Baseball Looks to Create a Possible Portal to Cuba  —  Major League Baseball officials are quietly preparing to re-establish a relationship with Cuba if the United States lifts its trade embargo.  —  Fidel Castro, 80, has experienced serious health problems in recent years …

Pelfrey's Grip on His Rotation Spot Is Becoming Tenuous  —  The Mets have seen Mike Pelfrey dominate.  They have seen him pump fastballs past major league hitters and befuddle them with his sinker.  They have seen him turn over tough lineups.  They just have not seen him do it recently.

Patterson Doomed By Nats' Defense  —  Lack of Support Leads to Loss: Phillies 9, Nationals 3  —  One ball sailed to left field, where Robert Fick might have caught it but didn't.  The next hitter, predictably, followed with a home run, and an inning from which John Patterson might have escaped cost him two runs.

Pennants Added  —  In this year's Annual, I wrote an essay attempting to rank the most valuable pitchers of all time.  Though I devoted space to explaining his ranking, many people still complained that no rational person would rank Sandy Koufax as the 64th most valuable pitcher of all time, even if he did retire at 30.

04.25.2007 From the vault: The Decline of the Sports Guy  —  We originally posted this article in June 2006, but Bill Simmons is once again showing how little he knows about baseball.  If you are a fan of "Yah, dude!" baseball analysis, stick with Simmons.  If you're not, check …

From A-Rod to Big Z, how it all went wrong  —  Being a sports writer-type fella in this quick-reaction era means never having to say you're sorry.  Today's rant is tomorrow's yawn; even the dopiest preseason prediction ("Jim Thome will tweak his PCL by Earth Day") can be rationalized away with a quick …

Mets Fans Need Not Worry About Wright  —  David Wright has now played in 20 games this year, in which he's driven in four runs and hasn't hit a single home run.  Dating back to last year's All Star break, a period covering 87 games, he's hit six home runs and driven in 46 …

Washburn hurls three-hit shutout  —  Guillen, Johjima hit solo homers for game's only runs vs. A's  —  OAKLAND — Jarrod Washburn is usually happy sitting in the dugout in the later innings of one of his quality starts.  On Wednesday he wasn't about to watch anyone else finish what he started.

CASTRO HOPES TO CATCH ON  —  With the way he's playing, it's worth considering whether Ramon Castro could become the Mets' starting catcher next season if the team and free-agent-to-be Paul Lo Duca part ways.  —  Castro's in his third season as the Mets' backup, and this year he's hitting .353 …

Ten Things I Didn't Know Last Week  —  The third oldest major league stadium, where the parking stinks.  —  I was sitting around chatting with my brother the other day when he asked me a baseball trivia question: What's the fourth oldest major league stadium?

Prior's career in Chicago likely over  —  Prior's injuries, demeanor offset prodigious talent  —  The news that Mark Prior is out for 2007 after arthroscopic shoulder surgery leads many to believe he is baseball's most overpaid player, earning $3.575 million this year without throwing a pitch in the majors.

Bonds homers, Giants win seventh in row (AP)  —  LOS ANGELES (AP) — Barry Bonds hit his 741st career homer, a three-run shot in the first inning, Pedro Feliz had the go-ahead homer in the sixth and the San Francisco Giants beat Los Angeles 6-4 Wednesday night for their first seven-game winning streak in nearly three years.

Piazza moves to backup as A's activate Johnson  —  OAKLAND, Calif. — The Oakland Athletics activated first baseman Dan Johnson from the 15-day disabled list on Wednesday and optioned catcher Adam Melhuse to Triple-A Sacramento.  —  The move leaves designated hitter Mike Piazza as the backup to starting catcher Jason Kendall.

HE'S NO AVERAGE JOE  —  SIZZLING SMITH EARNS FIRST WIN  —  ONE year ago at this time Joe Smith was at Wright State, heading to Milwaukee for a big weekend series against the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.  —  "I'd be facing the old Panthers," Smith said last night.  How many people would be at that game?