Bombers, Rays renew spike wars  —  It's been three weeks since Shelley Duncan's now infamous “spikes high” slide into Tampa Bay second baseman Akinori Iwamura - a play that actually led to a bench-clearing near-brawl during a spring training game between the Yanks and Rays.

Hampton placed on disabled list  —  Strained left pectoral muscle to sideline southpaw for 15 days  —  ATLANTA — While there have been times when it seemed Mike Hampton's injury woes couldn't get any worse or more unbelievable, history continues to prove nothing is impossible when it comes to Hampton and his health.

Blue Jays sign Rios for six, Hill for four  —  Rios' contract worth $64 million; Hill's includes three options  —  TORONTO — Timing is everything.  —  On Friday, when the Blue Jays arrived back at Rogers Centre for their home opener against the Red Sox, Toronto announced …

WAIVING HAS GOTAY STEAMING  —  Add Ruben Gotay to the list of ex-Mets vowing revenge against their former team.  —  Like Lastings Milledge and Paul Lo Duca earlier this spring, Gotay is angry with the Mets for giving up on him without what he considers a reasonable explanation.

Colon comes up aces in Pawtucket opener  —  PAWTUCKET, R.I. - Bartolo Colon made it clear he doesn't want to stay in Pawtucket long.  And if he continues to pitch the way he did last night, he won't have to.  —  Colon pitched five scoreless innings, striking out five and allowing one hit and one walk …

JOBA GOES BLAND OVER FIST, FOR ONE NIGHT  —  As Alex Rios' fly ball settled in Bobby Abreu's glove to end the eighth inning last night, there were no fist pumps, no twirls, no screams.  Yankees star Joba Chamberlain simply took his glove off and walked off the field with his head down.

El Duque may fill in for Pedro  —  ATLANTA - Mets officials believe Pedro Martinez's injury really is a mild strain that will sideline him only until mid-May, so they're not inclined to seek any outside pitching help now.  Assuming Orlando Hernandez progresses well during a minor-league rehab assignment …

Giambi Tries to Reverse the Irreversible  —  Joe Girardi's decision to use Jason Giambi as his regular first baseman was anything but a no-brainer.  Certainly, Giambi's recent history argued against it.  —  Giambi is hoping that a doctor's diagnosis and his first-ever winter that included running …

It's time for sincere apologies to Bartman  —  I wonder if anyone might be able to clear up something for me:  —  How does Steve Bartman go about retrieving the last 41/2 years of his life?  How does he rewind the tape and then start erasing the scenes in which news helicopters are flying …

Friday Ten Pack  —  Without question, this is a difficult situation.  Barfield hasn't played in the minors since 2005.  After an impressive .280/.318/.423 showing during his rookie campaign with San Diego, Barfield collapsed last year to .243/.270/.324 after a trade to Cleveland …

An omen?  Hawk attacks girl with a familiar-sounding name at Fenway  —  A certain New York Yankee slugger should beware: A 13-year-old taking a tour of Fenway Park today was attacked by a red-tailed hawk that swooped off its nest, drawing blood from the girl's scalp.  —  Her name: Alexa Rodriguez.

Picking Apart the Draft 2000-2004  —  There is a perception among baseball fans that the first round of the June Amateur Draft is foolproof - or that it should be foolproof.  In a series of upcoming articles I am going to take a look at just how successful teams have been drafting …

Minaya in no hurry to go outside for rotation help  —  For now, Mets general manager Omar Minaya, left, seems to content to rely on his current starting rotation, which includes newly acquired ace Johan Santana, right.  (Newsday / David L. Pokress)  —  ATLANTA - General manager Omar Minaya …

Bill James thinks steroids fueled the Twins' two championships  —  Last night I was reading The Bill James Gold Mine 2008, enjoying the section on Atypical Seasons, which of course talked in great detail about Norm Cash (1961) and Darrin Erstad (2004), who overachieved more than anyone relative to their career numbers.

Touring the Bases with...Rob Neyer  —  Matt Sisson recently sat down with Rob Neyer, ESPN columnist and author of the new book Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Legends, to talk baseball.  —  (Matt Sisson) Rob, you have sort of a famed and unorthodox history in your evolution as a baseball writer.