Call him Stay-Rod  —  Loves N.Y. but won't nix opting out  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Alex Rodriguez's start has surely opened eyes around the majors, and with the opt-out clause that he can exercise at the end of the year, several teams are surely thinking about how much money they can throw at the two-time MVP this winter.

Chavez's squeeze gives Mets win in 12  —  RBI bunt gives New York 15th win in last 16 vs. Rox at Shea  —  NEW YORK — Some 45 minutes after the Mets had left the field, their smiles hadn't left their faces.  They were little-boy smiles, broader and brighter than usual.  The Mets were getting giddy with it.

Nationals' Bullpen Lets One Slip Away  —  To the denizens of Citizens Bank Park, Jason Bergmann didn't appear fatigued or flailing in the sixth inning Tuesday night.  The Washington Nationals right-hander, who has turned his season around since opening it with an epic 50-pitch inning …

For once, offense saves the bullpen  —  Neither a starter who is undefeated against Detroit nor a bullpen that is considered one of the best in baseball could prevent the Angels from blowing a one-touchdown lead Tuesday.  —  The top three batters in the Angels order, Gary Matthews Jr. …

Gonzalez's blasts lead Reds to rout  —  Shortstop homers twice, drives in five; Griffey belts No. 564  —  ST. LOUIS — With his reputation as a highly-regarded shortstop that plays pristine defense, the Reds' Alex Gonzalez is rarely confused with a hulking slugger with bats the size of California redwoods.

Notes: Olsen works on mechanics  —  Left-hander looks to get back on track after two subpar starts  —  MIAMI — Scott Olsen believes he has identified the flaw in his pitching mechanics that led him to having two forgettable performances after starting the season 2-0.

Willie says Wright will snap out of it  —  If batting averages and run production numbers were posted on the New York Stock Exchange, Willie Randolph would call David Wright's recent decline a market correction and nothing more.  —  But the 0-for-15 mark Wright took into last night's game …

Best in Class  —  Every year we all place a little too much stock in early season results.  Yet while it's too early to discern much of anything at this point, there is still more evidence than we had four weeks ago when we were all running around like we knew something predicting what would unfold this season.

Cubs coach Perry denies challenging ump to fight  —  It's only April, but the Cubs already lead the league in umpiring controversies.  —  Monday night's postgame incident in which hitting coach Gerald Perry got into shouting match with umpires in the tunnel was the second confrontation between Cubs personnel and umpires in four days.

Sox have Dice-K, but rivals reaping ad dollars  —  Japanese firms buy signs to reach game viewers back home  —  If you watched the Red Sox play the Texas Rangers earlier this month and couldn't read the Japanese-language ads behind home plate, don't worry.  Those were meant for fans watching overseas, not you.

Bombers can only hope Rivera will save this pen  —  The last-place Yanks dropped their fifth straight game last night, falling to Tampa Bay, 6-4, and this is as good a time as any to take stock of the damaged inventory: The hitting is just fine.  Better than fine.

STAT NERDS ARE OUT!  BIOMECHANICS NERDS ARE IN!  —  The other day I was talking baseball with a friend.  At first we were, lamely, comparing our fantasy teams.  This is something I never really enjoy.  How much can be said about how eye-popping A-Rod's stats are or how badly some guy in your league got fleeced in a trade?