Yankees, Mets still faced with plenty of questions  —  NEW YORK — “It's an endless summer” is what baseball's rational thinkers like to say.  But try telling that to the army of New York hard cores, who watched the Yankees and Mets slog through April at a .500 clip and treated it like the apocalypse.

Tigers designate slumping OF Jones; Sheffield goes to left field  —  DETROIT — Jacque Jones was cut Monday by the Detroit Tigers, who had promised a lineup shakeup going into a homestand against the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.  —  Detroit designated Jones for assignment and has 10 days …

Rocket that's crashed and burned  —  Roger Clemens told the Houston Chronicle he's apologized to his family for “mistakes” in his personal life, but denied allegations of steorid use and of an affair with country singer Mindy McCready.  (Getty Images Photo)

Worth the wait: Inside the McLouth breakout  —  Gifted with patience at the plate and all through his career, the Pirates' ‘Mighty Mouse’ is baseball's most productive center fielder  —  WASHINGTON — Remember those fat, orange bats from childhood?  —  Nate McLouth had one at age 4 and …

Red Sox-Yankees spat cited in N.H. killing  —  Ticked off by an earlier scuffle and taunted by anti-Yankees chants, a 43-year-old mother pulled out of a New Hampshire parking lot last week and rammed into one of the Red Sox fans taunting her, prosecutors said today.

An Interview with Buzz Bissinger  —  Award-winning author Buzz Bissinger voiced his displeasure about blogs on last week's Bob Costas HBO special.  In a contrite and fairly candid interview with us, he sums up his television performance thusly: “I am a man of passion, and my passion got the better of me.”

Weak attendance could be a National emergency  —  WASHINGTON - Stan Kasten's two families converged this week.  Down south, his daughter graduated from the University of Florida.  And here, where he's president of the Washington Nationals, his baby turned a month old.

Fogg could make Colorado comeback  —  While they wait for internal options to heal their wounds and fix their mechanics, the Rockies are actively pursuing depth for their rotation, discussing trades with the Reds for Josh Fogg and the Red Sox for Julian Tavarez.

Another Juan to forget  —  TORONTO — A four-day weekend up in Canada with the boys, some drinking, a few heads getting shaved and, of course, blow-up dolls — well, that's usually nothing more than a good time.  —  Leave it to the White Sox to make a train wreck out of it.

Weathers upset by Reds announcer  —  Veteran pitcher defends team against critical comments  —  CINCINNATI — You never know who might be listening to a ballgame on the radio.  —  On Sunday, as the Reds dropped their fifth straight game by a 14-7 score, David Weathers was one of the Reds on Radio listeners on WLW-AM.

No plans to remove Gagne  —  I just spoke with Brewers general manager Doug Melvin via telephone and he told me there are no plans to remove Eric Gagne as the club's closer despite the veteran right-handers off-and-on struggles this season.  —  Melvin is in Brevard County, Fla., watching the team's Class A club there.

Dodgers' Andre Ethier doesn't raise a fuss about not starting  —  He has been displaced by Juan Pierre, who entered the game batting .563 this month.  Manager Joe Torre is caught in a juggling act as Ethier, Pierre and Matt Kemp all get hot at the plate.  —  The Dodgers' opening-day left fielder …