Madden: Hank lights fire, threatens to burn bridges  —  You have to understand, it's not easy being Hank Steinbrenner, entrusted with restoring his dad's Yankees to their past glory, looking at the standings and seeing them wallowing around .500 while, of all people, those longstanding baseball doormats …

GM Jim Hendry confident Jim Edmonds will help Cubs  —  By taking a gamble that Jim Edmonds still can be a productive center fielder and hitter, Cubs general manager Jim Hendry knew he was inviting criticism from fans who have invested a lot of time loathing the former Cardinals star.

Mets' Schoeneweis rushed to hospital; OK now  —  Mets reliever Scott Schoeneweis spent the early part of yesterday in a Greenwich, Conn., hospital after waking up with searing abdominal pain and chills and calling an ambulance.  —  “I thought I was going to die,” Schoeneweis …

Marlins on pace to break records  —  Team could set franchise marks in runs scored and homers  —  CINCINNATI — Approximately a quarter of the season is completed, and at their current pace, the Marlins are headed to setting franchise records for runs scored and home runs.

Braun to sign record deal  —  The Milwaukee Brewers will announce this morning that leftfielder Ryan Braun has agreed to a seven-year contract extension that will be a record in terms of both length and money for the team and the industry.  —  The Brewers have called a 10 a.m. press conference …

Lackey sharp, but Angels fall to ChiSox  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP)—Carlos Quentin did what he does every day—checked the lineup card to see if he was playing.  This time, he was batting third for the first time this season.  —  Quentin made White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen look smart …

Report: Magowan to Step Down from Giants Friday  —  The San Francisco Giants will be holding a special ownership meeting on Friday, at which time, managing partner Peter Magowan will reportedly step down from the leading position within the organization.  —  As reported yesterday …

Rays, Kazmir agree on 3 years, $28.5M  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP)—Tampa Bay left-hander Scott Kazmir agreed Wednesday to a $28.5 million, three-year extension through 2011, a deal with a club option that could raise the contract's value to $39.5 million over four seasons.

Moises tossed into Bronx debut  —  The Mets waited patiently throughout April, knowing their chance to send injured-again outfielder Moises Alou up in late-game RBI situations eventually would arrive.  —  Alou's spot in the lineup came around with the tying runs on base in the eighth inning Wednesday night …

A-Rod will test quadriceps by running bases  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Alex Rodriguez is expected to run the bases at Tropicana Field before Thursday's game, in what could be the final test before playing in rehab games.  —  Rodriguez has been on the disabled list since April 30 with a right quadriceps strain.

If Ross gets hot, leadoff spot is his  —  CINCINNATI — It was Cody Ross' turn to take a stab in the leadoff spot Wednesday.  If Ross gets hot, manager Fredi Gonzalez said, he would remain atop the order.  —  Alfredo Amezaga has struggled in the role since Hanley Ramirez dropped to third.