Yankees place Hughes on 15-day DL  —  Team announces right-hander has strained right oblique  —  NEW YORK — The way Phil Hughes had been pitching of late, the Yankees' right-hander was likely to find himself back in the Minor Leagues for a refresher course.

Forgettable day for Perez against Bucs  —  Defensive lapses and starter's wildness cost Mets in finale  —  NEW YORK — It all begins with pitching, they say.  And sometimes, it ends there, too.  Any chance the Mets had of beating the last-place Pirates in the second game of their abbreviated …

Yankees' Bruney chooses rehab instead of surgery  —  Brian Bruney has decided to try to rehab the torn Lisfranc ligament in his right foot without surgery.  Bruney was examined by three doctors.  They gave him the option of having surgery on the foot or hoping it heals through wearing a boot for the next month or so and resting it.

Mum Cuban sits with Trib execs at Wrigley  —  News flash: Mark Cuban didn't want to talk during his visit to Wrigley Field on Wednesday.  Talk about trying to win over Major League Baseball.  —  “I'm here as a Cubs fan,” Cuban said, waving off a group of reporters as he took his front-row seat …

Texas Rangers' rotation in mound of trouble  —  egrant@dallasnews.com  —  ARLINGTON - Pretty soon, the Texas Rangers might have two starting rotations.  One on the active roster and one on the disabled list.  —  The list of pitchers on the DL will grow to three by this weekend …

Wag and the dogs  —  Or at least that's how the outspoken Mets' closer viewed yesterday's awful 13-1 blasting by the Pirates.  Billy Wagner seems to be channeling Cliff Floyd, circa 2004, when Floyd kept irritating the front office with comments like, “There ain't no light at the end of the tunnel.”

Roger Clemens linked to John Daly's ex  —  For Roger Clemens, the hits just keep on coming.  —  Several sources told the Daily News Wednesday that Clemens had a relationship with Paulette Dean Daly, a former wife of champion golfer John Daly.  —  The sources said Clemens, a married father of four …

Bissinger Vs. Leitch  —  So, here's the video of last night's “Internet Media” segment from Costas Now.  Enjoy.

Inside Pitch: Whither Griffey and Dunn?  —  With solid core of youngsters, Reds may deal veteran sluggers  —  A few teams are having their scouts keep an eye on Cincinnati in case the Reds decide to shop Adam Dunn and/or Ken Griffey Jr. before the July 31 trade deadline.

Smoltz: 'I'm coming back as a reliever'  —  Right-hander believes he is best suited to come out of the 'pen  —  WASHINGTON — While others might be currently speculating, there's no doubt in John Smoltz's mind about what he'll be doing when he comes off the disabled list.

Designated hitter spot producing little for Angels  —  Anderson, Guerrero and Matthews all struggling in the role.  —  The Angels are having rotation problems.  No, not that rotation.  —  The plan to rotate three players through the corner outfield and designated hitter spots …

Olsen dealt first loss for Marlins  —  Lefty surrenders four runs against streaking Dodgers  —  MIAMI — Two constants in the Marlins' early success have been Scott Olsen and the bullpen.  So the law of averages suggested both were due for an off-night.  —  Collectively, it came on Wednesday.

Wright can do no wrong in fans' eyes  —  He could get his uniform soiled.  He could refuse to bathe for a week.  He could join the construction crew next door, where the new stadium is going up, and collect more filth than ground balls.  He could do all of that, and David Wright still would be viewed one way by the fans: clean.

Sternberg satisfied with Rays' progress  —  Principal owner so far has no complaints with team's fast start  —  BALTIMORE — Stuart Sternberg took the train from New York to Baltimore on Wednesday, opting to wait to show until after his club's winning streak had ended.