On Wednesday night, the Yankees defeated Toronto to stretch their winning streak to one game and keep pace with the Devil Rays in their tight race for fourth place in the AL East.

But despite the monumental achievement of actually outscoring an opponent after nine innings, New York players were not spraying one another with champagne in the locker room. You see, this triumph was clouded by controversy.

In the ninth inning, leading 7-5, Alex Rodriguez, the soon to be second-highest-paid player on his team, was on first base with two out. He was tranquil. Content. Downright cordial.

Then, on a 3-2 pitch to Jorge Posada, Rodriguez took off for second, as all players do in such situations. Posada hit an infield pop-up, and third baseman Howie Clark of Toronto was settling under it to record the inning’s final out as Rodriguez ran past.

However, something strange happened. Clark suddenly moved away from the ball, allowing it to drop and giving Posada the cheapest of RBI singles. What could have caused such a reaction from Clark?

A-Rod’s mouth. Rodriguez shouted something at Clark. According to the story on MLB.com, Clark says A-Rod shouted, “Mine!”

Now, even if A-Rod did yell “Mine!” — in my opinion, it was foolish of Clark to give up pursuit of the ball. After all, the likelihood of a land mine in the infield was extremely remote, as Rogers Centre has artificial turf. So why be scared?

A-Rod contends the sound he made was more like, “Ha,” as in short for, “Ha, by the time that ball lands, I’ll have made more money than you will in your entire career, kid.”

It’s a shame to see the pinstripers resort to such childish chicanery. If you’re going to resort to Little League tactics, at least try the hidden ball trick, which is both embarrassing and entertaining for the fans.

If you must yell at players attempting to catch the ball, use a little more creativity. Try something like, “Miss it, Nooooooonan,” from “Caddyshack” fame, or “Look, defenseless babies!” — a tried-and-true distraction used in “Fletch,” to get players to botch a pop-up.

No doubt the Red Sox, whom the Yanks play next, will have a few words for A-Rod on any ball hit his way this weekend.

Rehab? No thanks, says Weaver

According to this Seattle Post-Intelligencer Mariners’ blog, quasi-pitcher Jeff Weaver declined to go on a rehab assignment this week.

And honestly, with six losses in six starts and an ERA of 14.32 — that’s an average of 1.59 earned runs allowed per inning — I don’t think rehab is what Weaver needs.

He should check straight into detox.

Weaver will throw a bullpen session today in Seattle, and then he’ll engage in another simulated game on Sunday — presumably not on PlayStation 3, because he’d undoubtedly get rocked there, too. Especially if it’s half as realistic as they claim it is.

This would set Weaver’s return for June 9, at San Diego, with his next start at Chicago. Perhaps Seattle manager Mike Hargrove thinks spacious Petco Park will help Weaver get his ERA from laughable to um, slightly less laughable, but still really bad. Or perhaps Weaver reminded his skipper that he is undefeated this year against National League opponents.

It kills me that Weaver was allowed to decline the rehab assignment. If I were Seattle, I’d be giving him a simulated check until he gets his act together.

Stage set for Clemens

Appearing Wednesday in front of 10,000 fans at something in Manhattan called Pinstripes in the Park, which sounds like a theatrical festival, Roger Clemens spoke about his upcoming start and related issues.

Clemens, according to MLB.com’s story, said of the Yanks’ situation, “It’s not good, we all know that, so we’ve just got to turn it around. I suspect those guys will give me a lot of help and I’ll try to give them all the help I can.”

Meanwhile, in a similar PR-generated move, Rocco Baldelli appeared before an estimated crowd of 16 in Plant City as part of something called Devil Rays at Dave’s Deli. Much smaller promotion but I know you’ve all heard of it. Baldelli told the, um, crowd, that he hopes to begin playing in extended spring training games in “10 days to two weeks” and that for a limited time, genoa salami is $3.99 a pound.

The lineup card

Injury-related news, courtesy of Rotoworld.com: Angels: Bartolo Colon’s next start has been pushed back to June 8. Garret Anderson went 1-for-3 in a rehab assignment and is hoping to return next week. … A’s: Mark Kotsay will come off the disabled list on Friday. Mark Ellis took a second straight game off with a swollen knee. Mike Piazza says his right shoulder is still “cranky,” but that’s an upgrade from “downright furious,” I suppose. Milton Bradley was activated off the DL … Blue Jays: Roy Halladay was activated off the DL and will start Thursday. … Braves: John Smoltz played catch Wednesday and is optimistic about making his next start. A decision on whether to place Chipper Jones on the DL won’t be made until Friday. … Cardinals: Yadier Molina was put on the 15-day DL. … Diamondbacks: Stephen Drew sat out Wednesday with sore legs, but is expected to be ready Friday. … Dodgers: Jason Schmidt worked six shutout innings in a rehab start. … Giants: Armando Benitez got Wednesday off after having fluid drained from his right knee. … Marlins: Sergio Mitre left Wednesday’s game after four innings with a cramp in his right hamstring. … Mets: Guillermo Mota was activated off the DL. Jose Valentin was to begin a rehab assignment Wednesday for a torn ACL. … Nationals: Shawn Hill will go to the Cleveland Clinic to get a second opinion on his sore elbow. John Patterson threw 25 fastballs in a bullpen session. … Phillies: Manager Charlie Manuel says Ryan Howard didn’t start Wednesday because Randy Johnson was pitching, and not because of Howard’s leg cramp. He should start on Friday. … Pirates: Ryan Doumit started Wednesday in right field, his first action since suffering a mild concussion last Friday. … Red Sox: David Ortiz returned to the lineup Wednesday. … Reds: David Ross returned Wednesday after missing a game with flu-like symptoms. Josh Hamilton homered on the first pitch he saw during a rehab assignment. … Rockies: Willie Tavares is expected to be back in the lineup on Thursday. … Tigers: Brandon Inge will likely miss at least a couple more games with a chip fracture on his big toe. Carlos Guillen will miss Thursday’s game with a mild groin strain … Twins: The club has given up on Joe Mauer returning Friday. It’s looking like next week at the earliest.

Seattle Times writer Jerry Faull laments the middle-to-late rounders he could have drafted.

With midseason games around the corner, for some fantasy baseball players, it’s not too late.

Here’s the link.

Here’s a cool blog entry on how sharing a fantasy baseball team is a great way to keep in touch with a relative in another town.

When I first moved to Vegas 16 years ago, my dad would occasionally call and say, “you should call your mother more often, you know.”

I harbored feelings of guilt for years, only now to learn that it wasn’t my fault. If my mother knew who Hubie Brooks was, I’d have called her several times a week to discuss roster moves!

Here’s the link:

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor hail, nor Braden Looper …

Marble-sized hail covered Coors Field just a few hours before Tuesday’s game, but it wasn’t enough to stop Colorado from unleashing an avalanche on Braden Looper and the rest of the defending World Series champs.

With a little help from the grounds crew, the mid-day hailstorm cleared up before gametime (cool photo here, courtesy of MLB.com — would the snowy side be Coors Light?). But the sudden harsh weather was symbolic of the way St. Louis has been getting pelted all season.

Case in point: The Cardinals fell to 20-29 after the loss, a half-game worse than the Devil Rays. But Tuesday’s continuing struggle wasn’t just in the form of an ominous storm and a bad day at the park. Check out these recent punctuation marks:

– Chris Duncan developed an infection and inflammation in his left knee and had to sit out the game.

– Scott Spiezio, who started in place of Juan Encarnacion, had to leave the game in the fourth inning with flu-like symptoms.

– Yadier Molina left the game in the fourth inning with a bruised wrist after being hit by a foul ball an inning prior.

– Even the healthy starters aren’t completely healthy. Scott Rolen sat out Monday’s game with a mild concussion, and David Eckstein sat out Sunday’s game with a stiff back.

– The Cardinals allowed Garrett Atkins to get a hit on Tuesday, and even drive in a run. That alone tells you how bad they are right now. Atkins is so cold right now he probably thought the hailstorm was just to signify his arrival at the park.

Add to that the offseason Tony La Russa driving incident, and the early-season John Hancock death, and about the best thing you can say about St. Louis’ season to this point is that they got rid of Jeff Weaver.

No Red Sox for Rocket

Conveniently, Yankees skipper Joe Torre has decided to give free-agent callup Roger Clemens a couple of extra days’ rest and start him Monday against the White Sox, and not against rival Boston this weekend.

Of course, by not activating him until Monday, I think the Yankees save like $12 billion dollars or something off of the Rocket’s pro-rated, pro-inflated contract. Steinbrenner’s first check to Clemens this year will reportedly just have an infinity sign in the box where the amount goes. Next year, Clemens’ agent will demand double-infinity.

Still, I’m sure some fantasy baseball owners are considering swiping Clemens for that double start.

The Mets are asking for it

All the talk and concern and testing and new policies for steroid use in Major League Baseball, and the Mets call up some guy named Ben Johnson? Are you kidding?

I know this guy has no connection to the sprinter who was stripped of his Olympic medals, but you gotta think Major League Baseball is gonna test this guy every five minutes.

It’s just bad karma. It’s kinda like betting someone on whether Pete Rose gets in the Hall of Fame. That’s why he’s not there in the first place.

It’s the same principle why the Reds seem hesitant to bring up a pitcher named Homer Bailey. He should change his name to Strikeout Bailey. Or at least Warning Track Power Bailey.

The lineup card

Injury-related news: New-and-improved, now by team! All notes from Rotoworld.com … Angels: After Monday’s loss, Bartolo Colon said he was “bothered all game” by tightness in his triceps. … Astros: Brad Lidge pitched a scoreless inning in his first game since aggravating his right knee (substantially different from the “injury” that he suffered from all of last year — aggravating his fantasy owners) … Blue Jays: Royce Clayton will likely miss a few days after fouling a ball off of his foot. Troy Glaus, battling hamstring tightness, played as a late-inning replacement for the injured Clayton. … Braves: John Smoltz, who aggravated his pinky finger Tuesday, still thinks he’ll be OK for his next start. Cardinals: See above. … Diamondbacks: Mark Reynolds is day-to-day with a neck contusion. … Giants: Ray Durham may be back from his abdominal injury by Friday. … Indians: Casey Blake sat out Tuesday’s game after getting hit on the hand Monday. … Mariners: Jeff Weaver threw close to 70 pitches in a simulated game on Tuesday. … Mets: Shawn Green has been placed on the DL with a broken foot. Paul LoDuca returned to the lineup Tuesday after missing Sunday’s game with a bruised left elbow. … Padres: Clay Hensley, recovering from a groin injury, will make another rehab start next week. … Phillies: Ryan Howard suffered a leg cramp in the ninth inning of Tuesday’s game. … Red Sox: Terry Francona said David Ortiz and his sore hammys will be back in the lineup on Wednesday. … Reds: Ryan Freel was placed on the 15-day DL with head and neck contusions. David Ross missed Tuesday’s game with flu-like symptoms. … Rockies: Willy Tavares is likely to miss a couple of games after injuring his finger on Monday during a bunt attempt. Rodrigo Lopez came off the DL and threw six scoreless innings. … Tigers: Brandon Inge will miss Wednesday’s game because of a sore big toe. … Twins: Joe Mauer was s