Wang to remain in rotation for Yanks  —  Girardi confirms decision after watching righty's start on tape  —  NEW YORK — After review, Joe Girardi's ruling from the field stands.  Chien-Ming Wang will remain in the Yankees rotation.  —  Girardi caught a television re-broadcast …

Phillies' Ibanez lands on disabled list  —  Outfielder, slumping recently, sidelined by strained groin  —  PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies placed outfielder Raul Ibanez on the 15-day disabled list on Thursday morning with a strained left groin and recalled outfielder John Mayberry Jr. from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to take his place.

Red Sox Richer Yet For Having Penny  —  Red Sox starter Brad Penny, left, react after a great defensive play by third baseman Mike Lowell as they head to the dugout after the fifth inning of Wednesday night's game against the Marlins at Fenway Park.  At one time, Penny and Lowell were teammates on the Marlins.

Trade strategy for Nats?  —  With nearly 100 games to go in the season, the Washington Nationals' hope of anything but abject failure is already slim.  That's not just a present reality, though.  It's also a possible mandate for a trading strategy this summer.

On patience and Pedro  —  With the hitters market murky, low-risk Martinez makes sense  —  The Mets must get a bat right now, this instant.  No time to waste.  The trade deadline is 39 games away.  The Phillies will certainly have a 42-game lead by then if Omar Minaya does not act with the utmost urgency.

Rhodes, hero of '54 Series, dies  —  Dusty Rhodes, the incorrigible New York Giants free spirit who became the improbable hero of the 1954 World Series, died Wednesday in Las Vegas after a variety of illnesses, including diabetes and emphysema.  He was 82.  —  The Alabama-born Rhodes …

Lou Piniella looking at changes for struggling Chicago Cubs … CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs just fired their hitting coach, and now, more changes are waiting on deck.  —  Tired of watching his team flail away at the plate, manager Lou Piniella is ready to “make some tough decisions” …

It's Family Hour With A Kinder, Gentler Buzz Bissinger  —  Your Deadcast guest this week is Pulitzer Prize winner, author, and noted horsef**ker Buzz Bissinger, and he's still got some f-bombs in his pocket.  He was Artie Lange before Artie Lange was Artie Lange, you know.

The wonder years  —  The golden age of baseball?  It's not when you think.  —  ESPN The Magazine  —  This column appears in the June 29 issue of ESPN The Magazine.  —  We're going with a one-question mailbag this week, courtesy of Phil D. from Montclair, N.J.: “What was the purest baseball era, from a statistical perspective?”

Anxiety lands Willis on DL … ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Detroit Tigers have placed struggling left-hander Dontrelle Willis on the 15-day disabled list with an anxiety disorder.  —  The move happened Thursday before the Tigers' game in St. Louis.  The team plans to recall right-hander Alfredo Figaro …

Q&A: Paul DePodesta  —  I first met Paul DePodesta on May 13, 2005 at a Cal Poly-Long Beach State game at Blair Field in Long Beach.  Paul, who was in his second year as the General Manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, joined area scout Bobby Darwin in the row directly in front of me.

The top trade-bait nominees in major league baseball  —  Buyers should include the following players on their pre-deadline shopping lists  —  There are six weeks left until the trading deadline, and the shoppers are out there.  They're scribbling their lists.  They have their carts.

What can stat geeks tell us about what it takes to win on the links?  —  Tiger Woods is standing on the 18th green at Bay Hill, a golf resort in Orlando, Fla., owned by Arnold Palmer.  He's wearing a form-fitting red Nike shirt and a black baseball cap.  Widening his eyes …

BLS poll: Is Fisk or Rodriguez the best ‘Pudge’ in catcher history?  —  Who's your Pudge?  —  Baseball fans have enjoyed having a Pudge behind home plate in major league games for most of the past 40 years.  —  Classmates gave Carlton Fisk the nickname “Pudge” in grade school, long before Ivan Rodriguez