Pedroia turns two: Rookie earns pair of AL honors  —  OAKLAND, Calif. - Dustin Pedroia [stats] heard the boos in April and all of the calls for Red Sox [team stats] manager Terry Francona to bench him in favor of Alex Cora [stats] after batting only .182 in the first month of the season.

Ramirez still adjusting to new position in lineup  —  ATLANTA — Hanley Ramirez went into Monday's game batting .212 with runners in scoring position - not exactly the kind of production desired from a player who hits third in the batting order.  —  But the Marlins also understand Ramirez …

Vote for May's Pepsi Clutch Performer  —  Carmona, Cust, Griffey, Hamels, Lopez, Willingham in running  —  Fausto Carmona, Jack Cust, Ken Griffey Jr., Cole Hamels, Felipe Lopez and Josh Willingham are your six voting candidates in MLB.com's monthly presentation of a brand-new award …

Finance 101 with Capuano  —  Brewers lefty speaks with kids about being savvy with money  —  MILWAUKEE — Chris Capuano smiled sheepishly as third-graders sitting in front of him bombarded him with questions and comments.  —  "Do you have a piggy bank?"  —  "What's your favorite animal?"

Nationals Counting on Draft-Day Payoff  —  Usually by early June, Dana Brown can't hide the bags under his eyes.  Over the past five years, Brown's job title has been "director of scouting" — first for the Montreal Expos, then for the Washington Nationals.

Clemens hopeful after MRI  —  CHICAGO — Roger Clemens still hopes to make his 2007 Yankees debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday after an MRI exam showed he had a scar tissue injury in his right groin.  —  Clemens had originally planned to start Monday night at the Chicago White Sox.

Mailbag: Will Rangers make moves?  —  Beat reporter T.R. Sullivan answers Rangers fans' questions … Ok, so maybe trading Mark Teixeira isn't the answer.  Maybe even firing people isn't the right answer, as well.  Please tell me this though, assuming the Rangers struggle yet again this season, what is the answer?

Prospects pushing envelope  —  Nationals cautious about rushing Daniel, Marrero and Maxwell  —  WASHINGTON — Tommy Herr is the manager of Hagerstown, one of the Nationals' three Class A Minor League affiliates.  He is surprised that outfielders Mike Daniel, Chris Marrero and Justin Maxwell are still on his team.

Notes: Weaver takes next step back  —  Right-hander looks good while throwing simulated game  —  SEATTLE — Right-handed pitcher Jeff Weaver took one step closer to returning to the rotation, throwing a simulated game before Sunday's series finale against the Rangers.

White Sox still looking for some relief  —  White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen stood near a practice mound in spring training, watching left-hander Andrew Sisco unleash one wicked fastball after another.  —  "Everyone in the bullpen has closer stuff," Guillen proclaimed.

Fields of dreams the answer: Willie  —  Willie Randolph has a very different focus than Gary Sheffield when it comes to why so few African-Americans are playing in the majors.  The Mets' manager thinks the lack of adequate playing fields in New York City is one of the biggest factors.