Jeter hit by pitch on hand, day-to-day  —  Despite contusion, Yanks captain hopes to play Wednesday  —  NEW YORK — The thud of baseball hitting bone may have been something awful, but — no surprise here — Derek Jeter said he will be all right.  —  The Yankees shortstop was hit …

Nice encore by Masterson  —  Red Sox rookie Justin Masterson answered reporters' questions after pitching the Red Sox to victory Monday night.  —  The drama last night in the Fens came in smaller bites.  Instead of nine innings of no hits, there was one bases-loaded whiff …

Pedro's test Wednesday  —  ATLANTA - Pedro Martinez is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Wednesday at Turner Field, and Willie Randolph echoed Martinez's belief that the righthander should pitch during next week's home stand.  —  It was after rotator cuff surgery that Martinez joined …

Mets' Church taken to hospital with concussion  —  ATLANTA — While trying to break up a game-ending double play, Ryan Church of the New York Mets sustained a mild concussion when his head banged into the right knee of Braves shortstop Yunel Escobar on Tuesday night.

Jones' role with Marlins unclear  —  Manager Gonzalez says outfielder will play, but not sure where  —  MIAMI — Nobody knows yet how newly acquired outfielder Jacque Jones will fit in with the Marlins.  —  But one thing's for sure.  —  “As long as he's got a uniform, he's playing,” Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said.

Mets' Randolph backs away from racial comments  —  The New York Mets, having recently worked their way out of one self-created distraction, now have another.  —  Manager Willie Randolph on Tuesday backed away from comments he made in a Monday column in The Bergen (N.J.) …

Maybe it should be called “mediacrity”...  O.K. just so we're clear—this is not about Barry Bonds.  This is about the media, period.  —  Whether it was pre-1947, the Peter Ueberroth era, the aught (ownership paid a settlement as part of the last collective bargaining agreement negotiations) …

Pirates' drafting eye on Alvarez, Beckham  —  List of prospects for No. 2 pick down to just five  —  The Pirates' list of prospects for the No. 2 overall pick in the June 5 draft, which was seven deep a week ago, now is down to a handful.  —  Maybe less.

Crystal ball: Projecting the first 20 picks  —  Key injuries shake up potential order as teams examine options  —  Ready to expand your horizons?  Here is my first crack at projecting the top 20 picks in the draft.  —  While the biggest difference from last week's top 10 is in the No. 1 spot …

Chone improvement?  —  Angels' infielder Figgins fits a need, and his name keeps coming up in trade rumors  —  White Sox general manager Ken Williams chose his words carefully.  —  On one hand, there has been increased speculation that his interest in Los Angeles Angels infielder Chone Figgins has grown.

Rockies SS takes batting practice  —  DENVER — Troy Tulowitzki tried to blend in as he took batting practice with the pitchers, not wanting to draw attention to himself.  —  The Colorado Rockies shortstop's long homers into the left-field seats were hard to ignore.

Piazza: the blue-plate special  —  He retires without a team, but it should have been as a Dodger  —  The great ones should not bid farewell via e-mail.  Mike Piazza deserved to tip his cap and bask in the applause, secure in his place as one of the Dodgers' brightest stars.

Leyland fires back at Grilli's remarks  —  Tigers manager speaks to media, holds closed-door meeting  —  DETROIT — Tigers manager Jim Leyland has spent the season exercising extreme patience with his struggling club.  When it comes to players talking about the team atmosphere and teammates, however, his patience ran out.