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.

Rockies hang on to beat Rays  —  With 13 wins in their past 14 games, Rox move back even  —  A .500 record never felt so good.  —  By defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 this afternoon at Coors Field, the streaking Rockies improved to 33-33, squaring their record for the first time since Tax Day.

Mark Loretta comes through again in a pinch for the Dodgers  —  He drives in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning after Randy Wolf pitches six solid innings and Orlando Hudson homers.  —  Orlando Hudson homered, pinch-hitter Mark Loretta drove in the go-ahead run and the Dodgers beat …

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” …

Tigers Bench Magglio Ordonez Indefinitely  —  News comes from Tom Gage of the Detroit News that the Tigers are benching Magglio Ordonez indefinitely.  —  Ordonez hasn't been terrible with the average or plate discipline, but his power has disappeared.  His season line is .273/.347/.343 …

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.

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?”

Enjoy it for what it's worth  —  It's been real interesting in the last couple years as I've watched how the importance of statistics has taken over how to analyze a baseball game.  I used to play for an old time manager named DIck Williams who used to tell me, “The situation will dictate what happens.”

Washington Nationals beat New York Yankees, 3-0, to win series … NEW YORK — The Yankees waited over five hours for this?  —  After one of the longest rain delays in Major League Baseball history, the Washington Nationals defeated the Yankees, 3-0, for their first winning streak in over a month.

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.

Gardner carted off after wall collision  —  Yankees center fielder makes great catch before injury  —  NEW YORK — Yankees center fielder Brett Gardner was injured after colliding with the outfield wall while chasing down a deep fly ball Thursday at Yankee Stadium, leaving the field on a motorized cart.

Manny Ramirez now set to begin minor league assignment Tuesday  —  The suspended outfielder will play in a four-game series in Albuquerque first and then head to Class-A Inland Empire.  He is eligible to return July 3.  —  Manny Ramirez is tentatively scheduled to return to the field …

Bradley's Buzz: Glavine tells WAGA he won't pitch in 2009  —  Tom Glavine informed Buck Lanford of Fox 5 Atlanta on Thursday he won't pitch in 2009.  Via text message, Glavine wrote: “I'm not going to pitch or do anything in baseball until at least next year.”

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

Huff's RBI single off K-Rod in ninth lifts Orioles over Mets  —  BALTIMORE (AP) — Aubrey Huff drove in the winning run with a ninth-inning single off Francisco Rodriguez, capping a two-run rally that carried the Baltimore Orioles past the New York Mets 5-4 Thursday night.