Swisher homers twice to help Yankees hold off Tigers  —  DETROIT (AP) — The New York Yankees might've found their groove in the Motor City.  —  Nick Swisher hit two homers and Joba Chamberlain gave up a run in seven innings, leading the New York Yankees to an 8-6 win over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday night.

Game 21: Yankees at Tigers (with A-Rod rehab updates)  —  YANKEES (10-10)  —  Pitching: RHP Joba Chamberlain (0-0, 3.94).  —  Chamberlain vs. the Detroit hitters.  —  TIGERS (11-9)  —  Granderson CF  —  Polanco 2B  —  Ordonez RF  —  Cabrera 1B  —  Guillen DH  —  Laird C  —  Inge 3B

‘Cincinnati, YOU have a problem’  —  As Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker talked to the media after Tuesday's 8-3 loss to the Houston Astros, a member of the media relations department laid a copy of the stat pack on his desk - a box score, play-by-play and up-to-date statistics.

Padres CEO Moorad chats with fans  —  Executive wants to keep Peavy, Gonzalez for years to come … 23gonzalez: Is there any chance that like in 2010 we can give Adrian Gonzalez a long-term deal, say like 5,6 years?  —  j_moorad: Why wait until 2010?  —  Kaybee: How do you think the Padres will do this year?

Strasburg's price tag doesn't turn off future (?) teammates  —  Miller: Stuff of legend  —  Yeah, they've heard of him.  Of course they've heard of him.  —  Stephen Strasburg?  Yeah, of course the Nationals know who he is.  —  “I know he throws a billion,” Adam Dunn said.

Smoltz setback not considered serious  —  CLEVELAND - John Smoltz has been shut down for what looks like a “10-14” day period according to a team source.  —  The veteran righthander was backed off from throwing late last week and then was scheduled to throw batting practice on Thursday, but that was scratched.

Carlos Quentin, Jermaine Dye HRs lead White Sox past Mariners  —  CHICAGO — Slumping Carlos Quentin and Jermaine Dye hit consecutive home runs in the seventh inning Wednesday, leading the Chicago White Sox over the Seattle Mariners 6-3.  —  A.J. Pierzynski also homered as the White Sox …

No, Andre Ethier will not take a photo with you  —  The Dodgers held their on-field photo day for fans at Dodger Stadium last Saturday, and Andre Ethier was a reluctant participant.  —  He walked onto the field and made the rounds with fans who were separated from him by short fences.

Darryl Strawberry Was A Poor Man's Wilt Chamberlain  —  Darryl Strawberry was the most recognizable figure on the Mets 1986 World Series team.  That team is one of those special teams that will always be remembered in baseball history.  The fact they didn't win more than one World Series …

An April must-win game  —  Tonight's Giants-Dodgers contest is what I like to call a “bellwether game,” the most important of the year so far.  —  The Giants have been terrible for four years.  Two summers ago, they finally embarked on a serious rebuilding program and sold 2009 …

Uehara, O's fall to Angels  —  Orioles starter leaves game in 7th after getting hit in chest by a line drive  —  Torii Hunter and Kendry Morales hit back-to-back homers in the seventh inning off Koji Uehara to break a tie and push the Los Angeles Angels to a 3-2 victory over the Orioles and a two-game series sweep.

A's Nomar, Ellis on DL … ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Oakland Athletics put infielders Nomar Garciaparra and Mark Ellis on the 15-day disabled list with calf injuries before Wednesday night's game against the Texas Rangers.  —  Garciaparra went on the DL for the 13th time in his major league career.

Key battles hurt Jackson, bullpen  —  Tigers fall to Yanks on 10-run seventh that proves historic  —  DETROIT — Manager Jim Leyland has been in the game for more than 40 years.  This was a new one for him.  —  “I don't think I've ever seen that in my life,” Leyland said after the Tigers' 11-0 loss to the Yankees on Tuesday.

Opinion: I Don't Trust the Mets  —  Last night, David Wright had an RBI single, plus two more strike outs, yet is hitting .282 on the season with a .371 OBP.  —  Wright also made a ‘fielding error’ in the sixth, on a ball hit hard, that bounced off of his chest and in to the outfield, on which a run scored.

Cook back on top, shuts down Padres  —  With his sinker heavy as a cannonball and his pitch command precise for the first six innings, Aaron Cook returned to form Wednesday afternoon against the Padres.  —  Though Cook stumbled in the seventh, and reliever Matt Belisle got rocked in the eighth …

Small Sample Usefulness  —  Over the last decade or so, the main sabermetric truisms have been, in no particular order; we like hitters with plate discipline and power, bunting is bad, the modern day bullpen is inefficient, and don't make decisions based on small sample sizes.