For just about the first time since the NL Cy Young Award winner became a full-time major leaguer, he didn’t have to be outstanding for the San Francisco Giants to win.

Travis Ishikawa hit a three-run triple, Aaron Rowand had three RBI and the Giants overcame Lincecum’s struggles for a 10-6 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday in the majors’ final opener.

Lincecum walked leadoff hitter Rickie Weeks on five pitches right after heroic pilot Chesley Sullenberger threw out the first pitch, and the 24-year-old right-hander’s day got no better. He made it through just three innings, yielding three runs, four hits and three walks in a scattered performance that included five strikeouts, but not much more to embrace.

“When you’re a Cy Young winner, there’s going to be a target on your back,” said Lincecum, who will formally receive his award in front of the home crowd Wednesday night. “Milwaukee was trying to get aggressive, and they’ve got a good power team. They probably wanted to do as many things as they could to me.”

Last season, Lincecum would have expected such a sorry performance to result in certain defeat for the Giants, who finished 29th among the majors’ 30 teams with 637 runs last season, their first following Barry Bonds’ departure.

At least for openers, the Giants’ new-look lineup had enough pop to cover for their young ace’s struggles. Rowand hit a two-run homer and an RBI double. Bengie Molina and Randy Winn also homered for the Giants, who had six extra-base hits.

“Those guys played really good baseball offensively,” Lincecum said. “They were putting a lot of good swings on good pitches. It’s going to be great to see them develop and score runs this year.”

Joe Martinez (1-0) gave up two runs during two rocky innings in his major league debut, but still got the win when Rowand put the Giants ahead 6-5 with his two-run shot in the fourth. Molina added a solo shot in the seventh, and Winn led off the eighth with another homer.

With an all-new infield featuring three young prospects and veteran shortstop Edgar Renteria, Molina thinks the sport’s perception of the Giants’ lineup is about to change.

“This is a great example of what we can do,” Molina said. “When whoever goes out there and gives up a hit or some runs, it feels good to pick them up.”

Milwaukee also didn’t get much from Jeff Suppan (0-1), who hit an RBI double but gave up six runs in four innings as the unlikely opening-day starter for a club that lost its top two pitchers from last season’s run to the NL wild card. Weeks and Bill Hall hit run-scoring doubles in manager Ken Macha’s debut with the Brewers, who left 11 men on base.

“That wasn’t very pretty,” Macha said. “By my count, there were 13 walks and four hit batters. We had 20 baserunners and only got five runs. If you told me we’d get Lincecum out of the game in the third, I’d be feeling pretty good. We just didn’t pitch very well.”

Rain pelted the Giants’ waterfront ballpark for most of the morning, but it abated before game time and eventually gave way to warm sunshine, despite bleak weather forecasts. Both managers had made contingency plans for a doubleheader Wednesday, when Randy Johnson will make his Giants debut against burgeoning Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo.

After walking Weeks to start the Giants’ 10th opening day at their park, Lincecum also drilled Ryan Braun in the back and threw a wild pitch in the first inning alone, but struck out Prince Fielder and J.J. Hardy to avoid giving up any runs.

Ishikawa, who won the starting job at first base in spring training despite just 45 games of major league experience, lined a shot into the deepest corner of the Giants’ outfield in the bottom half, easily reaching third base while Renteria, Fred Lewis and Pablo Sandoval scored.

“They were really swinging the bats today,” said Brewers outfielder Mike Cameron, who drew four walks and stole two bases. “We were swinging pretty good, too, but we lost a couple of opportunities to keep it close. We knocked [Lincecum] out of the game, but we couldn’t push any runs across against anybody else. When we threatened to score, they turned a couple of double plays.”

After Martinez relieved Lincecum, Weeks tied it when he scored on Lewis’ overthrow from left field after Corey Hart’s single. Fielder then put the Brewers up 5-4 with an RBI single.

Rowand gave the Giants the lead again with his homer to left, scoring Ishikawa. Rowand hit just 13 homers in 152 games with San Francisco last season, slumping after the break.

Hookscenter.com wire report.

Although Gallardo has been alive only slightly longer than Randy Johnson has been a major league pitcher, the Milwaukee Brewers’ promising right-hander started off his season with an achievement even more remarkable than his solid effort on the mound.

He’s the first pitcher to hit a home run off the Big Unit in his long career.

Gallardo pitched neatly into the seventh inning while spoiling Johnson’s debut with the San Francisco Giants, leading the Brewers to a 4-2 victory Wednesday night.

Gallardo (1-0) insists he’ll remember his first victory in nearly 19 months much longer than the historic hit that made it possible. The 23-year-old gave up six hits and struck out six while muzzling a Giants team that scored 10 runs on opening day.

He was thrilled to see his impressive spring reflected in his first real game since early last season, when the second of two serious knee injuries in 2008 sidelined him for the rest of Milwaukee’s playoff-bound campaign.

“There were a lot of things going into it, with my first start of the year after I wasn’t able to start off with the team last year,” Gallardo said. “There was a little bit of anxiousness there. The win, that’s obviously the most important for me.”

Everybody else will remember the home run. He smacked a two-out, two-strike pitch over the fence in the fifth, providing himself with all the run support he needed.

“Growing up and watching him pitch, he’s a great pitcher,” Gallardo said of Johnson, the 45-year-old right-hander. “Not very many people get the opportunity to do that. Rounding the bases, I was pretty excited.”

After Bill Hall doubled with two outs in the fifth, Johnson walked Jason Kendall to face Gallardo. Although the Brewers understood the move, the dugout pulsed with excitement about Gallardo, known around the spring training cages as an above-average hitter.

“Nobody said anything, but we all kind of knew,” said Milwaukee reliever Carlos Villanueva, Gallardo’s close friend. “It’s not as easy to get him out as you might think. … That was a bomb. It’s not surprising from him. You expect him to hit, but not an absolute bomb.”

Although the Brewers lost top starters CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets following their run last fall to their first playoff berth in a quarter-century, Milwaukee might not miss them as much as many expect if Gallardo keeps living up to the considerable promise he showed in 2007 and again this spring.

Gallardo overshadowed the formal Bay Area homecoming for Johnson (0-1), who opened his 22nd major league season with seven strikeouts — giving him 4,796 in his career — in five often-dominant innings. Johnson allowed only four hits, but two were home runs by Mike Cameron and Gallardo.

“I felt bad, because that took the sail out of the fans, I think,” said Johnson, who got raucous ovations before the game and after most of his innings. “[Gallardo] pitched a good ballgame and got the big hit, too. That one at-bat, it gets lost how good I felt. But it’s all a wash. I can’t go out and pitch any better.”

Randy Winn stole two bases for San Francisco and hit an RBI single in the seventh when Gallardo tired with two outs, leaving with two runners on base. Reliever Todd Coffey got Bengie Molina to dribble a harmless grounder with the bases loaded.

Villanueva pitched the ninth for his first save, filling in while presumptive closer Trevor Hoffman starts the season on the disabled list.

Johnson, who grew up in the East Bay suburb of Livermore, Calif., admittedly signed with the Giants to chase the final five wins necessary to join the 300-victory club, but also to provide veteran leadership to San Francisco’s staff.

In his first inning with San Francisco, Johnson came within one pitch of striking out the side. He fanned Ricky Weeks and Corey Hart — with a changeup — and had two strikes on Ryan Braun before a harmless fly to center.

He retired Milwaukee’s first five hitters, also striking out Prince Fielder, but Cameron then homered to left. Cameron entered the game 2-for-29 with 18 strikeouts in his career against Johnson.

“He threw great, [but] one pitch was the difference in the game,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “He had good stuff. It was just one pitch that he didn’t get away with. That kid can swing a bat. We know it.”

Before the game, the Giants formally presented the 2008 NL Cy Young Award to Tim Lincecum. Mike McCormick, the only other Giants pitcher to win the award, spoke to the crowd before Lincecum made a brief speech.

“Lastly and always, I just want to thank my dad,” said Lincecum, who lasted only a career-low three innings while getting no decision in the opener Tuesday.

Hookscenter.com wire report.

After the Giants struggled at the plate in their last game, the 24-year-old right-hander hopes to avoid more misfortune Thursday night when San Francisco hosts the Milwaukee Brewers in the decisive contest of their three-game set.

Cain went 8-14 with a 3.76 ERA in 34 starts last season, and has started at least 32 games in each of his last three years. For the second straight year, however, Cain received the second-lowest run support in the majors.

Since the start of the 2007 season, the Giants scored one or no runs in 29 of Cain’s 66 starts. He’s 15-30 with a 3.71 ERA during that span after winning 13 games in 2006.

“You’d love to get five or six runs every game, but … that’s not the way the game is. It just doesn’t work that way,” Cain told the Giants’ official Web site. “When you lose a game, you think about what you could have done better – instead of pointing the finger at someone else.”

Facing Milwaukee (1-1) could add to the challenge for Cain, who is 0-2 with a 5.54 ERA against the Brewers.

Starter Yovani Gallardo and three relievers stymied San Francisco in the Brewers’ 4-2 victory on Wednesday, two days after the Giants’ 10-6 season-opening win.

Gallardo hit a three-run homer off Randy Johnson on Wednesday to spoil the Big Unit’s San Francisco debut. Mike Cameron also homered and Ryan Braun added two hits for the Brewers, who totaled just five.

Braun is 4-for-8 with two doubles in the series, and 1-for-2 with a triple against Cain. Cameron, though, is 2-for-23 with nine strikeouts against him.

Randy Winn stole two bases and had an RBI single, and Aaron Rowand went 2-for-4 on Wednesday for the Giants (1-1), whose 640 runs in 2008 were the second-lowest in the majors behind San Diego (637).

Rowand is 4-for-7 with three doubles in the series, and 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs against Milwaukee’s scheduled starter Manny Parra.

A Sacramento, Calif., native, Parra is 2-0 with a 2.77 ERA against San Francisco as a starter.

The left-hander bounced between the rotation and bullpen last season, going 10-8 with a 4.30 ERA in 32 games with 29 starts for Milwaukee.

Despite the winning record, Parra struggled in the second half of 2008. He was 8-2 with a 3.82 ERA in 18 starts prior to the All-Star break and 2-6 with a 5.10 ERA in 11 starts the rest of the way.

Parra spent much of the spring trying to fine tune his changeup to go along with an already solid fastball.

“Obviously my fastball is my primary pitch, but the changeup is right there and I want to feel as comfortable throwing that as my fastball,” he told the Brewers’ official Web site.

Hookscenter.com wire report.

When he finally gets to the San Francisco Giants’ waterfront ballpark on Tuesday, his trip will get a whole lot less relaxing in a hurry.

After losing their top two pitchers in the offseason, the reconfigured Brewers open with back-to-back games against NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum and 45-year-old Randy Johnson, who won a few trophies of his own before joining the Giants.

“Hey, Matt Cain is no day at the beach, either,” Macha said of the Giants’ Thursday starter. “They’ve got an excellent pitching staff, but that’s the big leagues. … But they’ve got to face our hitters. I think this club had some success against the Giants last year, and there are some guys here that have some pretty good numbers against Lincecum. So we’ll show up.”

The Brewers’ run to their first playoff appearance in more than a quarter-century was built on the pitching of midseason acquisition CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets, who won on opening day last season. His replacement in this opener is Jeff Suppan, the consistent but unremarkable right-hander who won 10 games last season.

Yet the top five hitters in Milwaukee’s dangerous lineup – Rickie Weeks, J.J. Hardy, Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder and Corey Hart – are all back in uniform, ready for a season-opening series full of tests from San Francisco’s starting rotation, which appears to be the Giants’ strength.

“There’s nothing like opening day,” said Brewers catcher Jason Kendall, another former Oaklander. “It’s kind of like Little League. When your first game is on Saturday, you can’t sleep on Friday night. You’re nervous, you’re excited, all of ‘em. You can’t beat opening day. It’s something special, and anybody that says different, they’re in the wrong profession.”

After Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger III, the lifesaving pilot who lives in nearby Danville, throws out the ceremonial first pitch, the Giants will see what a slightly younger arm can do for an encore to a remarkable 2008.

Lincecum won the Cy Young despite the Giants’ 72-90 record by going 18-5 with a 2.62 ERA and a major league-best 265 strikeouts. He’ll receive his trophy Wednesday night before the Giants debut of Johnson, the Bay Area native who signed to provide a veteran presence while chasing his 300th victory.

Lincecum didn’t shrink from the pressure of his first opening-day start, although he knows the Giants expect more out of him and themselves this season.

“It’s great, but I don’t make the decisions,” Lincecum said. “For me to be there, it’s awesome for me, but you put any one of our starters in that spot, and they’re going to do their job. Our rotation speaks for itself with the years and experience, so if I take the nod or Randy takes the nod or Cain or (Barry Zito) takes the nod, it doesn’t really matter to any of us. It’s just another game.”

The Giants are hoping to avoid five straight losing seasons for the first time since moving to the West Coast a half-century ago, and manager Bruce Bochy is counting on his rotation to do most of the heavy lifting. Milwaukee’s potent lineup will provide a good test, but Bochy also hopes his totally revamped infield can get off to a good start at the plate against the Brewers.

San Francisco will begin the season with newcomer Edgar Renteria at shortstop and three surprising youngsters around him: third baseman Pablo Sandoval, second baseman Emmanuel Burriss and first baseman Travis Ishikawa. All three are younger than 26, and none has more than 95 games of major league experience.

“Like everybody else, I’m anxious and excited to get this thing going,” Bochy said. “I like the way our corners have played, Sandoval and Ishikawa. They certainly helped answer some questions. If spring training is any indication, they will be just fine.”

Suppan isn’t the most fearsome opening-day starter, but he’ll remove some pressure from youngsters Yovani Gallardo and Manny Parra before they follow him in the rotation. Suppan also might know something about the Giants: He threw five scoreless innings against them on St. Patrick’s Day during spring training.

“I expect a very good year out of Soupy,” Kendall said. “He’s one of those guys that’s been there, done that, been in the big situations, been on winning teams, been on losing teams – he’s pretty much done it all in his career. He’s changed some things. His ball is moving, I think, more than I’ve seen it. I think it’s going to be a very good year for him.”

Hookscenter.com wire report.

He won’t look into the future and he rarely looks back. He’ll talk about the pitch that Philadelphia’s Jimmy Rollins hit for a leadoff home run in Game 4 of last year’s National League Division Series, but it’s more difficult to get him to talk about how it felt to lose the game that eliminated Milwaukee from its first postseason series in 26 years. He’ll walk you through his most recent Spring Training outing, but he’s hesitant to talk about the honor of starting Opening Day.

Suppan drew that honor over young arms Yovani Gallardo and Manny Parra, who will be counted on to lead a starting rotation missing ’08 aces CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets. Over Braden Looper, who along with closer Trevor Hoffman represented the Brewers’ offseason action in free agency. And over Dave Bush, the longest-tenured member on Milwaukee’s staff.

“I am boring,” Suppan said, “and I appreciate you saying that because a lot of people don’t understand that. I use a lot of clichés, but you know what? They are clichés because they are truths.

“I say the things I say because I believe in them. Baseball is played in the moment, and my focus is on the ‘now.’ Last year was a difficult year for me, but now it’s a new year and it doesn’t do any good to dwell on the things that are negative.”

Suppan, the last Brewers starter to toe the rubber in 2008, will be the first in 2009. Because new Brewers manager Ken Macha preferred an experienced arm for Opening Day, Suppan will start for Milwaukee against Tim Lincecum and the Giants on Tuesday to begin the 40th season in Brewers history.

The 34-year-old Suppan has been here before. He started three consecutive season openers for the Royals from 2000-02. He’s 0-1 in those games, allowing 20 hits, including nine home runs, in 16 innings.

Suppan’s most recent Brewers start was not much better. After Bush pitched Milwaukee to a Game 3 win in the NLDS to stave off elimination, Suppan, who has a reputation as postseason stalwart, took the mound for Game 4 and surrendered a first-pitch homer to Rollins. It was one of three home runs he allowed in three innings, and it capped a tough finish to the season for Suppan, who went 5-0 with a 3.00 ERA in August and then 0-3 with an 8.44 ERA in September.

His troubles, Suppan concedes now, dated back to an elbow injury in May that briefly landed him on the disabled list over the All-Star break.

“I did have some good starts, but it was a deal where I hyper-extended my elbow in May, and it affected me in ways I didn’t know,” Suppan said. “By September, my pitches were flat and I didn’t have the arm speed that I needed to pitch.

“I did the best I could. I wasn’t hurting, but everything was flat, and when it did move, it was moving toward the middle. Looking back, my mechanics had changed.”

Game 4 will stick with him.

“That Game 4 will never change,” Suppan said. “When I’m sitting there, 60 years old with my grandkids, I’m still going to have Game 4 of the 2008 playoffs on my record. You can dissect it any way you want.”

He focused on achieving a “downhill plane” this spring and found success. Suppan allowed just the one run on seven hits over 12 innings in starts against the Giants and the A’s on March 17 and March 28. His start between those outings fell in Minor League camp.

Macha said he liked the way Suppan “used his pitches” this spring.

“Especially his curveball,” Macha said. “That was something we tried to get in there a little more, [beginning] a couple of starts ago. To me, the change of speeds is the key for him.”

The Brewers’ Mr. Boring will look to keep rolling in the regular season.

“I’ve had some accomplishments in my career that I’m proud of,” Suppan said. “But the main goal is always the same: Help your team win a game. That’s it.”

Hookscenter.com wire report.

Lowe pitched eight superb innings, three Braves hit home runs off Brett Myers, and Atlanta beat the defending champs 4-1 in the major league opener Sunday night.

Lowe (1-0) allowed two hits, no walks, struck out four and the sinkerballer got 13 groundouts. Mike Gonzalez pitched out of trouble in the ninth to secure the victory.

The Phillies had better luck against Lowe when he pitched for Los Angeles in the NL Championship Series. They beat him in Game 1 of the NLCS and he had a no-decision in the Dodgers’ loss in Game 4.

“Having just played them, it was easy to watch video to see what you did last time,” Lowe said. “They’re an extremely good hitting team. I was able to get ahead in the count. I just wanted to be consistent.”

Brian McCann hit a two-run homer, Jeff Francoeur had a solo shot and Jordan Schafer went deep in his first career at-bat for the Braves.

Once Lowe came out, the Phillies rallied. Pinch-hitter Eric Bruntlett started the ninth with a double and scored on Jayson Werth’s RBI single with one out. After Gonzalez walked Chase Utley — bringing up the potential tying run — the hard-throwing lefty struck out Ryan Howard looking and Raul Ibanez swinging to end it.

“He was awesome,” Braves manager Bobby Cox said of Lowe. “He really knows how to pitch.”

Atlanta gave Lowe a $60 million, four-year contract to anchor its revamped rotation, and the 35-year-old right-hander pitched like an ace in his debut with his new team. He gave the Braves the type of masterful effort they used to get from Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Tim Hudson.

“It’s nice to get Derek Lowe a win,” McCann said. “He had great stuff. It’s a lot better to catch him than hit against him.”

Myers (0-1) filled in for Cole Hamels, whose first start was pushed back because of minor elbow problems. Hamels, the NLCS and World Series MVP, is expected to pitch Friday at Colorado.

The Phillies celebrated the franchise’s second World Series title during an hour-long ceremony before the game. Led by the Phanatic and veteran pitcher Jamie Moyer, players entered the field from Ashburn Alley behind the stands in left-center field. They walked past adoring fans in the aisles, down stairs and onto a red carpet that stretched from the warning track to the infield.

Then manager Charlie Manuel raised the 2008 championship flag on the concourse behind the brick batter’s eye. After a giant American flag was unfurled in the outfield, players were introduced to rousing ovations. Fans who used to boo Manuel lustily chanted “Charlie, Charlie” when the lovable skipper jogged out.

Even their uniforms had a special look only for this game. All the red lettering and numbers were trimmed in gold.

The festive crowd of 44,532 had barely settled into the seats by the time the Braves jumped ahead. Making his third consecutive opening day start, Myers retired the first two batters before Chipper Jones lined a single to left. McCann followed with a shot that reached the second deck in right field.

A smattering of boos were heard while McCann circled the bases. It wouldn’t be Philly without some jeers. Myers got an earful a bit later, too.

“That’s part of it. We can handle it,” Manuel said. “A lot of people were here. They wanted to see a good game. We got off to a slow start.”

Francoeur led off the second with a liner into the seats in left. One batter later, Schafer drove one out to center. The rookie center fielder became the fifth Atlanta player to connect in his debut and first since Francoeur did it in 2005.

“It was a great feeling,” Schafer said. “As soon as I hit it, I thought, ‘Oh Wow.’ ”

Myers settled in after that inning. He allowed four runs and eight hits, striking out six in six innings. Coming off a down-and-up season in which he was briefly demoted to the minors, the 28-year-old right-hander has plenty riding on his performance because he’s in the final season of a $25.75 million, three-year contract.

“I made three mistakes and they didn’t miss them,” Myers said. “Sometimes they pop those up. Not in this case. Give them credit.”

The Phillies are favorites to win their third consecutive NL East title mainly because they have nearly the same team that went 11-3 against Milwaukee, Los Angeles and Tampa Bay in the postseason.

But Philadelphia’s star-studded offense sputtered in the opener. Jimmy Rollins, Utley and Howard combined to go 1-for-11 with two strikeouts.

“Derek Lowe’s a tough guy to hit. He was on his game,” Howard said. “He’s a groundball pitcher. I don’t know if he has a magnet in there to keep it down or whatever. Give him credit.”

Hookscenter.com wire report. 

The question is: What uniform will he be wearing when he hits it?

The Detroit Tigers released the nine-time All-Star on Tuesday, leaving him without a team as he closes in on becoming the 25th player to reach the milestone.

Sheffield left camp as the rest of his former teammates were reporting for an afternoon game against the Washington Nationals.

“I wouldn’t say I’m shocked, but I am surprised,” Sheffield told the Oakland Press of Pontiac. “To do this when somebody is one home run away … I don’t know how to react to it.”

“Jim (Leyland) said, ‘We’re going to go with versatility.’ When he said that word I thought to myself, ‘I’m probably the most athletic guy on this team.’ But they’re entitled to their opinion,” Sheffield said.

Marcus Thames, who will take Sheffield’s place in the lineup as designated hitter, also was surprised by the move.

“Somebody told me he was released, and I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “(Miguel) Cabrera looked like he was in a state of shock.”

Leyland, the Tigers manager, said he had a hard time sleeping Monday night, knowing he was going to release a future Hall of Famer.

“I lit two Marlboros at the same time,” Leyland said. “I couldn’t sleep. But I feel better that it’s over with than I did at 3 in the morning.”

Leyland said it wasn’t a personality issue and still was struggling over the decision after Sheffield packed up his locker and left.

“It doesn’t mean it’s right, but I feel good. This thing has been eating at me. We need to be a more (versatile) team, and that’s why it happened.”

The slugger’s stay in Detroit was a disappointing one. The team was hopeful Sheffield would be a powerful presence at the plate in the final season of the $28 million, two-year contract extension it gave him after acquiring him from the Yankees for prospects.

But Sheffield failed to deliver in large part because he often was injured. Any team can sign him for the $400,000 minimum, with Detroit paying the rest of his $14 million salary.

The move came a day after the Tigers acquired outfielder Josh Anderson from Atlanta, forcing the team to make some tough decisions about its roster a week ahead of opening the season in Toronto.

The 40-year-old Sheffield had a .178 batting average in 18 spring training games this year. The designated hitter had eight hits — including five home runs — in 45 at-bats.

“It’s one of those things where you move on, you know?” Sheffield told the Detroit Free Press. “I was surprised. I thought I was getting ready for the season. I never thought that I wasn’t going to be playing with the Detroit Tigers this year. It’s probably a blessing.”

In other moves Tuesday, the Tigers placed starting pitcher Jeremy Bonderman on the 15-day disabled list and optioned the contract of outfielder Clete Thomas to Triple-A Toledo.

The team said Bonderman’s placement on the DL was retroactive to Monday as the right-hander continues to recover from shoulder surgery that sidelined him for most of last season.

Infielder Will Rhymes and outfielder Timo Perez were assigned to minor league camp.

The moves leave Detroit with 31 players remaining in camp.

Shoulder and assorted other injuries — and perhaps age — limited Sheffield to 114 games and a .225 average last year and 133 games and a .265 average two seasons ago with the Tigers.

Sheffield said he didn’t need surgery in the offseason for the first time in several years, making him feel better during spring training than he has been since 2001.

His uncle, Doc Gooden, and other family members had planned to attend Detroit’s season-opening series, hoping to watch him reach 500.

Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Barry Bonds, Frank Robinson and Reggie Jackson are the only players in baseball history with as many home runs as Sheffield, plus at least 2,500 hits, 1,500 RBI and 200 stolen bases.

In All-Star games, he has represented San Diego, Florida, the Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta and the Yankees since making his debut two decades ago in Milwaukee.

The career .292 hitter has 1,633 RBI, putting him 27th on the all-time list.

Sheffield said he doesn’t believe his career is over.

“No,” he told the Detroit News. “It ain’t close.”

Hookscenter.com wire report.

The agreement virtually guarantees that the 36-year-old Jones will play his entire career in an Atlanta uniform.

A six-time All-Star, Jones was the NL’s Most Valuable Player in 1999. His .310 career batting average ranks second among switch-hitters, trailing only Frankie Frisch’s .316. He has 408 home runs, trailing only Mickey Mantle (536) and Eddie Murray (504) in homers by a switch-hitter.

He is the only switch-hitter with at least 300 homer and a .300 career batting average.

Due $10 million this season in the option year of a contract that began in 2006, Jones gets a $3 million signing bonus as part of the new deal, payable in $1 million installments each Jan. 15 starting next year.

Jones receives annual salaries of $13 million from 2010-12 and can earn $1.5 million a year in performance bonuses: $750,000 each for 135 and 140 games.

His contract contains a $9 million option for 2013 that would become guaranteed if he plays in 123 games in 2012 or averages 127 games in 2011-12. The option price could increase by up to $4 million: $1 million each for 128, 133, 138 and 140 games in 2012 (or averages of 132, 137, 138 and 140 in 2011-12). In addition, he could earn $1.5 million in performance bonuses based on the earlier criteria.

If the vesting option fails to become guaranteed, the club would hold a $7 million option.

Hookscenter.com wire report.

Those deep-fried Oreos in Surprise, Ariz., and seven-player-change fifth innings in Fort Myers, Fla.? Within a week they’ll fade, giving way to the bright lights and big cities of Major League arrival.

Beginning Sunday, April 5 at 8 p.m. ET, when the Atlanta Braves take on the soon-to-be-defending World Series champion Phillies in Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, real baseball is back, and each game counts until the final out of the World Series.

Baseball’s winter Hot Stove kept us warm with trades and signings, and Spring Training gave us a tropical break, but as the countdown to Opening Day narrows, it’s go time for all 30 big league clubs and the storylines they’ll write over a 162-game grind.

Here are 10 to keep an eye on in 2009:

1. Phightin’ for a repeat: The Phillies and their phaithful waited 28 years for a second World Series title and don’t want to wait that long for a third. So why not win back-to-back crowns in 2009, especially when most of their big guns from ’08 are back, and potentially nifty pickups such as Raul Ibanez, Chan Ho Park and Jack Taschner should keep them fortified? As difficult as it is to take two titles in a row — it hasn’t happened since the New York Yankees pulled off three straight in 1998, ’99 and 2000 — you can’t argue with a lineup featuring Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Ibanez and a pitching staff with Cole Hamels leading the way.

2. Pinstripes reloaded: Speaking of those Yankees, when are they not a huge story? This year brings the first pitch — and many other firsts — at the new Yankee Stadium, more A-Rod news every week, the New York debuts of big-buck signees CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett, and what’s sure to be another protracted three-way tussle for American League East supremacy.

3. Rays the roof: They were the darlings of baseball in 2008, this young team that went from the AL East cellar a year earlier to a division championship and American League pennant. But what do they do for an encore? Adding Pat Burrell to the middle of the order shouldn’t hurt, and expectations aren’t sky-high, either. Not with the Yankees and Red Sox poised to take them on with heavily retooled rosters.

4. Meet the Mets (again): Something different has to occur if the team from Queens is to make it to the postseason for the first time since being mere outs away from the World Series in 2006. Two September collapses will be forgotten if the Mets get off to a hot start at brand-new Citi Field and new closer Francisco Rodriguez and setup man J.J. Putz make more news for protecting leads than losing them.

5. Wild, wide (open) Wests: The Los Angeles Angels boat-raced the AL West last year but have serious pitching question marks as Opening Day nears. The Oakland A’s are young and unproven but very talented on the pitching side and otherwise improved in other key areas. The Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners have made key offseason moves that make them somewhat intriguing at the very least. In the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks figure to go at it all season long at the top of the West, the Colorado Rockies look for a bounce-back to their World Series form of 2007 and the San Francisco Giants’ arms look as good as they have since they last made the Fall Classic in 2002. What does it all mean? Pennant races, that’s what.

6. Meet everyone in St. Louis: The Dave Matthews Band rocked the new Busch Stadium last June in the first major concert since the ballpark was built prior to the Cardinals’ World Series championship season of 2006. This July 14, the fans in one of the country’s great baseball towns get to host the 80th All-Star Game, marking the first time the Midsummer Classic has been played in St. Louis since 1966.

7. Cubs-ology 101: The kismet or curse or karma or coincidence of the 100th anniversary of their last World Series championship went by the books in a hurry when the Chicago Cubs dropped last year’s NL Division Series to the Dodgers. This year they’re set to compete for a third straight Central title, and beyond that, who knows? The secret lies in the ivy.

8. Mannywood shuffle: What happens in Manny’s head usually stays in Manny’s head, but what happens off Manny’s bat often leaves the ballpark. We’ll surely be treated to many entertaining right-handed ruminations as one of this generation’s premier hitters — and characters — plies his trade in the NL for a full season for the first time in his great career.

9. Homer Dome send-off: Visions of legendary Minnesota Twins such as Kirby Puckett, Jack Morris, Kent Hrbek, Tom Brunansky, Dan Gladden, Gary Gaetti and Greg Gagne will dance all over the funky green FieldTurf of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome for one last year as the 2009 Twins attempt to get back into the postseason. On Opening Day 2010, MLB will welcome the state-of-the-art Target Field, where open-air baseball will come to the Twin Cities for the first time since the club left Metropolitan Stadium at the end of the 1981 season. Before then, we’ll all bid farewell to the Baggie, the plexiglass, the white roof, the lovably bad acoustics, and the building where two World Series (1987 and 1991) were won in unforgettable style by unforgettable teams.

10. Expect the expected and unexpected: Bank on new San Francisco Giants lefty Randy Johnson reaching the 300-win mark sometime before the All-Star break and St. Louis slugger Albert Pujols challenging for a Triple Crown. Don’t be surprised if the Detroit Tigers once again challenge for the AL Central while Johan Santana gives Tim Lincecum a fight for NL Cy Young honors. Don’t think for a second that the Red Sox aren’t huge contenders to win their third World Series in the past six years.

But also expect to be bowled over with surprise at what could happen.

What if the Florida Marlins win it all for a third time to stick to their recent pattern of taking the World Series every six years? Will baseball witness the final seasons in the legendary careers of Tom Glavine in Atlanta, Ken Griffey Jr. in Seattle and Jason Giambi in Oakland, or will they all keep going? And seriously, who will jump up out of nowhere and be the Rays of 2008? Could it be the much-improved Kansas City Royals or the intriguing Cincinnati Reds or the young and skilled Baltimore Orioles? Or will it be, well, the Rays?

We’re less than a week from getting some answers in baseball, where anything can happen between those white lines. The beauty of it is that we won’t find out what that anything is until they play the games.

So let’s play ‘em.

Hookscenter.com wire report.

Hoffman was placed on the 15-day DL on Monday, retroactive to March 27, with a strained oblique muscle on the right side of his ribcage. He will miss at least the first four games of the regular season.

“Basically, that’s all that’s left,” Hoffman said of his move to the DL. “You’re talking about not having been off the mound in two weeks and it would be silly to try to rush it [for Opening Day].”

The roster move came a day after Hoffman played catch with head athletic trainer Roger Caplinger for the first time since March 20. After that, his recovery plateaued, and for more than a week Hoffman was restricted from throwing entirely.

On Monday morning he felt “not too bad.”

“You don’t want to rush it and set things back,” Hoffman said. “Just because we’re starting to see some progress, you don’t want to jump on it to the point you set yourself back two weeks and lose the [progress].

“Two weeks in the middle of the season is going to feel a heck of a lot longer than the last two weeks of Spring Training, even though this has been frustrating. It would be difficult to watch games go by.”

Major League Baseball’s all-time leader with 554 saves inked a $6 million, one-year contract to replace Brewers closer Salomon Torres, who turned down $3.75 million and instead retired to focus on his family and his faith.

Part of the allure of Hoffman was his durability, even at age 41. Before Monday, he had been on the disabled list only once in his 16-year Major League career. Hoffman missed most of the 2003 season with a right shoulder injury that required surgery.

His current setback is far less severe. But it might be more frustrating.

“That [the shoulder] was more of a specific trauma and I felt something immediate,” Hoffman said. “You try and rehab it, it doesn’t work, so you go and get surgery and fix it and the ball gets put in your court.

“This … you’re not ‘blown out,’ it’s a mild strain. It’s minor. But because of where it’s at and because it affects so much of what you do other than just throwing, you have to shut down your normal activity.”

Hoffman’s assignment to the disabled list means that right-handers Mark DiFelice and Jorge Julio are both likely to make the Opening Day roster. Another right-hander, Carlos Villanueva, is likely to serve as Milwaukee’s closer while Hoffman is down.

Hookscenter.com wire report.