Zim blast christens Nat Park  —  WASHINGTON - Ryan Zimmerman raised a fist when he rounded first, then tossed away his helmet as he approached the plate and the mass of teammates waiting to celebrate his game-ending homer.  —  The kid sure knows how to throw a housewarming party.

Ethier wins left-field job  —  Pierre forced to bench after hitting just .169 this spring  —  LOS ANGELES — Andre Ethier won the Dodgers' starting left-field job from veteran Juan Pierre and will start Opening Day vs. the Giants on Monday, Los Angeles manager Joe Torre announced Sunday.

Confident Wang will start opener for Yankees  —  A hamstring injury prevented Chien-Ming Wang from traveling with the team to New York for Opening Day last year.  Today he'll have the honor of taking the mound against the Blue Jays on a historic day for the Yankees.

Marlins pump up volume, not payroll  —  It's opening day and here's the Marlins' best pitch:  —  Come for the party.  Stay for the baseball.  —  For a franchise caught in limbo, that's about the best it can do to get fans in the stands.  —  The Marlins, always a tough draw in fickle South Florida …

Ziegel: Remember to forget  —  MIAMI - Remember the Alamo, if that's your idea of a good time, but forget about the Mets' final 17 games last season.  The five-game losing streak, the next five-game losing streak, the seven-game lead that disappeared in a hurry, the 11 different Mets pitchers who lost games in September.

Bondy: Fear is factor for Creatures of habit  —  So this is it, the beginning of the end below the Utz potato chip sign.  If there is such a thing as life after Section 39, then the Bleacher Creatures don't really want to know about it, not yet.  —  There are at least 81 games left in the old cathedral, Yankee Stadium.

Orioles release Gibbons  —  Team responsible for paying $11.9 million left on outfielder's contract  —  The Orioles finalized their roster today, releasing veteran outfielder Jay Gibbons, who had been the second longest tenured member of the club.  —  With the move, the Orioles …

Phillies finalize Opening Day roster  —  Philadelphia enters regular season carrying 11 pitchers  —  LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa. — With no last-minute waiver claim or trade, the Phillies set their 25-man roster on Sunday in preparation for Monday's regular-season opener against the Nationals at Citizens Bank Park.

A Journey to Baseball's Alternate Universe  —  Ithaca, N.Y.  —  WITH the baseball season under way and the memory of scandal in the sport so fresh, many fans yearn for an earlier era, a time when mythology mingled with baseball.  The sport's most mythic achievement is Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak …

New Rays DH Cliff Floyd is serious about his bowling  —  photo CAPTION: (03/26/2008 St. Petersburg, FL) Cliff Floyd is an avid bowler with a 210 average and may go pro after baseball.  STORY SUMMARY: Cliff Floyd kicking back  —  Times]  —  ST. PETERSBURG — Veteran outfielder Cliff Floyd signed …

Report: BALCO founder working on tell-all book  —  Victor Conte will amp up the sports world once again — in a much different way, however.  —  According to the New York Daily News, the founder of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative is working on a tell-all book that he claims will spill the dirt on athletes and federal agents.