Baseball 2009: Seven minutes that changed the franchise  —  The Jason Bay trade, handled in a cool, calculating way by the Pirates' management, has taken time to simmer with those on the field  —  BRADENTON, Fla. — The ball had burst off Nate McLouth's bat, followed by what McLouth later described as …

Say it ain't snow!  White Sox opener postponed  —  CHICAGO (AP) — The season opener between the Kansas City Royals and Chicago White Sox scheduled for Monday has been postponed because snow is in the forecast.  —  The game will be played Tuesday at 1:05 p.m. Opening day festivities will be held before the first pitch.

Pena edges Berroa for 25th roster spot  —  Yanks infielder's impressive spring earns him utility job  —  NEW YORK — The Yankees finalized their Opening Day roster on Saturday, selecting infielder Ramiro Pena as the club's 25th man over former American League Rookie of the Year Angel Berroa.

Report: Alex Rodriguez could be back with New York Yankees before April's out  —  Alex Rodriguez's progress in rehab after hip surgery is going so well that he could rejoin the New York Yankees by the end of April.  —  Rodriguez  —  When Rodriguez underwent hip surgery on March 9 …

Tampa Bay Rays' Hammel traded to Rockies; Niemann fifth starter  —  After the long wait, RHPs Jason Hammel and Jeff Niemann finally have closure.  —  Hammel said he has been traded to the Rockies and Niemann was told he'll be the Rays fifth starter.  —  Hammel, 26, said he received word of the trade from the Rays Sunday afternoon.

Evans sent to Buffalo  —  As expected, the Mets sent prospect Nick Evans to Triple-A Buffalo this afternoon to make room for Gary Sheffield on the Opening Day roster.  The Mets will have to make another roster move by Saturday, April 11, to create a spot for fifth starter Livan Hernandez.

The Top Ten  —  Here is the first installment (#30-21), and here is the second (#21-11).  —  Teams are ranked by record, primarily a function of runs scored and runs allowed, which are what I spent the last week calculating.  I've made an occasional manual change to account for particularly strong …

Leaps for three prospects  —  Catcher Wilin Rosario and center fielder Charlie Blackmon at high Class A Modesto and third baseman Darin Holcomb at Double-A Tulsa will jump at least one level to begin the season.  —  Rosario, 20, spent the past two years at Rookie Casper where last season …

McDonald named Dodgers' fifth starter  —  Weaver among six players assigned to Triple-A Albuquerque  —  LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers trimmed their roster from 36 to 30 on Saturday night and manager Joe Torre named James McDonald the team's fifth starter.  —  The Dodgers sent shortstop Chin-lung Hu …

Sheffield in great mood, but it will get tougher  —  Gary Sheffield coasted through his first official act as a Met during yesterday's news conference at Citi Field.  He joked.  He smiled.  For a guy with a reputation as a team-wrecker, Sheffield was on his best behavior, and he fielded every question cleanly.

Cubs release Chad Gaudin  —  To make their Opening Day 25-man roster, the Cubs released veteran reliever Chad Gaudin and optioned Jeff Samardzija to Triple A Iowa, which clears spots for Angel Guzman and David Patton in the bullpen.  —  The release of Gaudin will cost the Cubs about $1.6 million once he is picked up by another team.