Setback for Brandon Webb

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Webb suffered a setback in his rehab.

Webb, who made his first bullpen workout on Tuesday, skipped his bullpen session on Friday due to tightness in his shoulder.

“It’s obviously a little confusing because he felt good the last time out,” [D'Backs manager Bog] Melvin said before the Diamondbacks hosted the San Francisco Giants. “All the maintenance stuff leading up to (Friday) would suggest he felt good. Once he played catch there was just some tightness in the same spot and we didn’t want to push it any further than that.”

“He’s a guy we’re going to be careful with,” Melvin said. “We’re not going to push him and say `See if you can throw through it and see if it loosens up.’ He’s too important for us to try to push through something through that.”

Webb was placed on the 15-day DL on April 13th retroactive to April 7th.

Streak over for Zack Greinke

Kansas City Royals pitcher Zack Greinke entered tonight's game against the Detroit Tigers with a scoreless innings pitched streak of 34.

Tonight Greinke pitched another complete game and allowed no earned runs while striking out 10 batters. However, his scoreless innings pitched streak ended at 38 on a throwing error by Mike Aviles.

“He’s got such good stuff,” Tigers catcher Gerald Laird said. “You could tell the last couple innings he kind of just turned it on. He sniffed that complete game, and that’s what the good ones do.”

“It’s fun to watch,” [Royals] third baseman Mark Teahen said. “Tonight, more than anything — maybe it was just the energy or whatever — but he looked unhittable.”

On the season, Greinke is 4-0 with an ERA of 0.00. He has 36 strikeouts in 29 innings pitched.

The Royals are in first place with a record 9-7 ahead of the Tigers and White Sox, who are both 8-8.

Miguel Cabrera won't be traded in 2009

Despite rumors that the Detroit Tigers could trade Miguel Cabrera in the middle of the season, Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski flat out denied the possibility.

"There's nothing that can happen this year that can make us think about trading Miguel Cabrera," Dombrowski said. "...The guy's only 26 and might be battling for the MVP Award."

"It's not going to happen," Dombrowski said. "We have an owner (Mike Ilitch) that would never let that happen. It upsets me."

Cabrera signed an eight-year contract that pays him $153.3 million including $15 million in 2009.

He's off to a hot start this year batting .451 with four homers and 12 RBI's through Tuesday's game against the Angels.

In the 68 games in which he played after the All-Star break, Cabrera hit 21 homeruns and drove in 70 runs.

Little League to pay Elijah Dukes $500 fine

Washington Nationals outfielder Elijah Dukes was late for Saturday's Marlins' game. Since he was late, the Nationals benched him and fined him $500.

Dukes was late after making an appearance at a Little League event.

By baseball-player standards, Duke is getting paid a paltry salary of $415,500. But he can certainly afford a $500 fine.

"The point is, this guy gave back to our community, and now he's in a hard spot. We need to help him," said Jim Mraz, the Great Falls LL president, according to The Washington Post. "It's not a question of whether this guy can afford the 500 bucks. We're just trying to send a message to our kids: He was here for us. Now we've got to be there for him."

Said Mraz: "You're a little stunned. Like, 'Whoa, wait a minute.' Here's the game of baseball -- it's got steroids hanging over it, all these issues. ... Needless to say the Nats kind of need help with what they're doing. I could see if he was out trying to do something small or private, but he just came into my community and gave us a shot in the arm."

What a surprise! The Great Falls Little League is run better than the Washington Nationals. No wonder the President invited the Chicago White Sox for a visit -- not the local team.

The Hot Corner, 4/21 edition

Atlanta Braves catcher Brian McCann is back in the lineup after seeing a specialist about his blurry vision. He was fitted with a contact, but still says: “Lasik surgery is the best thing I ever did.”

Yankees outfielder Xavier Nady won't need season-ending surgery and his rehab is being measured in "weeks" not "months."

Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit will have wrist surgery on Thursday and miss 8-10 weeks.

Oakland A's reliever Joey Devine is out for the season (probably more) after having Tommy John surgery.

After their 5-7 start, Texas Rangers' GM Jon Daniels says Ron Washington's job is safe. "Ron's our manager. I read about some of the stuff, but there have been zero discussions internally to the contrary. We believe in this team. We believe in this staff."

Through Monday's game, Houston's Lance Berkman is hitting just above the Mendoza line. So, he's taking in more BP. “Anytime you’re not hitting the ball like you’d like it’s always a good idea to try to figure out what’s going on to try to get some extra swings,” Berkman said.

Doc Gooden's signature on the Ebbets Club wall will be removed kept removed from where it is and placed in a more "public" part of the stadium. The men's room, after all?

''The first three games of the season in Miami was a lot like spring training for him,'' [Marlins manager Fredi] Gonzalez said [of closer Matt Lindstrom]. "He [is getting stronger] and by the end of the month he should be good to go.''

Tom Browning, dead-beat Dad and pitching coach for the Gulf Coast League Reds, is out of jail (for missing child support).

Home-plate umpire Kerwin Danley, who was hit in the head with a broken bat, left the Texas-Toronto game on a stretcher.

Doug Waechter was placed on 15-day DL and Brian Bannister was recalled by the Royals.

The rain delays were worth the wait. Nationals pitcher Jordan Zimmerman got his first career win.

Last but not least, Bob Feller will be throwing some high heat at the Inaugural Baseball Hall of Fame Classic game in Cooperstown, N.Y. in June. "About 10 miles an hour," he said in a statement. "I'll be throwing just as hard as ever, but the ball probably won't be going quite as fast."

Matt Kemp reminds Torre of A-Rod

Per Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp reminds his manager, Joe Torre, of Alex Rodriguez.

For Kemp's sake, hopefully nicknames like K-Fraud won't follow.

"The ball doesn't come down when he hits it," Torre said. "He's one of those guys that doesn't have to hit it on the screws."

Hitting coach Don Mattingly says that Kemp reminds him of Bo Jackson, because of the "stupid stuff they are able to do."

Kemp definitely has the tools that give him "super-superstar potential" as teammate Doug Mientkiewicz says.

When asked about the type of numbers Kemp might someday put up, Torre didn't want to put undue pressure on the kid.

"That's not fair for me to put that on him," Torre says.

Although Torre and the Dodgers don't want to put pressure on him, I have no qualms about doing so as Kemp not only plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers but for "Rays Nation" as well. [Not as funny of a fantasy team name now that the Rays are actually good.]

In any event, as owner of "Rays Nation," take a quick look at the "stupid" pace Kemp is on.

So far this season, Kemp has hit safely in all 13 Dodgers games for an average of .383 and an OPS of 1.157. His 3 HRs, 14 RBIs and 4 SBs puts him on a pace of 37 HRs, 174 RBIs and 50 SBs.

No pressure Matty.

The Hot Corner - new (almost) daily feature

Starting today (and every day going forward whenever we feel like it) we are going to compile a list of news, notes, quotes and rumors around Major League Baseball. And we're going to call it ... [drum roll, please] ... The Hot Corner.

So, here we go (try to keep up):

Rays OF B.J. Upton left yesterday's game in the second inning, but he is day-to-day and expected to play Tuesday against the Mariners.

Twins set-up man Jesse Crain landed on 15-day DL and Jose Mijares will be recalled from Triple-A. Mijares, Luis Ayala and Matt Guerrier will compete for the set-up job.

Boston Red Sox shortstop Jed Lowrie could have surgery on his wrist in the next few days and miss a few months.

Barry Zito is one of the latest pro athletes on Twitter. However, it may not have been a wise move if this is how he's going to use it.

The Royals Zack Greinke and the Rangers Ian Kinsler have been named A.L. Players of the Week.

A-Rod hit 10 homers in 75 swings during batting practice today.

Braves catcher Brian McCann may need Lasik surgery (last resort) again. He first had it in 2007, but he is suffering from blurry vision and dryness in one eye. He has one hit in his last 20 at bats.

Is Dwight Gooden adding some history and nostalgia to Citi Field, the Mets' new home? Or is he turning it into a bathroom stall? Gooden, at the request of a fan, signed the wall inside Ebbets Club “Doc Gooden 84 R.O.Y., 85 Cy Young, 86 W.S. Champs.”

The Dodgers have outscored their opponents 50-17 during their current homestand including 19-0 in lucky inning number seven.

So far this season, I have as many hits as Rangers outfielder David Murphy has. Except I've done it 18 fewer at bats. Murphy is 0-for-18 and the minors could be his next stop.

Average baseball attendance is nearly 7 percent lower than it was to end last year. (Of course, that's better than the performance turned in by many financial stocks today including that of my employer.)

Twins catcher Joe Mauer, scheduled to play a simulated game today, could return (knock on wood) May 1st.

The Angels are considering reclaiming pitcher Darren O'Day, who was designated for assignment by the Mets, for the princely sum of $25,000. O'Day pitched 30 games for the Angels in 2008.

Marlins sweep Nats for an 11-year first

The Florida Marlins are owners of baseball's best record after playing a dozen games (11-1).

And for the first time in 11 years, the Marlins swept a series in which they were trailing in all three games heading into their last at bat.

The last team to win three consecutive games after trailing heading into their last at bat were the 1998 Detroit Tigers.

''We stole a game yesterday, we stole another one today, we stole one the first day,'' [Marlins catcher John] Baker said Sunday. He delivered one of the clutch hits in the latest comeback. "It's kind of like Crime and Punishment, isn't it? We're worried sneaking off the field that we're going to get arrested for stealing these games.''

The Marlins won the World Series in 1997. The Marlins won the World Series in 2003. If they continue their six-year trend, they are due to win another World Series in ... 2009.

With only 150 games to go, there's still a chance that the Mets, Braves and Phillies will pass the red-hot Marlins. But, then again, could they be this year's Rays?

Big Unit now four away from 300

San Francisco Giants pitcher Randy Johnson took a no-hitter into the seventh inning to earn his 296th victory of his career.

The no-hitter was broken up by Augie Ojeda's double to lead off the seventh, but Johnson won the game 2-0 over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

In his 22-year career, the only team he had never faced was the Diamondbacks. Of course, Johnson won four (of his five) Cy Young awards and a World Series with the D'Backs.

Johnson pitched for the D'Backs for two stints (1999-2004 and 2007-2008).

Once the Big Unit wins his 300th game, he might be the last for a long, long time. The next three among active pitchers are Jamie Moyer (247), Andy Pettitte (216) and John Smoltz (210). Pettitte is the only of the three under 40, but he's clearly seen his best days.

Josh Beckett won't appeal reduced suspension of five games

Boston Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett, who appealed his six-game suspension by MLB, had his suspension reduced to five games and he won't appeal.

"I don't support this at all. If it was up to me, we would have gone through this whole process. It could have eventually been a lot worse if we had gone through with the whole thing. Everybody has got to answer to somebody. When your boss tells you to do something, you do what's best for the team."

Although Beckett won't appeal, he doesn't agree with the suspension and says "I don't think I deserve even one game."

Beckett will make his next start on Saturday against the Yankees.

Zack Greinke - 34 down, 25 to go

Orel Hershiser holds the record for the longest streak of scoreless innings pitched (59).

After pitching a 2-0 shutout yesterday against the Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals pitcher Zack Greinke is nine innings closer to reaching that streak.

The former sixth-overall pick in 2002, who is only 25 years old, has thrown 20 scoreless innings so far in 2009. He finished 2008 with back-to-back outings of seven scoreless innings.

"That kind of blew me away," Greinke said when someone told him about Orel Hershiser's record 59-inning scoreless streak after the game. "It's just about impossible to get to 34 nowadays. Fifty-nine, that's impossible. I would have been happy with 20."

Last year, Greinke finished strong posting an ERA of 2.48 in August and 2.18 in September and he's virtually unhittable in 2009.

A day to forget for the Yankees

The Cleveland Browns are jealous of the Cleveland Indians. Their major-league counterparts did what the Browns couldn't do in the last six weeks of the NFL season.

Put up 22 on an opponent.

For the Yankees, who opened up the new Yankee Stadium this weekend, they experienced a first that they hope to never repeat.

In the course of the Indians scoring 22 runs against the Yankees yesterday, the Tribe scored 14 runs in the second inning.

Yankees' pitcher Chien-Ming Wang, who's been (un)remarkably consistent this season, gave up eight runs in 1 1/3 innings pitched.

On the season, he's 0-3 with an ERA of 34.50. He's allowed 23 runs in only six innings.

“We have six losses on the year right now, and he’s got three of them,” Johnny Damon said. “In all three of those games, we’ve been blown out and we’ve had to go to our bullpen, so maybe our bullpen’s not sharp the following days. I don’t know what more to say, but hopefully he can figure it out, because it’d be tough to keep on going like this.”

With performances like this, maybe the Yankees will lower ticket prices to $1,999.

Nats, Zimmerman close to 5-year extension

Per the Washington Post, the Washington Nationals and third baseman Ryan Zimmerman are close to a five-year extension worth $45 million, which could be announced within the next few days.

In February, Zimmerman signed a one-year deal worth $3.325 million. The extension would replace this year's contract with four additional years that would run through the 2013 season.

Zimmerman said of the Nationals: "I love playing in D.C. I love this city. I think this organization is going in the right direction and hopefully we'll do something to where I can be here for a long time. But like I said before, I'm not involved in any of that stuff now, and as far as I'm concerned with it's over with until next offseason."

Through April 18th, Zimmerman is hitting .277 with nine RBI in ten games.

Gary Sheffield joins the 500 Homerun club

New York Mets outfielder Gary Sheffield hit his 500th career homerun last night in a way none of the 24 players who reached that milestone before him have done. He did it as a pinch-hitter.

With 251 career stolen bases, Sheffield is one of only four players in MLB history to hit 500 HRs and steal 250 bases. The other three are Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds and Willie Mays.

Tim Kurkjian of ESPN says that Sheffield's numbers are Hall-of-Fame worthy and he will be a Hall of Famer despite some of the other issues surrounding Sheffield.

He has admitted to intentionally making throwing errors to get out of Milwaukee, has said he used the "cream" and the "clear" although he never tested positive for (or knew they were) steroids, has publicly whined about his former teams, etc.

Sheffield is the only player in the MLB history to hit 25 homeruns for at least six different teams.

Vladimir Guerrero out at least a month

Los Angeles Angels rightfielder Vladimir Guerrero will miss the next month (and possibly more) after his strained pectoral muscle was diagnosed as a tear.

"Obviously, short of Vlad needing surgery, this is a big blow," Manager Mike Scioscia said. "We'll see how he progresses. He'll be re-evaluated in a month, and we'll see where he is."

When Vlad returns, he'll likely DH and not play rightfield. He was initially hurt making a throw in an exhibition game on April 2nd.

This is Guerrero's first stint on the disabled list since 2005. The Angels will likely call up Brandon Wood or Sean Rodriguez.

Guerrero's streak of 11 straight years of hitting .300 and 25 homeruns is likely to end. The only other player to do that in MLB history is Lou Gehrig.