Manuel Is Trying to Get Martínez Back on Track  —  ST. LOUIS — Whenever possible, the Mets have given Pedro Martínez an extra day's rest.  Given a chance to do so this week, however, Manager Jerry Manuel declined.  —  Martínez is scheduled to start Wednesday night …

Madden: Yanks have same old problems  —  Even though George Steinbrenner has faded from view and silenced his old back-page bluster, it is safe to say the Yankees have lost none of The Boss' “Barnum” and remain the greatest show on Earth.  —  At least off the field.

Lies, Damned Lies  —  Flipping the Switch  —  It is rare in baseball to talk about team cohesion.  In contrast to the other major sports, there are relatively few interactions between players on the same club.  The pitcher stands out there on the mound all by himself and throws the ball …

LINE-DRIVE SCARE FOR DUANER  —  ST. LOUIS - Duaner Sanchez's star-crossed career flashed before his eyes last night.  —  The Met reliever, who missed nearly two full seasons after wrecking his right shoulder in a 2006 cab accident, said he relived that nightmare when he took a Yadier Molina liner off …

MADGE'S BASE BAWL  —  STUNG BY BUZZ OF COZY A-ROD VISITS  —  Now that's a squeeze play!  —  Madonna yesterday strongly denied reports that she and Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez have been cozying up at the unhappily married Material Mom's Upper West Side pad.

Enjoy, Padres Fans, Enjoy  —  Your Padres made a statement today.  —  Before noon eastern time, the Padres had locked up five of the top international prospects from around the globe for a total of nearly $5,000,000.  Those commas are in the proper places.  —  Let's allow that to sink in for a second...

Rockies report: Rays' interest in Fuentes increases  —  RAYS' INTEREST RATE  —  Tampa Bay's interest in left-handed reliever Brian Fuentes picked up in light of Rays closer Troy Percival returning to the disabled list after aggravating the left hamstring that originally forced him to the disabled list.

Dominican phenom Inoa agrees to deal with A's … ORLANDO, Fla. — Dominican prospect Michael Inoa has agreed to a minor league contract and a $4.25 million signing bonus with the Oakland Athletics, said the 16-year-old from Santo Domingo.  —  Inoa and his parents turned down more lucrative offers …

Postgame notes: Duncan in a sling  —  No surprise, Shelley Duncan had his arm in a sling and is scheduled to see a doctor on Wednesday.  Duncan said he believes he separated his shoulder, and he knew pretty quickly that something was wrong.  His catch was pretty remarkable …

Gillick's name popping up in Mariners' rumored future  —  SEATTLE — The supposition is that Mariners CEO Howard Lincoln and president Chuck Armstrong will name a permanent general manager to replace Bill Bavasi sometime between now and shortly after the season ends.  —  Unless, of course, they don't.

Cain's gem lifts Giants past Cubs  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Matt Cain had been thinking a lot about this outing and how much he needed to bounce back with a great start.  Then he went out and pitched one of his best games yet in 2008.  —  Cain struck out 10 in eight shutout innings …

We really need to work on this ‘grace in defeat’ thing  —  In light of the way tonight's 3-1 loss by the Red Sox to the Tampa Bay Rays went, perhaps this image captured during the telecast of the game sums up the frustration of Sox fans everywhere:  —  Yeah, that just about does it …