Early ticket sales 'encouraging' for Angels-Indians series  —  MILWAUKEE (AP) — Get ready for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim against the Cleveland Indians of Milwaukee.  —  Hours after officials at Miller Park agreed to let the snowed-out Indians host the Angels at the Milwaukee Brewers' home stadium …

Torn elbow tendon shelves Hampton for season  —  Torn flexor tendon sidelines lefty for 6-9 months  —  Mike Hampton's season is over before it started.  —  The injury-plagued Braves pitcher is headed for surgery this morning after learning he has a torn flexor tendon in his left elbow.

Young set to sign long-term deal  —  On April 1, the eve of Opening Day, the Padres signed first baseman Adrian Gonzalez to a four-year, $9.5 million contract.  Tuesday, they will announce a long-term deal with right-hander Chris Young, the other principal player they acquired from the Rangers in Dec. 2005.

Inflamed elbow lands ace Carpenter on 15-day DL  —  PITTSBURGH — Cardinals staff ace Chris Carpenter was placed on the 15-day disabled list Monday after an MRI exam in St. Louis revealed arthritis and a previously undiscovered impingement in his right elbow.

A-Rod's fifth helps Pavano top Twins  —  Righty allows two runs in seven innings; Abreu drives in four  —  MINNEAPOLIS — Carl Pavano insists that he's still the same pitcher he always was, aggressively going after hitters and taking the mound in search of victories.  The difference on Monday was that he finally got one.

Tigers preach patience after loss  —  Lineup struggles against Orioles, but club not worried  —  BALTIMORE — Detroit manager Jim Leyland and some of his players all preached a similar message following a 6-2 loss to the Orioles in Baltimore's home opener on Monday — it's early and be patient.

Notes: Smith has eventful drive in  —  Rookie learns the joys of fighting traffic on way out to Shea  —  NEW YORK — Joe Smith pitched for the Brooklyn Cyclones last season, so New York isn't new to him.  Driving in the city is a new and wonderful experience for him, though.

What will Sox do with Durbin?  —  It will be interesting to see how things unfold tomorrow at Red Sox opening day.  The Sox claimed J.D. Durbin off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks this afternoon, and he's currently on a plane coming to Boston.  —  Durbin could be activated …

Twins place Cirillo, White on DL  —  Infielder plans knee surgery; outfielder hobbled by calf strain  —  MINNEAPOLIS — The injury list continued to mount in recent days for the Twins, and it has finally led to some changes.  —  Following their 8-2 loss to the Yankees on Monday …

Mays leads balloting for Gold Glove anniversary team  —  ST. LOUIS — Willie Mays led a nostalgia wave — and all vote-getters — Monday in balloting to determine a 50th anniversary Gold Glove team.  —  One week into the season, more than 50,000 votes had been cast for what sponsor Rawlings is calling a "summer of glove."

MLB unlikely to alter scheduling  —  Move to open season in only warm weather sites won't fly  —  PHOENIX — American League baseball is returning to Milwaukee this week, for no reason other than the blizzard conditions that have stifled the playing of games in Cleveland for the last four days.

Wheeler in, Lidge out as Astros closer  —  CHICAGO — Only an hour after saying it was too early to change closers, Astros manager Phil Garner removed Brad Lidge from the job and handed it to Dan Wheeler on Monday afternoon before opening a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Rookie to replace injured Nolasco in Marlins rotation  —  MIAMI (AP) — Marlins right-hander Ricky Nolasco was placed on the disabled list Monday with elbow inflammation, and will be replaced in Florida's rotation by Rick Vanden Hurk, a Holland native who has yet to pitch above Class-A.

Another Bad Loss Caps Even Worse Start for Nats  —  Consider the sum total of the last week for the Washington Nationals, and it is grim as grim could be, a collection of games that took seven days but somehow packed in a couple months' worth of misery.  Cap it off with the indignity …