Kyle Farnsworth

Commissioner Bud Selig is confident that baseball's new steroid policy will be in place when spring training opens next week and dismissed criticism that it does not go far enough to rid the game of performance-enhancing drugs. "As a sport, we have done everything that we could at this point," Selig said yesterday. "There are immediate penalties, random testing, a player gets publicly named if heaven forbid he does test positively. I'm very sensitive about this whole subject but I think the sport has addressed it. It isn't as if we have ignored it. " Selig was in San Francisco to announce that the Giants would host the 2007 All-Star Game, but his appearance was dominated by talk about steroids.

Chicago Cubs catcher Todd Hundley was fined for missing the team photograph yesterday. Hundley and reliever Kyle Farnsworth were the only players to miss the picture. Cubs manager Bruce Kimm said Farnsworth was excused because he had a doctor's appointment. Baseball commissioner Bud Selig was involved in a minor car accident in Milwaukee, said Lori Keck, his senior executive assistant. She did not offer details. Outfielder Coco Crisp was recalled by the Cleveland Indians from triple-A Buffalo to take over for injured outfielder Milton Bradley.

Florida Marlins righthander Kevin Olsen yesterday was suspended for three games and fined for intentionally hitting the Phillies' Marlon Anderson last Friday. Manager Jeff Torborg was suspended for two games and fined for excessive arguing during the Marlins' home opener Monday. Baseball disciplinarian Bob Watson said the suspensions were scheduled to begin today. Torborg and Olsen can file appeals. The amounts of the fines were not disclosed. Phillies starter Brandon Duckworth hit Preston Wilson in the first inning and Cliff Floyd in the fourth, and Rheal Cormier hit Floyd in the top of the seventh.

The Chicago Cubs placed relief pitcher Kyle Farnsworth on the 15-day disabled list with a bruised and sprained right knee before yesterday's 7-6 loss to the Houston Astros. Farnsworth, a 28-year-old righthander, was upset after giving up six runs in the ninth inning of Friday's 15-7 loss to the Astros at Wrigley Field. The team's Web site reported that after Farnsworth walked off the pitcher's mound, he threw his glove into the stands and overturned a water jug in the dugout before kicking a metal fan in the tunnel leading to the Cubs' locker room.

Keep the ball! One of the worst rituals in baseball these days is coercing fans to throw a home-run ball hit by a visiting player back onto the field, something that fans at Citizens Bank Park and other ballparks stole from the Wrigley Field bleacher bums. Minnesota Twins fan Chris Fink was having a nice, relaxing evening in the left-field bleachers at the Metrodome when he came up with a home-run ball hit by the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez. So much for a relaxing evening.

Pat Gillick said he wasn't too concerned. He said the bullpen's blowing five leads in the eighth inning in the last two weeks has been blown out of proportion. "Sometimes you run into a bump in the road," he said before the Phillies' 3-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field yesterday. "I don't think it's anything to be alarmed about. If you want to say it's something you're looking at to improve, yeah, you're looking to improve it. But as far as being alarmed? These guys have done it. " Still, the Phillies are looking for bullpen help before tomorrow's waiver trade deadline.

Jeff Niemann gave up Derek Jeter's 2,998th hit but little else, B.J. Upton homered and drove in three runs, and the visiting Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Yankees, 5-1, last night to start strong in a long stretch of games against their biggest division rivals. Ben Zobrist homered, tripled and singled for Tampa Bay, which tagged Bartolo Colon early in one of the worst outings of his surprising comeback season. Evan Longoria had an RBI single and the Rays won the first of 11 straight games against New York and Boston, the two teams they trail in the AL East.

New York reliever Kyle Farnsworth thinks no one on the Yankees, not even Roger Clemens, should be allowed to leave the team when they aren't pitching. Farnsworth was on Chicago's 670 AM The Score yesterday morning when he first criticized the so-called "family plan" clause in Clemens' 1-year, $28 million contract that allows the righthander to leave the team for personal matters when he's not pitching. Farnsworth reiterated his beliefs in the clubhouse before the Yankees' 4-1 loss to the White Sox. "As far as a teammate and a player, I think everybody should be here whether they're pitching or not," he said.

Jeff Niemann gave up Derek Jeter's 2,998th hit but little else, B.J. Upton homered and drove in three runs, and the visiting Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Yankees, 5-1, last night to start strong in a long stretch of games against their biggest division rivals. Ben Zobrist homered, tripled and singled for Tampa Bay, which tagged Bartolo Colon early in one of the worst outings of his surprising comeback season. Evan Longoria had an RBI single and the Rays won the first of 11 straight games against New York and Boston, the two teams they trail in the AL East.

NEW YORK - Jeff Niemann gave up Derek Jeter's 2,998th hit but little else, and B.J. Upton homered and drove in three runs as the Tampa Bay Rays beat New York, 5-1, Thursday night to help knock the Yankees out of first place in the AL East. Ben Zobrist homered, tripled, and singled for the Rays, who tagged Bartolo Colon early in one of the worst outings of his surprising comeback season. Evan Longoria had an RBI single and the Rays won the first of 11 straight games against New York and Boston, the two teams they trail in the East.

ROY OSWALT will either be traded to the Phillies, traded somewhere else, or not traded at all. The Houston's ace righthander is willing to waive his veto rights to come to rough, tough, Philadelphia. Or he has no intention of subjecting himself to big-market scrutiny. His $16 million option for 2012 either is, or isn't, an obstacle to a deal, depending on who you listen to. This is true, all true, cross our hearts and hope to die. Really, now, in the dwindling hours until the trading deadline there's so much mud being thrown at the wall that it's hard to keep it all straight.

Pat Gillick said he wasn't too concerned. He said the bullpen's blowing five leads in the eighth inning in the last two weeks has been blown out of proportion. "Sometimes you run into a bump in the road," he said before the Phillies' 3-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field yesterday. "I don't think it's anything to be alarmed about. If you want to say it's something you're looking at to improve, yeah, you're looking to improve it. But as far as being alarmed? These guys have done it. " Still, the Phillies are looking for bullpen help before tomorrow's waiver trade deadline.

Keep the ball! One of the worst rituals in baseball these days is coercing fans to throw a home-run ball hit by a visiting player back onto the field, something that fans at Citizens Bank Park and other ballparks stole from the Wrigley Field bleacher bums. Minnesota Twins fan Chris Fink was having a nice, relaxing evening in the left-field bleachers at the Metrodome when he came up with a home-run ball hit by the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez. So much for a relaxing evening.

Before Chien-Ming Wang's latest gem, Yankees co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner gave a pointed assessment of the team's sluggish start. "We just can't win one out of five games, every time Wang pitches," Steinbrenner said. "It's not going to work. It's not a good win percentage. Starting pitching is where it's at, especially in the postseason. At this point, we'll see if we even make the postseason. " Wang keeps doing his part. On a night so chilly that his pitching hand cramped, Wang became the American League's first six-game winner and ended the Yankees' three-game losing streak last night with a 5-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

New York reliever Kyle Farnsworth thinks no one on the Yankees, not even Roger Clemens, should be allowed to leave the team when they aren't pitching. Farnsworth was on Chicago's 670 AM The Score yesterday morning when he first criticized the so-called "family plan" clause in Clemens' 1-year, $28 million contract that allows the righthander to leave the team for personal matters when he's not pitching. Farnsworth reiterated his beliefs in the clubhouse before the Yankees' 4-1 loss to the White Sox. "As far as a teammate and a player, I think everybody should be here whether they're pitching or not," he said.

The Detroit Tigers took advantage of the fact the New York Yankees were without closer Mariano Rivera. Carlos Guillen singled in the winning run to cap a two-run ninth-inning rally off Kyle Farnsworth and the host Tigers beat the shorthanded Yankees, 7-6, last night to avoid a four-game sweep. Rivera, the Yankees' All-Star closer, injured his back while putting on his spikes before the game. "He had one shoe on, and when he went to put the left shoe on, something spasmed," Yankees manager Joe Torre said before the game.