Hamstring strain sends Pedro to DL  —  Injured in '08 debut, Mets righty likely out until at least early May  —  MIAMI — The right one is a size 11 high top; the left one is the same size but a traditional low cut.  And only the high top has been modified to alleviate stress in the large toe.

Bannister leads Royals over Tigers 4-0  —  DETROIT - Brian Bannister and the Kansas City Royals are off to a quick start.  —  Bannister allowed two singles in seven innings, combining on a three-hitter Wednesday in a 4-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers.  —  Kansas City is 2-0 for the second time in 28 years.

‘Suspended’ Cabrera steals show  —  By all rights, the star of last night's game for the Yankees, centre fielder Melky Cabrera, wasn't supposed to be playing.  But he has appealed his three-game suspension.  Contributing spectacular back-to-back catches off Lyle Overbay and Aaron Hill …

Don Drysdale Scouting Report by Branch Rickey  —  Branch Rickey scouting report on RHP Don Drysdale, from June 15, 1954  —  It is incredible what you can find in the Library of Congress.  While making a quick search on another topic this morning (see Roundup - Wednesday) …

WB: Clemente vs. Kaline  —  First impressions  —  I feel confident that most people would say Clemente was better than Kaline.  “Not to take anything away from Kaline,” says a friend of mine, “but Roberto Clemente was the best player I ever saw.”  I'm guessing entirely …

Andino fine after hectic, heroic night  —  Robbery try occurs shortly after hitting winning home run  —  MIAMI — Everything was back to normal on Wednesday afternoon for Robert Andino after a heroic and hectic night.  —  In the 10th inning on Tuesday, Andino experienced the high of delivering …

Heady baserunning helps Dodgers win  —  Furcal drives in two runs, dashes home with game-decider  —  LOS ANGELES — Derek Lowe got knocked out, Larry Bowa got thrown out, but the Dodgers managed to pull out a 3-2 win over the Giants anyway with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning Tuesday night.

Berkman's 3-run HR in 9th lifts Astros  —  SAN DIEGO (AP)—The Houston Astros were one strike away from opening the season with three straight losses, then inches away.  —  They managed to stick around long enough for Lance Berkman to hit a three-run homer off Trevor Hoffman in the ninth inning …

New Ernie Banks statue needs an apostrophe  —  Shocking: The Cubs unveiled a new Ernie Banks statue on Monday and its biggest initial problem didn't come in being a magnet for pigeon poop.  Instead, there was a missing apostrophe in Mr. Cub's most famous saying, which caused a bit of a stir in Chicago on Tuesday.

Farewell to the Chief?  —  WASHINGTON (Map, News) - If baseball experts are right, the Nationals won't have to worry about the N.L. East race.  They won't be in it.  —  But the race that might interest them the most is in the A.L. Central.  Or, at least, that's the one that Chad Cordero might need to monitor.

Mussina pitches a new optimism  —  With Roger Clemens residing in steroids purgatory, Mike Mussina once again is the Yankees' oldest starting pitcher.  He certainly looked all of his 39 years during a wretched stretch late last season.  —  Much has been made about the Yanks' decision to give …

Aces up  —  Matsuzaka trumps Oakland  —  OAKLAND, Calif. - The homecoming dance was a disappointment.  —  “It's something I can only say in hindsight,” Daisuke Matsuzaka said last night, “but it would have been nice to pitch better in the Tokyo Dome than I did.”