Pelfrey vs. El Duque for Mets' fifth spot  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - Heading into today's showdown with Mike Pelfrey in Fort Lauderdale for the No. 5 spot in the rotation, the Mets insist publicly that the job belongs to Orlando Hernandez.  —  With one important caveat, however.

The Great Yankee Variable: Pitching  —  The dust has cleared on the New York Yankees' spring, and the many unresolved questions at the beginning of the pre-season about their pitching are... still unresolved.  —  The already fragile coalition that makes up the starting rotation may be splintering.

JOE'S REUNION  —  DESPITE FIRING, GIRARDI ‘EXCITED’ TO FACE MARLINS  —  Dumped by the ugly duckling less than two years ago, Joe Girardi returns to Dolphin Stadium tonight with the prom queen on his arm.  —  Despite keeping the young Marlins in the wild-card chase into the final month …

Y! experts peer into a crystal baseball  —  Will the Boston Red Sox repeat as champions, or will the New York Yankees punch back?  Which team among the American League newly rich - the Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Angels and Seattle Mariners - will make the strongest push?

Tim Kurkjian and Buster Olney Are Optimistic  —  After thrilling us with their AL predictions yesterday, ESPN released their NL team capsules today.  They're all linked from the MLB Index (although the Rockies' link is broken; their preview is here).  I don't really care about the actual previews at all …

Yankees' Hideki Matsui gets married  —  Hideki Matsui shows a sketch of his new wife during a press conference at a hotel Thursday in Tampa.  (The Associated Press/Kyodo News / March 27, 2008)  —  TAMPA, Fla. - Hideki Matsui, whose every move is watched closely by the Japanese media …

Rolen may be sidelined six weeks  —  Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Scott Rolen said yesterday his broken right middle finger could sideline him for six weeks.  —  Acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals in an offseason trade, Rolen was injured when he was hit on the hand by a ball during …

New scoreboard gives Oriole Park a bit of ‘rebirth’  —  Demonstration of $5 million stadium project goes well  —  The precisely manicured green grass at Oriole Park leads the eyes to the outfield seats and up to the scoreboard.  —  The board, with its big clock on top …

What's in a Name?  —  On Baseball and the Reds doesn't like the term sabermetrics. … I used to work for a company call Dragon Systems, Inc. The name came from the owner's hobby of collecting Chinese Dragons.  You can see the logo here.  The company built the best speech recognition software available …

As hinted at last week, I've joined the staff at MinnPost, where my byline will appear in the sports section alongside the likes of former Minneapolis Star Tribune reporters Steve Aschburner and Jay Weiner, former City Pages editor G.R. Anderson, and frequent New York Times contributor Pat Borzi.

ACE OF ACES  —  The Mets acquired Johan Santana in a six-player trade with the Twins on Feb. 2 and cemented the deal by signing him to a six-year, $137.5-million contract.  Santana, a two-time Cy Young Award winner at the age of 29, is considered the best pitcher on the planet.

Pitcher Injury Risk Assessment: Pavano and More  —  Our scouting and consulting division, The Baseline Group, has created a process for projecting injuries and surgeries for major league pitchers.  The process is centered on the theory of Proper Pitching Mechanics, or PPM …

No setbacks for Pettitte during bullpen session  —  TAMPA, Fla. - Andy Pettitte, who was hampered by back spasms for a few days, had no setbacks after throwing a bullpen session Wednesday.  —  Pettitte, who originally was scheduled to start the Yankees' second regular-season game …

Is Joe Torre Worth the Money?  —  L.A. Gave Him $13 Million, But Stats Guys Are Dubious; His Problem With Pitchers  —  Frustrated by finishing fourth last season, tired of being the second-best team in town, the Los Angeles Dodgers made a major move last fall.