Kinsler hits for the cycle

It apparently is the thing for second basemen to do.

Only two days after Dodgers second baseman Orlando Hudson hit for the cycle, Texas Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler did the same.

For Hudson, he became the first Dodger to hit for the cycle since 1970.

Gary Mathews Jr. was the last Ranger to hit for the cycle on September 13th (2006).

In the process, Kinsler recorded six hits and became only the second Rangers' player to do so.

Who's next?

Chase Utley? Dustin Pedroia? Brandon Phillips?

Evan Longoria to miss next two games

Per ESPN, Tampa Bay Rays slugger Evan Longoria will miss the Rays' next two games to head to California for a death in the family.

The most important thing is that he's there for his family.

But the second-year player isn't suffering a sophomore jinx. In fact, he has hit safely in all eight of his games while leading baseball in HRs (5) and batting (.441 average).

Willie Aybar will start in his place until Longoria returns Friday for the White Sox game.

Deja vu all over again for Chris Carpenter

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter was scratched from his last start of the spring due to a sore calf. But considering the ace's injury history, there was a feeling of deja vu all over again with Carpenter. Otherwise, he pitched extremely well this spring.

In the 10 innings Carpenter has pitched this season, he hasn't given up an earned run and has nine strikeouts.

But it's going to be a while before he pitches again.

Carpenter was placed on the 15-day disabled list today. He suffered a strained rib cage in his start yesterday at Arizona.

After feeling a pinch in the torso area after his last at bat in the game, it progressively got worse as he warmed up the next inning.

“I felt it just a little bit on that swing,” Carpenter said, “and then every warmup pitch it got worse and worse. There’s nothing I can do about it but come out.”

As Carpenter puts it, if you're a glass-half-guy kinda guy, it's a “fortunate thing” that the injury doesn't involve his elbow and/or shoulder.

Beckett appeals six-game suspension

Major League Baseball suspended Boston Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett for six games after determining that Beckett, who is "shocked," intentionally threw at the head of Bobby Abreu last week.

Beckett has appealed the decision, which means he will likely make his next scheduled start on Saturday against the Orioles.

"We were pretty shocked," Beckett said before the Red Sox's game against the Athletics in Oakland, Calif. "I think the appeal speaks for everything that we feel. I respect the job they have to do, but I don't agree."

Whether the league upholds or reduces the suspension or not, it's always scary when someone who throws as hard as Beckett does comes close to someone's head.

Manny would like to finish career in Cleveland

You could say that Manny Ramirez lived in LaLa Land before joining the Los Angeles Dodgers.

And Dodgers outfielder (and head-case) Manny Ramirez says that he loves L.A.

So, that makes him think about ending his career in Los Angeles Cleveland.

"I love L.A. I really do. But the way the city responded to me, it reminded me a lot of how it was in Cleveland."

"I would like to play for Cleveland one more time, to go back where I started," said Ramirez. "I have so many good memories there, why not? I think to go back where you started is everyone's dream."

Considering the lack of interest in Manny (at least, at his and agent Scott Boras' price demands), it may be unlikely that the feelings are mutual.

Mark Teixeira hopes to play tonight

New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira, who has missed the past three games with a sore left wrist, hopes to return to the lineup against the Tampa Bay Rays tonight.

"I would be very disappointed if I'm not playing (tonight)," Teixeira said. "It's been disappointing not playing the last few days, but I hope to be in there tomorrow."

"I wasn't thinking it was anything crazy because I played through it for a couple days," Teixeira said. "The tests came back and showed it wasn't too bad. It feels a lot better today. We did a ton of treatment, I got on some stronger anti-inflammatories, so it should get it out of there."

Teixeira had an MRI yesterday and the results showed no structural damage.

he switchhitter's wrist bothers him more when batting right-handed so the Yankees rested him last night as the Yankees faced left-hander Scott Kazmir.

Tonight, the Yankees face right-hander Matt Garza.

Orlando Hudson hits for cycle

Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Orlando Hudson did something yesterday that hasn't happened in my 38 29 years of life.

He becomes the first Dodger player since May 1970 (Wes Parker) to hit for the cycle.

Hudson hit a single in the first innning, a homerun in the third inning, a double in the fourth inning and a triple in the sixth inning.

Despite the economy, Hudson accomplished the feat in front of the largest crowd (57,099) ever at Dodger stadium.

Mark "The Bird" Fidrych passes away at 54

On the same day that legendary broadcaster Harry Kalas passed away, Detroit Tigers pitcher Mark "The Bird" Fidrych died at 54 yesterday. He was found by a family friend as he was working underneath his truck.

"We were just, in general, getting started for the [road building] season this week and it seems as though his truck was going to be needed. It looked like he was doing some maintenance on it," Amorello said in a telephone interview. "I found him under the truck. There's not much more I can say. I dialed 911 and that's all I could do."

Fidrych, one of the most colorful pitchers on the mound, had his career cut short due to injuries.

Despite his colorful personality on the field, it wasn't an act. He just had a zest for life.

"He was very genuine. It was not an act," Trammell said. "He never changed. He liked to have a good time. You'd go over his house and he'd make dinner. That's the type of guy he was."

He won the A.L. Rookie of the Year award in 1976 and finished that season with a 19-9 record, 2.34 ERA and 24 complete games.

It's been a tragic week in baseball with the passing of Nick Adenhart, Harry Kalas and Mark Fidrych. May they all rest in peace.

Did Schoeneweis about steroid tests ahead of time?

Did Arizona Diamondbacks reliever Scott Schoeneweis, former player union rep who took steroids, know when drug tests would be administered?

According to a report in the New York Times, via Arizona Republic, Schoeneweis was quoted as saying "he knew when tests were going to occur."

However, Schoeneweis says he was misquoted and that he meant that he only knew tests were coming in 2003 - not when specific tests would be administered.

The one thing I know is I no longer know what to believe any more about the whole steroids era. It certainly wouldn't surprise me if he abused his powers as player rep considering he cheated the game by using steroids.

Could Peavy end up in Milwaukee?

Per Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, he wouldn't be surprised if the Milwaukee Brewers, who traded for C.C. Sabathia last off-season, make a push for Padres ace Jake Peavy.

Peavy has a full no-trade clause in his contract until 2010. After that he'll have the ability to veto trades from certain teams.

Like last year, the Brewers will have a strong offense led by Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder. However, to compete for the N.L. Central crown, they will most likely need pitching help.

With the exception of 2006, Peavy has had a sub-3.00 ERA in each of the past five seasons.

It's unlikely that Peavy ends up in Milwaukee, but I would be surprised if he's pitching in San Diego in September. Unless he's the road pitcher.

Brandon Webb placed on DL

Arizona Diamondbacks ace Brandon Webb was hoping to make his first start of the season last night.

Instead, he landed on the 15-day disabled list. The good news is there is no structural damage.

“No, there’s no concern,” he said. “The MRIs are all good. If there’s no structural damage, there’s nothing to worry about. All that stuff’s good. We’ve got some fluid in there, I think, that Dr. (Michael) Lee said might not be allowing me to have my full range of motion. That might be part of it. We’re looking to get that down and hopefully it will get better quickly.”

The move is retroactive to Tuesday, which means that Webb could make his next start on April 22nd if all goes well.

In his place, Yusmeiro Petit started last night and is expected to remain in the rotation until Webb returns. The D'Backs lost 11-2, but Petit only surrendered three hits and two walks in five innings pitched.

Manager Bob Melvin says it's better to be safe than sorry with their ace this early in the season.

"Early in the season, we can't be too careful with a guy like that," Melvin said.

This is only the second DL stint in Webb's career. The other time was in 2003.

C.C. Sabathia dominant in second outing

New York Yankees ace C.C. Sabathia, who was signed in the off-season to the mega $161 million contract, struggled in his first start on Opening Day in Baltimore.

And before you knew it, everyone forgot that Major League Baseball plays more than a one-game regular season.

Yesterday, Sabathia got his second start of the season and what a difference a start made!

Sabathia, who gave up six runs and struck out as many batters as I did from my living room on Opening Day, pitched 7 2/3 shutout innings and struck out six batters for his first win of the season against the Kansas City Royals yesterday.

“You call for the slider and changeup, but he’s a fastball pitcher,” [catcher Jorge] Posada said. “We need him to establish his fastball in and out, and he did that.”

Granted, it was against the Royals, but Sabathia won't be the bust that all of the naysayers purported he'd be after his first outing.

Geovany Soto could avoid DL

Chicago Cubs catcher Geovany Soto, who hurt his shoulder on Tuesday, is feeling better each day and is likely to avoid landing on the disabled list.

''[The team doctor] expects him to be ready in a few days,'' manager Lou Piniella said. ''If it's too long, we can't continue to carry one catcher. So we'll just have to wait and see how he responds to rehab and the medication.''

The soonest (although not likely) return for Soto would be Sunday. However, Soto wouldn't comment on when he might return.

''I don't know. I just play ball. I'm not a doctor,'' Soto said of a timeline for his return. ''I just want to get in there as fast as I can. And I trust my doctors and trainers in the organization.''

In Yahoo! fantasy baseball leagues, the Cubs' all-star catcher was (on average) the fourth catcher selected behind Russell Martin, Brian McCann and Joe Mauer with an average draft position of 55.7.

In 2008, Soto hit .285, 23 homeruns and drove in 86 runs.

Ichiro to return soon?

Seattle Mariners rightfielder Ichiro Suzuki, who has started the season on the DL with a bleeding ulcer, went 5-for-10 yesterday in an intra-squad game.

Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu said that Ichiro might play some outfield on Saturday.

"We're going to see how he feels in the morning," Wakamatsu said prior to Seattle's game against Oakland, "and he might play some outfield tomorrow. We expect him to be on a plane on Sunday going to Seattle and he would join the team for Monday's workout."

The M's have their home opener on Tuesday, but the soonest that Ichiro would be activated is Wednesday.

Endy Chavez has led off with Ichiro on the DL and hit well (9 hits in 22 ABs).

Why D'Backs withdrew offer to Webb

Last year, the Arizona Diamondbacks had offered ace pitcher Brandon Webb a three-year deal worth $54 million. And then the D'Backs withdrew their offer to Webb.

At the time the offer was withdrawn, neither Webb nor the team indicated the reason.

However, the Arizona Republic, via Foxsports.com, is reporting that the team withdrew the offer due to the inability to secure insurance. The insurance company "expressed concerns about the right-hander's arm."

Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes wouldn't discuss the report with the Arizona Republic.

"When it comes to details pertaining to negotiations, it's not something I want to talk about on or off the record."

"In the short term," Byrnes continued, "we will continue to monitor Brandon's (health) status and I believe he will be back on the mound shortly. We'll keep everyone notified of that, but talking about his contract or any negotiations is not something we want to talk about."

Webb, who will miss his Saturday start due to stiffness in his shoulder, is under contract for this year and the team has an option for 2010.