He' s surmises officially listed recounts at 5- foot- 9 and 183 pounds, slightly heavier than Ichiro. The loose ball rolled toward the top of the key, where Toliver grabbed it and put up a 3- pointer. That string of increases ended with the recent announcement that there will be no change at Fenway Park in 2009 " We did not contemplate a reduction " Sam Kennedy, Boston' s executive vice president and chief sales and marketing officer, said at the time " We did contemplate an increase, but it' s fair to say this is the right thing to do given the realities of the economy " Boston' s average ticket price of$ 48 80 on Opening Day in 2008 was the highest in the majors. The Red Sox were struck by Baldelli' s persona and are optimistic he can be a significant contributor in 2009 Peter Gammons covers Major League Baseball for ESPN. Scott Eyre( 0- 1) took the loss for the Phillies, who had won three straight and eight of 10. That Orlando, Fla, compounding facility had been raided days earlier as part of a multiagency investigation into the online sale of steroids and other performance- enhancing drugs.

Losing the Williamses for any period of time would be a crushing hit to one of their strongest position groups, with unproven Fred Evans and Ellis Wyms currently listed as the backups . It' s a big hat, it' s huge, but it was nice of him to give it to me " Tavarez figured Braves manager Bobby Cox was responsible for the latest episode " Cox had to ask him, umpires don' t get bats or hats unless they' re asked to " Tavarez said " I' m not stupid, I' m not going to put pine tar or anything else on it Umpires can see, they' re not dumb . Then a question at his postgame news conference set him off following a 6- 5 loss to the Cincinnati Reds . Thursday' s outcome was most improbable given that the Dodgers staked ace Chad Billingsley to a 4- 0 lead in the fifth inning as he attempted to become the NL' s first 10- game winner . Everybody usually has a traumatic injury over 162 games " Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said Thursday " This has kind of been Dusty' s forte, that when things are going badly we find a way to reach down and find a positive Maybe Damian will come and defensively play well. Jeter and Sheffield hit consecutive RBI singles, and Giambi pulled a two- run double down the line past drawn- in first baseman Travis Lee. He played Wednesday night even though the Giants have their home opener Thursday afternoon.

On March 17, Palmeiro appeared before their panel and said under oath " I have never used steroids . At 35, he is three years younger than Flaherty, who dropped to a . Vidro got the Mariners started with his fourth home run, the first in 207 at- bats since May 25 . James, four days shy of his 20th birthday, again flirted with becoming the youngest NBA player to get a triple- double . 4 points in 2001- 02, his best season with the SuperSonics " It' s good to see the ball going in, and being able to do the things you know you' re capable of doing " Manu Ginobili had 16 points and Tony Parker added 14 for San Antonio, which has beaten the Blazers in five straight games. Houston also lost David Wesley with 5 minutes left when he was called for his sixth foul, getting Harpring as he put up a shot in the lane Williams had 11 points and eight assists for Utah Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press. Vick already has pleaded guilty to a federal dogfighting conspiracy charge and is awaiting sentencing Dec 10.

Third baseman Troy Glaus' name has also been mentioned " We' re trying to keep our options open, but we feel we are in position to maneuver now " said Arte Moreno, who purchased the Angels from The Walt Disney Co last spring . 4 AP) opened their season with an 88- 57 win against California- Riverside on Saturday in the Women' s Preseason National Invitational Tournament . The company had given Roger Maris and his brother, Rudy, the distributorship after the slugger ended his career in 1968 with the St Louis Cardinals, which it then owned . He was cut by the Tigers last season, then arrived at Washington' s minor league spring training camp less than two months ago with a non- guaranteed contract, a " zero tolerance " policy thanks to off- field issues that landed him in court and a rehab center in 2006, and plenty to prove . Twenty- five of those games came against teams with losing records " If we keep playing the way that we are it could be a very fun October " outfielder Johnny Damon said " We have some momentum. Carpenter fell just short of Bob Gibson' s team record of five consecutive starts without allowing an earned run Carpenter hadn' t faced the Giants since Sept 16, 2006 He has never lost to San Francisco in five starts.

That' s right: Arenas yells " Hibachi " then lets the ball fly . 33 steals while playing all 82 games last season for the Warriors . 1 million viewers, had a bigger audience, according to Nielsen Media Research on Monday . 340 " He' s been huge for us all year " Arizona manager Bob Melvin said . The Cubs had their lead in the NL Central cut to a half- game over the idle Milwaukee Brewers. Kevin Youkilis, who missed the series opener while tending to a family matter in Boston and had played only one of five games before that because of the flu and back spasms, rejoined the team and hit his 25th homer.

Meanwhile, Minnesota was whittling away at the lead against Aaron Laffey, who has only one win in his last seven starts after giving up five hits and four walks in five innings . Head coach John Harbaugh said Friday that he knows what type of player the Ravens are getting in Smith from his days coaching in Philadelphia " I had the opportunity to be around L J . The Joiners are rebuilding, with help from the surprise gift " We' ve got something to start the new house off with I love that " Joiner said Stephen A . Acquired as the top prospect in the offseason trade that sent All- Star pitcher Erik Bedard to Seattle, Jones delivered his second key hit of the week . Funiciello said the offer from the Greek team was the best one Wafer got over the summer " Financially, he wasn' t going to get that type of an offer in the NBA " Funiciello said " As far as I knew, he really didn' t have anything concrete as far as the NBA was concerned " The Greek club team also recently signed former Denver forward Kleiza. a real heartbreaker " So it meant a lot to see a guy of his status to bounce back and be here like this " he said " It was a big lift. Updated: July 22, 2004, 11: 39 PM ET Ortiz will appeal decision Email Print Share ESPN news services NEW YORK- Boston slugger David Ortiz was suspended for five games Thursday for his actions in a game last week in Anaheim, Calif.

09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle . Mike Ekstrom, making his major league debut for San Diego, struck out Ramirez looking in the seventh " I probably went about it the wrong way by walking the two batters before him " Ekstrom said " I was trying not to see who was up . Griffin is allowed to practice and compete in the remaining preseason games, Timberwolves spokesman Mike Cristaldi said " As an organization, we understand today' s decision by the NBA " vice president Kevin McHale said in a news release issued by the team " It addresses an event from Eddie' s past and we know that Eddie regrets the incident and is deeply sorry that it occurred . O' Neal would be one of two starters unable to play Wednesday for non- basketball related reasons . The letter caught the NFLPA by surprise and was considered highly controversial because it raised questions about the integrity of its search process and had the potential to damage Vincent' s candidacy if the search committee learned he had played a role in the letter. The losers in the divisional rounds will be seeded 25th through 28th. My client has always stated that he was coming to the aid of his teammates from what he thought was a fan.

9 " It happens, man " Piazza said of his slump " This is a hard game sometimes . So he stuck to his usual " I' d put Vaseline on my hands and shake the opponents' hands the night before I pitched " Perry said " They' d say' What are you doing' And I' d say' I' m just getting ready for tomorrow night " The 66- year- old Perry posted 314 victories in a 22- year career with eight teams, the first 10 with the Giants He pitched one of 17 no- hitters in franchise history Sept 17, 1968, against the St . Howie Kendrick also had three hits, including two doubles, and Anderson had three hits " The one guy that is really a legitimate longball threat is Vlad " Angels manager Mike Scioscia said " So around him we have a lot of very good situation hitters that run the bases very aggressively . Later, they chanted " Barroid! Barroid " Someone held a sign reading " Barry: Just Say No " and one man held open his button- down shirt to reveal a black T- shirt with a giant red asterisk in the middle . Rickie Weeks led off the game with a walk, stole second and took third when Humberto Quintero' s throw skipped into center field for an error. Mark Ellis hit a pair of doubles, singled and drove in a run for the A' s two days after his game- winning grand slam in the 12th inning against the rival Los Angeles Angels. Now he needs to step back, ignore the hysteria over preventative measures and do nothing beyond the obvious upgrades in arena security.

It' s just from the trauma of landing the way I landed " Bryant said about an hour before his teammates beat the Bobcats 88- 77 " So we' ll just knock that out and make sure the swelling' s out of there, which should be soon Then I' m OK . Carolina, which holds the 13th pick in the draft, could make several changes to the offensive and defensive lines, and needs to find another receiver Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press . When Bush is on the Georgia Dome sideline Monday, watching Dunn, what can he and coach Sean Payton learn about building an offense around a back who didn' t come out of central casting? 1 . Here are five reasons he didn' t bring him back from Matt Mosley Blog# 8226& nbsp; Mosley: Same ending for T . Commissioner Roger Goodell indicated discussions of reseeding are still alive " The focus, I said to the competition committee, is what are the alternatives we have to make sure every game is as competitive as possible " Goodell said " I think the debate was good " Among the proposals that were passed# 8226& nbsp; A recommendation to eliminate force- out decisions on pass completions near the sidelines. Updated: June 12, 2004, 7: 55 PM ET Tight groin ends evening early Email Print Share Associated Press NEW YORK- Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina left his start against the San Diego Padres on Friday night after just three innings because of tightness in his right groin Mussina came out as a precaution, the team said. He was the adviser to the minor league director this past season The former second baseman died Wednesday in St.

Gary Miller is a reporter and play- by- play announcer for ESPN' s major league baseball coverage . OAKLAND, Calif( AP- Johan Santana kept retiring batter after batter, hoping Minnesota' s offense would eventually come up with a big hit . She can' t live at home, she can' t live with relatives, she can' t go to school, or talk to her friends When she moves to a new location she doesn' t know anyone . Gordon has scored in double figures in 11 consecutive games . He believes it will be handled when training camp opens in July " Whichever way it goes, I don' t think there are going to be any distractions " Umenyiora said " The people who are practicing and the people who are playing, I don' t think are really too focused on what is going on outside of the practice field, so I don' t think it is really going to be that big of a deal " Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. Both Ryan and Daboll, who coached New York' s quarterbacks last season, were in Cleveland over the weekend to meet with Mangini. Phil Nevin was the Rangers DH for 44 games before being traded to the Chicago Cubs on May 31 Showalter has used six different players as DH since.

There was no discipline necessary, and really that' s all I' m going to say about that " On the same day baseball decided there was insufficient evidence to discipline Glaus, it also found insufficient evidence to punish Cardinals outfielder Rick Ankiel . That' s not the way they( bid " People are ready to come in, and while the economy is as challenging as it is, I think the value of the franchise really hasn' t changed long- term . I didn' t think about it anymore once I saw the base hit " It was 41 degrees for the first pitch, but with a 15 mph northwest wind the wind chill was 31 . Juan Rivera popped out, but Sherrill( 3- 5) walked Jeff Mathis and the left- hander went to 3- 2 on Figgins before throwing his next pitch above the letters " I think the pressure is on him " Figgins said " In that situation he has to keep the ball in the zone and come to me " Rodriguez( 1- 2) was credited with the victory despite his fourth blown save in 49 chances " I' m real proud of the team . They were a huge part of our team tonight " Game notes Williams had five assists in the first quarter Dallas had won four of five entering the game The Mavericks' bench outscored Utah' s 39- 18 Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press. Backup cornerback Bryant McFadden( sprained ankle) probably won' t go. Updated: January 25, 2004, 2: 58 AM ET Police say closer was intoxicated Email Print Share Associated Press CARACAS, Venezuela- Free- agent pitcher Ugueth Urbina has been arrested for allegedly firing gunshots into the air in an upscale Caracas neighborhood.