Pain, no gain, no Crain  —  The news got worse for the Twins after the Indians' six-run first, with a key reliever, righthanded setup man Jesse Crain, headed for the DL.  —  CLEVELAND - Ramon Ortiz might need fixing, but Jesse Crain has broken down.  —  Crain, a key righthanded setup man …

Lastings' latest bad rap  —  Foul mouth strikes out  —  Lastings Milledge's rap has gone from bad to worse.  —  Milledge, who ticked off Met teammates last season with his on and off-the-field antics, has taken poor judgment to a new level, performing on a rap song that would make Don Imus blush.

Cabrera's weight an issue as slump expands  —  · Fair or not, just about any fan criticism of the Marlins these days includes Miguel Cabrera's physique among the root problems.  —  Cabrera is in a slump?  Someone will say it's because he's fat.  He made an error at third?

'Big Unit' still has firepower  —  Johnson strikes out nine in his first win of season  —  Box score  —  At the age of 43 and coming off the second back surgery of his career, Randy Johnson might not be what he once was.  The Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander is still pretty darn good, though.

Notes: El Duque's return draws closer  —  Pitcher throws in simulated game, could be back in two weeks  —  NEW YORK — Thursday's Mets starter may remain missing in action, but the man originally penciled in for that slot is not.  —  Orlando Hernandez tossed 60 pitches in a simulated …

ESPN LIKELY TO AIR CLEMENS' CLASS-A START  —  ESPN confirmed rumors last night that it is planning to broadcast the Rocket's Class-A start with Tampa on Friday night, though the decision was not yet official late last night.  —  "We are in the process of discussions to try to showcase coverage …

Ruiz's ninth-inning HR lifts Phillies  —  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — For a rookie, Carlos Ruiz sure has the celebration part down perfect.  —  Ruiz hit a solo homer with two outs in the ninth inning to lift the Philadelphia Phillies over the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 on Tuesday night.

Sternberg's blind ambition tour hits town  —  I blame Orlando.  For Rocco Baldelli's hamstring.  For the ball hit over B.J. Upton's head.  For James Shields' pitch count.  —  Mostly, I blame Orlando for the stars in Stuart Sternberg's eyes.  —  He is a dreamer, your Devil Rays owner.

Staying in Seattle a 'touchy subject' for Ichiro Suzuki  —  The wafer-thin Japanese ballplayer with the bewildering swing and intriguing style possesses uncommon ardor, athletic integrity and intelligence.  As a bona fide baseball pioneer, he respects the national pastime as if he were an apple pie-and-mom American.

Speigner Set To Make First Career Start  —  Nationals pitcher Levale Speigner grew up in Thomasville, Ga., four hours south of Atlanta.  As a kid, a few times a year, he and his family made that drive to watch the Braves play.  He remembers when many of the team's mainstays — John Smoltz …

Mets Depth Charts  —  Shawn Green snapped a slump with a double and home run Tuesday.  —  Green was hitting .356 just over a week ago, but he had gone 1-for-18 before hitting his 11th double and adding his fifth homer tonight.  With a .324 BA and 20 RBI, it's been a very nice bounce back season for Green so far.

Stories of D-Backs' Callaspo, wife differ  —  A police document released Monday offered differing versions of alleged domestic-violence incidents involving Diamondbacks infielder Alberto Callaspo and his wife, a he-said, she-said report that depicts a violent and tumultuous home life.

Stats mean little in Spring Training  —  If you take a gander at the Spring Training statistics from any year, you'll find some interesting things.  —  The Nationals' Shawn HIll, for instance, has a 2.00 ERA after three starts.  So may we rightly surmise that Hill is destined for a Cy Young campaign?