Tuesday's first pitch

Leading Off
Major League Baseball keeps trying to get its draft treated like the other big boys, the NBA and NHL.
Yet they scheduled the draft for a Tuesday night.
That's must-watch TV.
Keep an eye out today for our 10 ways to improve the draft.
Regional Roundup
The Mid-Atlantic preps for the draft.

• Uncle Cholly is disappointed with his World Champs. John Gonzalez defends Raul Ibanez.One of the costs of signing Ibanez is the Phillies' loss of a first round pick. But they're still looking to find a gem.


• Who are the Orioles pondering picking at No. 5? What's their biggest need? Offense or pitching.


• Tom Boswell is always a must read. His take on the Nats' draft situation is one reason why.


• The Braves beat the Pirates in 15 innings. The game was also notable because it was Nate McLouth's first game against his former mates. The Pirates also have big plans for tonight's draft.

Best of Rest
We've got injured stars, teams looking to deal, others looking to scour the draft and one manager who went off on his team.

• Ozzie Guillen went on a rant. Who wouldn't love to see him manage the Yankees? Of course, after he went off Jose Contreras pitched a gem. Ozzie always looks good.


• The Yankees had another big day at the plate. Now they head to Fenway for baseball's most hyped and third best rivalry.


• The Mets are entering a tough stretch in their schedule.


• Here's a cool look at the troubles with scouting the Midwest.


• The Cardinals are willing to say, "Let's make a deal."


• Josh Hamilton is headed for the operating table.


• Ivan Rodriguez is about to break a major record.


• Will eye drops solve David Ortiz' lack of power?


• Don't look now. The A's have won seven straight.

Batter's Eye

• What happens when a big-time columnist faces a big-time collegiate softball hurler? The video has the results and is priceless.

Today in history
1906 -- Boston snapped a 19-game losing streak by beating the St. Louis Cardinals 6-3.

1914 -- Honus Wagner became the first player in modern baseball to get 3,000 hits.

1946 -- The New York Giants' Mel Ott became the first manager to be ejected in both ends of a doubleheader. The Pittsburgh Pirates won both games, 2-1 and 5-1.

The Closer
The World Champs head to Citi Field for another round in baseball's newest rivalry.
Phil Sheridan says this rivalry has been a bit one-sided.
Consider the Mets since this little run started: 2006 Division Champion. Thumped the Phillies by 12 games.
Consider the turning point: The Mets held a 7.5 game lead in 2006 with 17 to play. It looked one-sided then too.
The next 17 games saw the Phillies rise from the dead, win the division and get spanked by the Rockies in the playoffs.
The rivalry was born.
Consider the Phillies: They won it all last season. They've had two MVP's. They've won two-straight division titles over the Mets by a total of four games.
Four games.
That means these three games in Citi Field will be very important to how things shake out this season.
We couldn't agree more.
But we're not going to complain.