MRI shows no damage in Strasburg's shoulder  —  An MRI revealed no damage in the shoulder of Nationals' star rookie pitcher Stephen Strasburg.  Washington will monitor him closely and see how he responds.  It's uncertain how long he'll be out.  —  Strasburg, the Nats rookie phenom …

Specialist gives Pedroia a wake-up call  —  Injured Red Sox second baseman scales back expectations  —  ANAHEIM — Dustin Pedroia's Tuesday visit to the office of renowned orthopedist Lewis Yocum was a bit sobering.  Any designs that Pedroia had of rushing himself back to the active roster …

Street diagnosed with abdominal contusion  —  Closer hit by liner during batting practice on Tuesday  —  DENVER — After some scary moments when he was hit in the lower right abdomen with a line drive during batting practice, Rockies closer Huston Street spent Tuesday night …

A very important article on fielding  —  Baseball Prospectus has published an article by Colin Wyers today that may be one of the most important pieces written about fielding measurement in the last decade.  The full piece is available only to BP subscribers, but let me briefly recap some of the topics Colin covers.

Mets must show they've learned from past mistakes  —  Mets on Twitter  —  We have seen this movie.  The Mets had a manager and GM holding on for their jobs.  They had played surprisingly well for about half the schedule, but as the trade deadline neared they began trending the wrong way.

Phillies could get Oswalt, keep Werth  —  Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since Aug. 2005.  He appears weekly on MLB on FOX.  Follow him on Twitter.  —  The Phillies are positioned to get Roy Oswalt — if they want him.

Mauer playing through all kinds of pain  —  is hurt.  He smiles through the pain because the unwritten part of a $184 million contract calls for grinning and bearing.  He refuses to talk about his injuries because to do so would be to admit they exist, and to do that would seem like an excuse …

Dan Uggla homers twice, but Josh Johnson's streak ends in Florida Marlins' 6-4 loss  —  In the Marlins' 6-3 loss to the Giants tonight, Josh Johnson wasn't at his best — but even then, he was still pretty darn good.  —  Johnson avoided the loss but he allowed three runs in seven innings …

Asking Price For Scott Downs  —  Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos has the best reliever available in Scott Downs, and he knows it.  Check out these asking prices for two months of Downs' services, courtesy of George A. King III of the New York Post: Joba Chamberlain or Jesus Montero from the Yankees …

Daily Rumble: Three who will get traded  —  As the chances of a Roy Oswalt deal by Saturday fade to black, we're going to do something revolutionary:  —  We're going to look at three players who, unless something changes, actually will get traded this week.  —  OK, so he isn't the most magical name on the Trade Deadline Marquee.

Okajima caught in culture clash  —  Red Sox reliever talks about lack of communication with media, teammates  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. — There's an easy way to refute the notion that Boston Red Sox reliever Hideki Okajima has no use for reporters: He's married to one.

Yankees pitcher A.J. Burnett says Coghlan's freak accident won't deter him from throwing pies  —  CLEVELAND - Celebrating has become dangerous in baseball, but don't expect A.J. Burnett to curb his pie throwing.  —  Florida's Chris Coghlan tore the meniscus in his left knee on Sunday …

Sox told Beckham he's staying put  —  CHICAGO — Not only will the White Sox not trade Gordon Beckham for Adam Dunn, he won't be moved for Prince Fielder or any other left-handed bat that could fill the team's greatest offensive need.  —  Beckham said before Tuesday's game that he was told …

Jocketty: Very good chance Reds won't make a trade before deadline  —  Walt Jocketty reiterated this morning that the while the rumor mill on trades is churning, very little is actually going on.  —  “Very quiet,” he said.  “We've have conversations with clubs.

Reds smack 19 hits, rough up Brewers  —  MILWAUKEE—Brandon Phillips, Joey Votto and Scott Rolen had four hits apiece and the Cincinnati Reds roughed up Milwaukee Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo in a 12-4 win Tuesday night to move into a tie for first in the NL Central.

MLB Opening Day 2011 to fall on Friday, April 1; season to end on a Wednesday  —  Major League Baseball, trying to avoid having long underwear as part of its players' postseason apparel, is planning to start the 2011 season in earnest on Friday, April 1 - three days earlier than the traditional Monday opener.