Alex Rodriguez

Who's hot Ryan Klesko of the Padres has hit safely in 17 of 18 games, batting .382 (26-for-68). Who's not Brett Tomko of the Padres leads the majors in HRs allowed with 29. Who's hot Tony Womack of the Diamondbacks had an 11-game hitting streak going into last night. Line of the dayCliff Floyd, Red Sox RF AB R H RBI HR 5 3 4 2 0 On deck Alex Rodriguez of Texas has 10 multihomer games. Hank Greenberg and Sammy Sosa hold the mark (11). He said it "We just want to take care of ourselves at this point because the Dodgers and Giants are playing each other.

The Chicago Cubs are known to have interest in Alex Rodriguez. The Orioles have their own superstar, Miguel Tejada, who could bring them a top-of-the-rotation starter in return. So let those Tejada-to-the Cubs rumors begin. Again. This time, they won't involve Mark Prior, which would have been a terrible move last winter, given Prior's health. You'll probably hear about another Chicago starter, Carlos Zambrano. But keep this in mind: The Orioles first would need a window to negotiate a contract extension with Zambrano, a free agent after the 2007 season.

It's worth a shot Juan C. Rodriguez Sun Sentinel Should they try? Absolutely. Would they be successful? Probably not. Alex Rodriguez has been an on-field and off-field migraine for the Yankees. What remains on his contract - five years and $114 million - is a crippling figure for most franchises. If they were to somehow remove the Rodriguez albatross it won't be because he purchased banned substances. The Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program precludes teams from taking punitive action beyond penalties the Commissioner's Office imposes.

Can't just ignore it Joseph Schwerdt Sun Sentinel Major League Baseball will have to punish Alex Rodriguez, not necessarily because he did anything wrong but because he did something stupid. It would send an unsettling message to fans if MLB determined Rodriguez was involved in high-stakes poker games but took no action. Gambling is poison to baseball, and this is the second time Rodriguez has been investigated for being involved in illegal games. But there's a fine line here.

I knew a girl once who taught me to believe in love, no matter how hard I resisted. And then a third baseman ruined it for me. Thanks for nothing, A-Rod. Alex Rodriguez's wife, Cynthia, filed for divorce this week on grounds of "infidelity" and accusations that the 12-time All-Star "emotionally abandoned" her and their two children. "The marriage of the parties is irretrievably broken because of the husband's extramarital affairs and other marital misconduct," according to her petition for dissolution of marriage, which was filed in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court.

Grin and bear it Bill Shaikin Los Angeles Times Give him a pay cut! They did, actually. His contract calls for his salary to drop from $29 million this year to $28 million next year. The issue is not that Rodriguez cannot play. He batted .272 with 18 home runs and a .783 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage). That's not bad for a third baseman. The issue is that A-Rod is becoming a complementary player, a good guy to bat sixth in the lineup. The Yankees' lineup is getting weaker as it gets older — Derek Jeter has aged gracefully, but Rodriguez and Mark Teixieira have not — and that leaves two big holes.

Phoenix on Letterman keeps entertaining It became an overnight sensation: Joaquin Phoenix's appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman on Wednesday night during which the actor appeared to forget the name of his Two Lovers co-star, Gwyneth Paltrow, stuck gum under the edge of Letterman's desk and apparently cursed at bandleader Paul Shaffer for laughing at him. There were also intervals of silence. Hours afterward, video of the visit had become an Internet sensation: By Thursday evening, a posting of the interview had been seen more than 180,000 times on YouTube.