A-Rod's rehab plan takes shape  —  If you're one of the many people (based on the e-mails) hoping Alex Rodriguez will play a rehab game or two at Trenton or Scranton, you're probably out of luck.  —  The tentative plan for A-Rod is to fly to Tampa on Thursday and pick up the pace of the workouts at the team complex over the weekend.

Buzz: OP, Five Years, $60 Million  —  Scott Boras was at Dodger Stadium yesterday, watching several of his clients, including Mike Pelfrey and Oliver Perez, who can be a free agent following this season..  —  According to John Delcos in the Journal News, citing 'speculation …

Mets anticipating Castillo surge  —  New York (16-15) at Los Angeles (19-14), Wed., 3:10 p.m. ET  —  LOS ANGELES — Luis Castillo entered this season having amassed 1,720 at-bats in the second spot of the lineup.  Ryan Church entered the year having hit there only 40 times.

Texas Rangers ' Broussard losing time at first  —  egrant@dallasnews.com  —  SEATTLE - The descent for Ben Broussard has taken only five weeks.  He's gone from everyday first baseman to a platoon and now to the bench.  —  The only step left might be a ticket out of the Rangers organization.

Tonight's The Night  —  It's Time.  —  Way back in October 2004, I started writing the blog, not really knowing what to expect, and certainly not expecting that it would get to be as big (relatively speaking) as it is, nor would it have given me some of the opportunities it has.

Kennedy/Chamberlain  —  Joba Chamberlain got beaten badly for the first time at Yankee Stadium, giving up a three-run homer to the Indians' David Dellucci.  —  Fellow rookie Ian Kennedy, on the other hand, pitched terrifically at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Teixeira's gamble should lead to big payday … Lately, the overwhelming trend for young stars has been to sign early in their careers, to take the money and stay, so to speak.  —  That's what makes Braves first baseman Mark Teixeira such a rare breed.  Incidentally, rare breeds don't come cheap these days.

Nardi speaks, we all listen  —  Talked to Nardi Contreras after the game, which means I briefly discussed a lot of pitchers.  —  Left yesterday's game because of a blister.  —  Throwing batting practice, facing live hitters.  “Might get in a game next week,” Contreras said.  —  Humberto Sanchez

Hopefully, Joba learned rules  —  It makes sense, if you think about it.  If Joba Chamberlain celebrates strikeouts with a fist pump, serving up a day's work for Mike and the Mad Dog in the process, then there's symmetry to his reaction last night.  —  We've just never seen Joba in such a setting before.

Teixiera headed for a big payday (cont.)  —  In the Tex mix  —  1. Yankees.  No shot the Yankees bring back Giambi and his .150 batting average for $26 million nest year.  The $5-million buyout will be the best money they've ever spent.  The Yankees are believed to be interested in Teixeira …

Ellis homers in 10th, A's sweep Orioles  —  OAKLAND, Calif. (AP)—Mark Ellis broke out of his offensive funk in a big way.  —  Ellis hit the first game-ending home run of his career with two outs in the 10th inning, lifting the Oakland Athletics to a 6-5 victory over the Baltimore Orioles …

How the heck is the NL outscoring the AL?  —  This has been an upside-down start to the 2008 season.  A second baseman is leading the majors in home runs, the Rays are ahead of the Yankees in the AL East standings, and the Tigers seem to be reverting to their pre-2006 form.

Homecoming for Hinske in Toronto  —  Tampa Bay (17-15) at Toronto (16-18), Weds., 7:07 p.m. ET  —  TORONTO — Playing in the Rogers Centre is something that Eric Hinske is very familiar with, as the Rays utility man was a member of the Blue Jays organization for the first five years of his career.

Watson: Rocket not welcome on Olympic squad … NEW YORK (AP) — Roger Clemens isn't welcome on the U.S. Olympic baseball team.  —  U.S. general manager Bob Watson said Wednesday that he isn't considering the 45-year-old right-hander for his roster for the Beijing Games.

Longtime O's groundskeeper Santarone dies at 79  —  He maintained Memorial Stadium field from 1969-1991  —  Pat Santarone served as the head groundskeeper at Memorial Stadium from 1969-1991.  (Photo courtesy of the Orioles)  —  Longtime Memorial Stadium groundskeeper Pat Santarone died yesterday …

Unlike Most at 28, Wang Is Evolving as a Pitcher  —  It's easy to forget how young Chien-Ming Wang is in baseball years.  Most 28-year-olds who have enjoyed anything like the kind of success he has — he won 19 games in each of his first two full seasons with the Yankees …

Question: What do you Want?  —  What's amazing to me is that if the Mets win this afternoon, they will have gone 3-3 on a West Coast road trip against the two hottest teams in the National League, all while being three games over .500 and an inch from first place all with roughly 80 percent of the season left to be played.

Gaudin going to pen to make room for Harden … OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Chad Gaudin is moving from the Oakland Athletics' rotation to the bullpen, where he's spent most of his previous five major league seasons.  —  The A's need to make room for the return of right-handed starter Rich Harden …