The Hot Corner, 5/3 edition

Milwaukee Brewers LF Ryan Braun is out of the lineup for a second game in a row with a stiff back.

Baltimore Orioles reliever Dennis Sarfate was placed on the 15-day disabled list and the team recalled Bob McCrory to take his roster spot.

Major League Baseball will investigate the statements made by Alex Rodriguez surrounding his usage of performance-enhancing drugs.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi questioned why the release of Selena Roberts' book on A-Rod was moved up to this Monday.

The Detroit Tigers are concerned about young pitchers Rick Porcello and Ryan Perry.

Colorado's Ryan Spillbrough had two homeruns and two stolen bases in yesterday's win over the Giants.

Phillies' ace Cole Hamels may not be able to pitch against the Cardinals. "He could probably pitch if he just stood on the mound and didn't do anything but pitch, but that's not how it works," said Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr.

Braves outfielder Garrett Anderson, who will be activated the DL on Tuesday, turned down the opportunity of a one-day rehab stint with Triple-A Gwinnett on Monday.

Cleveland Indians outfielder Matt LaPorta will make his MLB debut Sunday. "I was sitting in the whirlpool this morning, and the manager came in and told me I was in the lineup," said LaPorta, who was set to make his Major League debut. "I'm pretty pumped up about it."

The Cardinals scratched Kyle Lohse from Sunday's start against the Washington Nationals due to the weather.

Boston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsusaka will make a minor league rehab start on Tuesday.

Tony Gwynn, college coach of Stephen Strasburg, says he would select the SDSU ace with the 99-mph fastball with the #1 overall pick if he were making the selection for the Nationals.

With players like Chase Utley, Ian Kinsler, Brandon Phillips, Robinson Cano and others, is this the golden age of second basemen?

Is Oliver Perez heading to the bullpen or the minors?

Mariners place Brandon Morrow on DL

The Seattle Mariners placed Brandon Morrow on the 15-day disabled list on Saturday. The move is retroactive to April 24th.

Morrow hasn't pitched since April 23rd and has five saves in seven opportunities.

The Mariners have recalled Denny Stark from Triple-A affiliate Tacoma to take Morrow's roster spot.

David Aardsma, who has three saves and an ERA of 2.61 through Saturday's game, should receive the bulk of save opportunities while Morrow is on the DL.

The Mariners currently lead the A.L. West with a 14-10 record.

Ryan Braun sits with tight back

Milwaukee Brewers leftfielder Ryan Braun did not play in Saturday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Braun's back tightened in Friday night's game and he was a game-time decision for Saturday's game.

He is hitting .314 with five homeruns and 16 runs batted in this season.

Could you knock out Jose Canseco?

Will you be in the Miami area on Saturday afternoon? Got $50? Wanna fight Jose Canseco?

On June 27th in Fort Lauderdale, Canseco will fight a three-round bout against an opponent that affirmatively answers those three questions per Jose Lambiet of The Palm Beach Post.

Applications are being accepted at Dadeland Mall near Miami noon to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Part of the proceeds will go to the John Graziano Foundation. Graziano was severely injured in a street-racing accident in which Nick Bollea, son of Hulk Hogan, served 166 days in jail.

It appears that the main criteria to be selected is that you don't look like Danny Bonaduce, who Canseco fought in a celebrity boxing match in January.

“We’ll pick the person who we think won’t get hurt,” promoter Damon Feldman said. “Canseco’s a big guy.”

Between now and the June 27th fight, Canseco will make his mixed martial arts debut against the 7-foot-2 South Korean Choi Hong-man in Tokyo later this month.

After Hong-man (insert your own joke here) gets done with Canseco, I'd like to be the next to kick his ass. Luckily for him, I'm not in Miami.

More A-Roids than he admitted?

When New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez admitted that he took steroids, many feel into two groups.

One credited him for admitting more than they'd expected him to admit. The other (larger) group continued to bash A-Rod (or A-Fraud or A-Roid or whatever they called him) and believed he wasn't telling the full truth.

So, not surprisingly for many, new allegations have surfaced.

Per SI's Selena Roberts' new book (due out May 12), via the New York Daily News, Rodriguez continued to use steroids when he was in New York and also used them as early as his teenage years.

Per the report, a major leaguer said A-Rod and Kevin Brown were together with HGH in 2004.

Two anonymous Yankees believed he was taking performance-enhancing drugs based on the side effects they had seen. In fact, teammates called him "Bitch Tits" because of his rounded pecs.

Also, a clubhouse employee said that Yankees' management wondered about his usage as well.

"No one ever asked Alex directly that I know of, but there was a lot of suspicion in house," the employee is quoted as saying.

Not only is A-Rod accused of using steroids at times to which he did not admit, Roberts' book accuses him of "pitch tipping."

In other words, when the game was out of reach, he would signal to friends what pitch was coming and they would return the favor.

Yovani Gallardo beats Pirates by himself

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Yovani Gallardo single-handedly beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 1-0.

Not only did Gallardo set a career-best with 11 strikeouts and not allow any runs in eight innings, but he hit a homerun in the seventh inning for the game's only run.

"This ought to be pretty fast," [Brewers manager Ken] Macha said after settling into a seat in front of reporters. "Hitting: Gallardo. Pitching: Gallardo. Any questions?"

"It's not surprising anymore," [Carlos] Villanueva (who pitched a scoreless ninth inning) said. "He won it. He pitched eight innings and he hit the home run. All around, it was Yovani Gallardo Day."

In Brewers' history, they have had 16 games in which a homerun led to the only runs scored in a victory. But this was the first time that it was hit by a Brewers' pitcher.

Brad Lidge sidelined for a few days?

Philadelphia Phillies closer has some inflammation in his right knee, on which he had surgery before the start of last season.

He will rest it for a few days and hope to avoid a stint on the disabled list.

"We're trying to get rid of it as fast as possible," Lidge said Monday night. "It's frustrating, but I missed a few games last year at the start of the season, and when I came back I felt great. If I have to do the same thing this year, miss a couple of games, that's OK."

While he says an MRI shows there is no structural damage, he has felt discomfort since the Colorado series (April 10-12).

Lidge has four saves, one blown save and an ERA of 7.27 in his nine appearances this season.

Hanley Ramirez hit on wrist, won't play Tuesday

Florida Marlins SS Hanley Ramirez left last night's game against the New York Mets in the first inning when John Maine hit him in the wrist with a pitch.

MRI results show that Ramirez doesn't have any broken bones.

However, he won't play Tuesday night and there's a good chance that he won't play Wednesday night either.

Ramirez says he's seeing more inside pitches "know what's going to happen if I throw my hands out front."

On the season, Ramirez is hitting .292 with 2 HRs and 12 RBIs and took an eight-game hitting streak into last night's game.

Tulowitzki benched (again)

It's deja vu all over again for Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki.

Last April, Tulowitzki only hit .152 with 17 strikeouts in 105 at bats.

Not much difference a year makes. This April, Tulo is hitting .167 with 17 strikeouts in 54 at bats.

Last night, Tulowitzki was benched in favor of Clint Barmes.

"We're going to take it one day at a time. I've found out throughout my lifetime that's the best way to do things," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "I really don't know what's going to happen. I know what has happened and I'm going to do everything I can to be the best coach and manager with him ... to get this thing straightened out."

"I listened to what the coaches had to say and hopefully I can make some adjustments to make me better," Tulowitzki said. "I think I'm seeing the ball good. It's not the best I could possibly see the ball, but I feel decent up there. I think I will see results soon."

In his rookie season, Tulowitzki hit .291, 24 homeruns and drove in 99 runs.

Oliver Perez struggles again

In the off-season, the New York Mets gave pitcher Oliver Perez $36 million.

Perez, who had a breakout season in 2004 with Pittsburgh (2.98 ERA and 239 K's in 196 IP), has pitched horribly in three of his four starts.

And it's drawing frustration from manager Jerry Manuel, who is "really, really concerned."

Per Joel Sherman of the New York Post, Manuel is hoping to send a message to Perez by threatening his job.

"No stuff and no command is a recipe for disaster. ... I have to figure out how long [to be patient] and what is patience," Manuel said.

On the season, Perez is now 1-2 with an ERA of 9.31 and he's lasted more than four innings in only one of his four starts.

Stephen Drew lands on 15-day DL

The Arizona Diamondbacks have placed shortstop Stephen Drew on the 15-day disabled list.

After tweaking his hammy against the Giants on the 17th, Drew returned to the lineup on the 22nd. He felt pain on Friday the 24th early in the game and now he will have the opportunity to let it heal.

"We figured if it's six or seven days before he'd be able to play again, rather than go short-(handed) for that long, go ahead and put him on the DL and get him healthy," Melvin said.

Drew is 1-for-15 since April 15th and he was hitting only .205 on the season.

The Hot Corner, 4/26 edition

If the Chicago White Sox place 2B Chris Getz (fractured tip of finger yesterday) on the DL, the White Sox won't call up first-round pick Gordon Beckham. Instead, they would likely call up Jayson Nix.

Happy Birthday to Kosuke Fukudome as the Chicago Cubs outfielder went 3-for-4 with a HR in the Cubs' 10-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

It wasn't teammate Derrek Lee's birthday nor happy today after leaving today's game with neck spasms.

The Florida Marlins were swept by the Philadelphia Phillies, who beat them 13-2 today. Before the Phillies series, the Marlins were swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Houston Astros catcher Humberto Quintero was placed on the 15-day DL yesterday.

Atlanta Braves catcher Brian McCann was placed on the 15-day DL yesterday and the move was retroactive to Thursday.

Detroit Tigers back-up catcher Matt Treanor was placed on the 15-day DL and will be out 2-3 months after hip surgery.

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Nate McLouth is still a few days away from returning from a right oblique strain.

After a rehab assignment either Tuesday or Wednesday, Baltimore Orioles manager Dave Trembley expects third baseman Melvin Mora "to be in the lineup on Friday."

Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez could play some minor league games next week.

After spraining his left middle finger, Pittsburgh Pirates SS Jack Wilson was placed on the 15-day DL.

The Milwaukee Brewers have activated closer Trevor Hoffman and optioned R.J. Swindle to Triple-A Nashville.

The Baltimore Orioles 1-2-3 hitters (Brian Roberts, Adam Jones and Nick Markakis) were a combined 9-for-12 with 6 runs scored and 6 RBI's in their 8-5 win over Texas.

Marlins' fans mad at Hanley?

Florida Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez is the object of ire from Marlins' fans per Mike Berardino of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

In Friday's game, closer Matt Lindstrom blew a 3-0 lead in the ninth inning. In total, Lindstrom gave up seven earned runs in 2/3 of one inning.

However, the base-running of Ramirez in the fifth inning is the source of frustration for many Marlins' fans.

He admired a shot off the wall for his double. Hustle woulda, coulda, shoulda put him on third. Then, he failed to tag up when Ross Gload lined out to left-center. Then, he decided to attempt to steal third while Dan Uggla was batting and got thrown out.

"We would have won the game because I would have tagged?" Ramirez said. "I tell you what, it's 162 games. Everybody's going to make mistakes. That's in the past."

"We talked about a lot of stuff," [Marlins manager Fredi] Gonzalez said. "Everything's fine. Players make mistakes. Not only young players but 15-year veterans make mistakes. It happens."

The Marlins, who are in first in the N.L. East with an 11-6 record, are on the verge of back-to-back sweeps by Pennsylvania teams this week if Philadelphia wins Sunday's game.

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.