MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL NOTEBOOK

League calls blow up over dolls team affair

The Associated Press

CHICAGOMajor League Baseball considers the blow up over blowup dolls in the Chicago White Sox clubhouse a team issue, not a league issue.

Executive vice president for labor relations Rob Manfred said the league had discussions with the team after a player placed two nude blowup dolls in the clubhouse at Toronto, but called it "fundamentally a club issue."

An unidentified player positioned the dolls with bats of the players fanning out around them - a ritual of sorts to try and get the team out of its slump - before Sunday's game, a shrine that some found offensive.

Manager Ozzie Guillen said it was just a joke.

Sox go pink for a cause

Nick Swisher wasted no time making his mark on the Chicago White Sox. On Wednesday, he added a pink twist.

Swisher, pitcher John Danks and backup catcher Toby Hall dyed their facial hair hot pink in an effort to raise awareness for breast cancer and pay tribute to Mother's Day.

"Obviously, mothers are huge in our lives and cancer affects a lot of us," said Swisher, acquired in an offseason trade with Oakland.

A group of children from Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation, a national support group for those affected by pediatric cancer, watched as Swisher, Hall and Danks took the pink plunge while seated on top of the White Sox's dugout on Wednesday afternoon. The players also made a donation on behalf of their teammates.

Around the league

Cardinals starter Mark Mulder has a mild rotator cuff strain in his left shoulder, causing St. Louis to stop his injury rehabilitation assignment. Mulder, coming back from two shoulder operations, was evaluated Wednesday in St. Louis by team physician Dr. George Paletta.

... Chad Gaudin is moving from the Oakland Athletics' rotation to the bullpen, where he's spent most of his previous five major league seasons. The A's need to make room for the return of right-handed starter Rich Harden, who is scheduled to come off the 15-day disabled list Sunday.