Entering the weekend three position players on Opening Day rosters were still looking for their first hits of the season: the Yankees’ Wil Nieves (0-for-17) and Miguel Cairo (0-for-9) and the White Sox’s Gustavo Molina (0-for-8). Nieves, a backup catcher, has somehow spent parts of the last three seasons with New York without getting a hit. He’s a career 0-for-27 for the Pinstripes. … The Mets are shopping for a second baseman, with Jose Valentin likely out at least two months with a partly torn knee ligament. … John Farrell left a front-office job with Cleveland to become Boston’s pitching coach, and the Red Sox are glad he did. He taught Japanese lefty Hideki Okajima a change-up that has become his best pitch. He has emerged as an unexpected weapon. … Tampa Bay’s Elijah Dukes, Akinori Iwamura and Delmon Young combined to score 43 April runs, more than any rookie trio in the last 50 years, according to research by the Devil Rays. But the kids haven’t stoked the imagination of Floridians, as only about 3,000 tickets per game have been sold for a May 15-17 series against Texas at the Braves’ spring-training complex at Walt Disney World. … Give Tigers manager Jim Leyland and his coaches credit for making outfielder Marcus Thames into a solid first baseman. He has become the top backup for Sean Casey. … Is Jose Lopez a second baseman or a decathlete? His contract with the Mariners includes annual bonuses if he passes in-season tests for body-fat percentage, a 60-yard sprint, a 20-yard shuttle run and a vertical jump. … Injuries threaten to devastate the Athletics. Oakland was missing outfielders Mark Kotsay, Milton Bradley and Bobby Kielty and starters Rich Harden and Esteban Loaiza before losing DH Mike Piazza for at least a month with a shoulder injury.
