ISN'T IT GRAND!  —  ABREU BLAST, JOBA RELIEF LIFT YANKS  —  Where Joba Chamberlain can help the Yankees the most makes for good heated discussions and headlines.  —  Yet, if Chamberlain was the starter Hank Steinbrenner and a lot of Yankee fans believe he should be, the gas-throwing right-hander …

Rookie makes powerful impression  —  Every day you see this kid, you ask yourself, “Who is he?  Haven't I seen him before?”  —  His speed, his demeanor . . . is he Johnny Damon?  Maybe, but he has a better arm and he might have more speed.  —  When he hits home runs and plays a good center field and runs, is he Grady Sizemore?

Pujols admits his patience is wearing thin  —  MILWAUKEE — He made it through 21 games without stating the obvious.  But two late-inning plate appearances in Tuesday's 12-inning, 9-8 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers proved too much.  —  Albert Pujols admitted his patience is wearing thin.

Cedeno has grand finish to homestand  —  Ronny Cedeno learned a valuable lesson Monday night after coming up with a clutch two-out hit to help the Cubs beat the New York Mets at Wrigley Field.  —  Don't mention anything about the World Series in April, at least if you're a Cub.

Pedro can return to mound in 10-14 days  —  CHICAGO - The Mets finally have a rough timetable for Pedro Martinez's return.  Martinez, who strained his left hamstring April 1, was examined Monday by team orthopedist David Altchek and the prognosis is that he can return to the mound in 10 days to two weeks.

Defensive shakeup follows Tigers' rout  —  After victory, Leyland says Cabrera is moving to first base, Guillen to third.  —  DETROIT — The Tigers hit three bombs during Tuesday night's 10-2 victory over the Rangers, but announced a bigger one after it.  —  In a major positional switch …

Wrapping up at Wrigley  —  Here's the unhappy recap from a brutal showing at Wrigley Field, where the Mets lost to the Cubs, 8-1, to get swept in a two-game series.  —  • Carlos Delgado had the worst play, costing Nelson Figueroa during what was otherwise another solid outing by the journeyman.

Sources: A's showing interest in signing Thomas … Frank Thomas finished fourth in the MVP balloting with the Oakland Athletics two seasons ago, and sources say the Athletics will have a discussion about whether to sign Thomas in the next 48 hours now that he's been cut by the Toronto Blue Jays.

You can't put a price on leadership  —  The game of baseball sure has changed.  —  It's not everyday that you release the guy that lead your team in homers and RBIs the season before, but the Jays did.  I guess it's like the old Janet Jackson song, “What have you done for me lately?”

One win from 10,000, Cubs fly to Denver  —  Chicago (14-6) at Colorado (9-11), Wednesday, 7:35 p.m. CT  —  CHICAGO — The Cubs are on the verge of becoming only the second team in Major League history to win 10,000 games.  They enter their two-game series against the Colorado Rockies with 9,999 wins.

Canseco meets with federal investigators  —  LOS ANGELES (AP)—Jose Canseco reaffirmed Tuesday that Roger Clemens did not attend a party at his house that has become a focal point of a federal investigation.  —  Canseco was interviewed by federal agents and answered a series of questions …

Jones out of Dodgers' lineup  —  Center fielder under the weather, rests against Reds  —  CINCINNATI — Dodgers manager Joe Torre kept alive his streak this year of never repeating a lineup by sitting struggling center fielder Andruw Jones for Tuesday night's game with the Reds.