hughes struggling with velocity for weeks  —  Do you want the bad news or the worse news?  —  Do you want to hear that Phil Hughes lacked velocity or that he compounded it by being unable to locate?  —  Or do you want the really, really, really troubling news?  That this has been going on for weeks.

Suppan returns to Royals on Minor League deal  —  Expected to provide depth, veteran to report to Triple-A Omaha  —  KANSAS CITY — After nine years, pitcher Jeff Suppan is back with the Royals.  —  Suppan, 36, signed a Minor League contract with Kansas City late Sunday night and will report …

POSTGAME NOTES: Giants need to get defensive, breaking up the San Diego zoo, “A Band of Misfits” meetup in SD, etc. (5)  —  Dan Runzler was minding his own business when Pat Burrell walked up to him in the clubhouse today.  —  “Runz, I need you,” Burrell said, escorting him out to right field.

Opponent really got the best of them  —  ARLINGTON, Texas — So far, this looks a little like the Charlie Sheen Torpedo of Truth tour.  Is it possible to be mathematically eliminated before you play your home opener?  —  The Best Team Ever staggered through one of its worst opening weekends ever.

Vernon Wells' Free Agent Value  —  In my Angels offseason in review article, I suggested that Vernon Wells might have gotten four years and $52MM at best if he had been a free agent this offseason.  Since the Angels essentially took on a four-year, $75.75MM commitment to Wells in the trade …

Back to reality for Blue Jays  —  Toronto— From Monday's Globe and Mail  —  It was a frustrating end to a weekend when all your Toronto Blue Jays dreams seemed possible: First-pitch swinging Adam Lind hits a curveball that was Joe Nathan's 31st pitch of the inning, rolling out down the first-base line …

Reds one win away from best start since 1990  —  CINCINNATI—The defending NL Central champions have opened the season playing like they belong in first place.  —  And, maybe more.  —  The Cincinnati Reds swept their opening series against the Milwaukee Brewers, a team picked as one of their top challengers in the division.

MLB “authenticator” at Coors Field will monitor baseballs from humidor to game use  —  Major League Baseball has added trained eyes to eliminate suspicious minds.  For the second time since September, the commissioner's office has modified how baseballs are removed from the Coors Field humidor and monitored during games.

New Incident, Old Story: Violence at Dodger Stadium  —  This was an issue before I fled the country.  Actually, it has been an issue for about 10 years now.  —  Going to a game at Dodger Stadium can be just ... plain ... dangerous.  —  It appears that two men dressed in Dodgers apparel attacked …