A-Rod: 'I want to stay ... no matter what'  —  Alex Rodriguez is hitting .400 and told reporters he and his family love living in New York.  —  kat.obrien@newsday.com  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Alex Rodriguez has said he loves New York before.  He even has said he wants to remain a Yankee before.

Notes: Cabrera anchoring improved 'D'  —  Angels showing impressive strides in the field this season  —  ANAHEIM — An Angels defense that unraveled in the first half last season has held together nicely, thanks to a few home improvements and a renewed commitment reflected in the steely eyes of shortstop Orlando Cabrera, the anchor.

Mets top Rockies in 12 on Chavez's bunt (AP)  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Pinch-hitter Damion Easley hit a tying homer with two outs in the 10th inning and Endy Chavez drove in the winning run with a beautiful bunt single in the 12th, giving the New York Mets a 2-1 victory Tuesday night over the Colorado Rockies.

David Halberstam, 73, Reporter and Author, Dies  —  David Halberstam, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and tireless author of books on topics as varied as America's military failings in Vietnam, the deaths of firefighters at the World Trade Center and the high-pressure world of professional basketball …

Is there clutch?  Or is it the reverse?  —  Pirates' view varied on whether hitting changes in tight situations  —  Last season, Freddy Sanchez hit .386 with runners in scoring position.  Only the Cardinals' Albert Pujols' .397 mark was higher in the league.

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.

Notes: Disabled list filling up fast  —  Swisher leaves with a hamstring injury in the first inning  —  BALTIMORE — The A's used the disabled list 15 times in 2006, and they could have used it quite a bit more often.  —  Third baseman Eric Chavez spent the whole year battling a variety …

Twins LHP Santana loses again at home (AP)  —  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Johan Santana has a new streak at the Metrodome.  —  Santana lost his second straight home start and Fausto Carmona got a long-awaited win in Cleveland's 5-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night.

Franco marks 25th anniversary of debut  —  Ageless wonder singled in first at-bat with Phillies  —  NEW YORK — Twenty-five years has its way of blurring memories.  So it is with Julio Franco, who, on the silver anniversary of his big-league debut, can't dig out details of the night that became the intro to an epic.

Best in the biz  —  Ranking the top managers in the game; A-Rod update  —  The news last week that Braves manager Bobby Cox received a one-year extension shouldn't surprise anyone.  He deserved it, and he should be allowed to decide when he goes out, if ever.

Lesson from Oakland: Patience pays off  —  The best manager the Rangers ever had was also the most patient one.  —  If Johnny Oates could resist making a change, he would.  Players, he figured, would eventually be who they really are, and a poor two-week stretch or even a month would fade …

Talk about long shots  —  Odds are stacked against 4-HR feat  —  Compared with Sunday night's battle against the hated Yankees, last night's game with Toronto was a day at the beach for Daisuke Matsuzaka.  (JIM DAVIS/GLOBE STAFF)  —  The probability of four consecutive home runs?

For stoic Cordero, a case of lost control  —  MIAMI — Chad Cordero, as anyone who has watched the Washington Nationals' closer for the last two years knows, rarely shows emotion on the mound.  The right-hander's nondescript stare has become legendary, evidence of his ability not to be fazed …