Nationals place Zimmerman on DL  —  Team consulting several doctors about possible surgery  —  WASHINGTON — The Nationals placed third baseman Ryan Zimmerman on the 15-day disabled list on Monday because of a slightly torn labrum in his left shoulder and are expected to recall infielder/outfielder Kory Casto from Triple-A Columbus.

Source: Ortiz out at least a month  —  Season-ending wrist surgery a possibility  —  + Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email + Bio  —  If the Red Sox [team stats] are going to repeat as world champions this season and win their third title in five years, they may have to do it without David Ortiz [stats].

Pregame notes: Strick and Carson activated, Karstens to DL  —  The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees filled two open spots on their roster Monday, but also created a new hole. … The loss of Karstens and (unofficially) Giese leaves the Triple-A Yankees with a hard-to-figure rotation.

Usual suspects send Rox to 7th loss in row  —  Abysmal?  Let us count the ways  —  The Denver Post  —  CHICAGO — Only seven months ago, the Rockies were a source of civic pride.  Now, they have fans wanting to hide, closets shutting in unison across the region.

Daily Scoop (cont.)  —  Around the Majors  —  • The Rays may pass on Vanderbilt hitting sensation Pedro Alvarez, the consensus No. 1 player in the draft coming into the year and its best hitter, to take either Florida State catcher Buster Posey or Griffin (Ga.) High shortstop Tim Beckham with the No. 1 pick.

Notes: Agent says Hall wants to be traded  —  Infielder believes he should play every day  —  Bill Hall wants out.  —  Hall's agent, Terry Bross, said Monday that he believes it would be best for both the Milwaukee Brewers and his client if Hall is traded to another club where he could play regularly.

With three early picks, Mets have golden opportunity  —  NEW YORK — Forgive the Mets for thinking they're about to wake up in some alternate universe — or at least one that allows for instant makeovers.  The oldest team in the major leagues has three of the first 33 picks in the upcoming amateur draft …

What's wrong with Nick Swisher?  —  To say that Nick Swisher has been a disappointment this year would be quite an understatement.  After becoming a member of the Chicago White Sox via an offseason trade, Swisher is currently hitting .201/.330/.310 with four homers.  What's gone wrong?

Game 57: Yankees at Twins  —  YANKEES  —  Andy Pettitte (5-5, 4.11) vs. the Minnesota hitters.  —  Livan Hernandez (6-2, 4.60) vs. the New York hitters.  —  Notes: The Yankees are 3-3 on their road trip, which ends tonight. ...  Johnny Damon has hit in 10 straight at 19 of 44. ...

The man who would be king  —  TAMPA, Fla. — It's a warm, sun-drenched weekday morning outside D.W. Webb Middle School, in the inner-city Town ‘n’ Country neighborhood of Tampa.  Under a cloudless sky, Joe Molloy, a boulder of a man, bespectacled and clad in a gray Webb Middle School T-shirt …

Read: Q&A with Valentino Pascucci  —  Val Pascucci is hitting .288 with a 1.065 OPS since signing with the Mets and joining Triple-A New Orleans.  —  Pascucci has more home runs in 32 games with the Zephyrs than the total produced by Mets left fielders and first basemen in 2008.

Stanford Survives  —  We wrote on the College Blog earlier this weekend that Stanford was running out of fresh arms and would have to bash its way to a super-regional.  That's just what the Cardinal did in Monday's first do-or-die game, beating Pepperdine 9-7 behind two homers and five RBIs from center fielder Sean Ratliff.

SAL All-Star Rosters Announced  —  Rosters for the South Atlantic League's All-Star game have been announced.  The game will be played June 17 in Greensboro.  —  NORTHERN DIVISION  —  PITCHERS  —  PLAYER  —  POS  —  TEAM  —  ORGANIZATION  —  Ryan Miller  —  LHP  —  Lake County

Braves activate Smoltz off DL, stick him in 'pen … ATLANTA (AP) — John Smoltz returned to the Atlanta Braves as a reliever, hoping the role he had from 2001-04 will help him cope with an aching right shoulder and extend his career.  —  The 41-year-old Smoltz was activated before the start …

Manny Nation  —  Ramirez no longer just for Red Sox fans  —  + Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email + Bio  —  BALTIMORE - Kevin Millar remembers the old Manny Ramirez [stats].  The one who only let teammates and friends see what kind of person he really was.