Former Mets employee busted in raid  —  Pleads guilty to distributing steroids to MLBers  —  Since last summer, Sports Illustrated reporters Luis Fernando Llosa and L. Jon Wertheim have been investigating an alleged illegal steroid distribution network that has implicated pro athletes.

Notes: Pelfrey remains in rotation  —  Young right-hander has struggled to be consistent early on  —  WASHINGTON — General manager Omar Minaya and manager Willie Randolph both said Friday that Mike Pelfrey will remain the team's fifth starter for now.  —  Pelfrey has struggled in his first three starts, going 0-2 with a 7.90 ERA.

An Ugly Month Gets Even Uglier for Rivera  —  Even on his worst days, Mariano Rivera rarely suffered the indignity of handing the baseball to Manager Joe Torre in the middle of an inning.  But this has been an April of indignities for the Yankees' closer, and Rivera had another such moment Friday night.

Randolph replaces White  —  The Astros purchased the contract of lefthander Stephen Randolph from Class AAA Round Rock prior to Thursday's game to replace righthander Rick White, who was put on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday with a strained oblique.  —  Randolph was called upon to escape …

Lester solid in rehab start, may join BoSox soon  —  PAWTUCKET, R.I. — Red Sox left-hander and cancer survivor Jon Lester pitched five shutout innings for Triple-A Pawtucket on Friday night in what is expected to be his second-to-last rehab outing before he returns to the Boston rotation.

Hoffman honored, then blows save in loss (AP)  —  SAN DIEGO (AP) — It was Trevor Hoffman Night — and wouldn't you know it, he blew the save.  —  Hoffman, baseball's career saves leader, disappointed a sellout crowd at Petco Park by giving up four runs in the ninth inning …

The Jason Schmidt question  —  How he injured his shoulder and lost his velocity remains a mystery.  —  SAN DIEGO — Which came first, the shoulder inflammation or the decreased velocity?  —  When it comes to pitcher Jason Schmidt, the Dodgers don't know the answer.

Cleveland 5, Baltimore 4  —  CLEVELAND (AP) — Perhaps the only player in the ballpark that could have caught Grady Sizemore's home-run ball was the guy who hit it.  —  Sizemore sped around the bases with an inside-the-park home run, Jake Westbrook got his first win in five starts …

Griffey diagnosed with pleurisy (AP)  —  PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ken Griffey Jr. remained out of the Cincinnati Reds' lineup for a second day Friday with pleurisy, an inflammation in the lining of a cavity surrounding the lungs.  —  Griffey was held out of Thursday's game in St. Louis with soreness in his chest.

Lies, Damned Lies: The PECOTA Top 100 by Nate Silver  —  This is my favorite column of the year to write, perhaps because there's relatively little actual writing involved.  Let's bring the PECOTA Takes on Prospects series to its long overdue conclusion.  —  Below is PECOTA's …

Heirs to the throne?  —  Dolan family has keen interest in buying Yankees  —  Also in this column:  —  With age creeping up on George Steinbrenner and his team's succession plans seeming unsettled, it was only a matter of time before someone surfaced with interest in buying the Yankees.