Report: Yankees could exit Clemens deal but won't  —  If the Yankees wanted to walk away from their deal with Roger Clemens, they could do so with no more money exchanging hands, the New York Post reported Monday.  —  However, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told the Post: "It's not something I'm thinking about right now."

Pedroia honored  —  The recent rise in Dustin Pedroia's play has not gone unnoticed around baseball.  —  Pedroia today was named the American League rookie of the month for May and AL player of the week for May 28-June 3.  —  Pedroia batted .415 for the month of May …

Timely hit eludes Mets in loss  —  Perez goes seven innings, allowing three run on four hits  —  NEW YORK — Nine weeks into their season and three days into June, the Mets no longer need look on the rest of their month with the sense of trepidation that existed when they first saw their schedule.

EL DUQUE'S SCHOOLING A HIT FOR GOMEZ  —  Facing Orlando Hernandez's maddening array of breaking balls is the kind of thing that can put some hitters into a funk.  Apparently it was just the tonic to help struggling rookie Carlos Gomez get out of his.  —  Gomez snapped an 0-for-18 hitless skid Saturday …

Rangers' Diaz makes his case  —  Hitting .297 since being called up, Diaz has earned right to stay  —  egrant@dallasnews.com  —  SEATTLE - Victor Diaz has earned his keep.  Or at least an extended stay on the roster.  —  The Rangers will have a decision to make Tuesday, when Jerry Hairston Jr. returns from the disabled list.

Jon Heyman: Piniella needs to share blame for Cubs' woes  —  High-priced Cubs manager quick to criticize players  —  Also in this column  —  The mix of "Sweet" Lou Piniella and the Lovable Loser Cubs already has been as combustible as feared, maybe even more so.

Dye trade rumors won't die  —  TORONTO — The message was a simple one from manager Ozzie Guillen.  —  When asked flat-out Sunday if a trade was in the works to shake up the White Sox' roster, he said, ''Not yet, it's still too early.''  —  But that doesn't mean the Sox haven't started discussing scenarios.

Report: Magic will let Donovan out of deal  —  According to the Orlando Sentinel, the Orlando Magic has agreed to let Billy Donovan out of his contract, paving the way for the former Florida coach to return to the Gators.  —  Donovan agreed to a five-year, $27.5 million deal late last week with the Magic …

Tough day for Cormier, Braves  —  8 runs allowed in 1st game  —  Chicago — The Braves hoped for a starting-rotation boost from Lance Cormier, but on Sunday the Chicago Cubs were the team happiest to see him back from the disabled list.  —  Cormier gave up eight runs and nine hits …

Santana takes the fifth  —  There are certain things that baseball fans have been able to count on every season.  One would be Johan Santana being a dominating starting pitcher.  In 2007, however, that's not the case.  Santana lost again Sunday, suffering his fifth defeat of the season, as the Twins fell to the Athletics 4-2.

New York media loses to Boston  —  Much like the Yankees, the New York media is a total disgrace.  —  Our long winning streak against the Boston media came to an end this morning as we were beaten 14-7 at Fenway Park.  It was our first loss since 2001.  —  We were up 4- after knocking …

On a Sloppy Day, Nationals Mess Up  —  Costly Error Offsets Zimmerman's Shot: Padres 7, Nationals 3  —  Hours before game time, sandbags stacked three high blocked the tunnel between the home clubhouse and dugout at RFK Stadium, lest the flood start early.