Pedro returns to DR  —  The Mets have scratched today's bullpen session for Pedro Martinez after he had to return to the Dominican Republic to tend to his ill father, Pablo, who suffered a setback this morning in his battle with brain cancer.  Martinez already had landed in Atlanta when he got …

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 …

Church feeling OK  —  Good news on Ryan Church, who just spoke to reporters and said he intends to play either tomorrow or Friday.  Church had a CT scan after Tuesday's game and it came back clear, meaning that the blow to the head did not cause severe damage.

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.

Revolving Yankee Hurts  —  Alex Rodriguez (0 DXL)  —  A couple of weeks back, I got an angry email saying that, while I was assigning A-Rod a DXL of 15, other sources were saying he was out until the All-Star break.  I was a bit surprised that a simple, well-known injury to the best-known player …

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.) …

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.

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) …

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 …

Games of the Day  —  The Tampa Bay Rays go for a sweep of the Oakland Athletics as Andy Sonnanstine faces Dana Eveland this afternoon.  Sonnanstine is undefeated away from the Trop, allowing just two home runs and three walks in twenty eight innings.  Eveland is undefeated at home, posting a 0.92 ERA in Oakland.