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...

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 …

Joba, Yankee offense come up short  —  The key to beating Mariano Rivera, at least this season, is hoping he pitches in a non-save situation.  —  In a continuation of a bizarre trend that is the only blemish on his superb season, Rivera entered a tie game in the ninth inning Tuesday night …

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 …

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.

Hank calls out Yankees for ‘ridiculous’ hitting … TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Hank Steinbrenner wants the New York Yankees to flash their offense as they enter what could be a key point of their season.  —  “We've got to start hitting,” he said Wednesday.  “It's getting ridiculous.  They've got to start waking up.

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.

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.

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 …

Joe Buck Admits He Rarely Watches Sports And Doesn't Enjoy Baseball Anymore  —  I'm borderline furious this morning and not just because I have to mention Colin Cowherd.  Joe Buck was on ESPN Radio this morning, and you can't make this stuff up, said he doesn't enjoy Baseball anymore and chooses …

Drivers' Strike Stalls New York City Construction  —  Most of New York City's largest construction projects ground to a halt or near-halt on Tuesday because of an unanticipated strike by more than 400 cement-truck drivers.  —  With the bulky, noisy ready-mix concrete trucks largely disappearing …

All eyes will be on Pads' struggling Wolf  —  San Diego (33-52) at Colorado (33-51), Wednesday, 6:05 p.m. PT  —  DENVER — The Padres are no doubt anxious to see how left-handed pitcher Randy Wolf bounces back from his shortest start of the season when he takes the mound on Wednesday against the Colorado Rockies.