Torre makes it clear: Yankees are behind him  —  FLUSHING, N.Y.—In his first trip to New York since leaving last fall, Joe Torre held court before an overflow throng of reporters on Thursday.  —  He wasn't in the Bronx, where he managed the New York Yankees.  He was in the visitors dugout across town at Shea Stadium.

Thunder RF Tabata disciplined again  —  TRENTON - Thunder right fielder Jose Tabata was yanked from tonight's game against visiting New Hampshire in the fifth inning for unspecified disciplinary reasons.  —  Suspended three games by the Yankees for leaving Waterfront Park following …

Johnson ties Clemens at No. 2 on Ks list  —  PHOENIX (AP)—Randy Johnson looked phenomenally strong for a 44-year-old pitcher.  That wasn't enough, though, for the struggling Arizona Diamondbacks against resurgent San Francisco.  —  Arizona's bullpen blew a late lead and Randy Winn's ninth …

FULL-TIME JOBA  —  CHAMBERLAIN SET TO JOIN YANKS' ROTATION  —  In a conversation with Brian Cashman yesterday, Hank Steinbrenner forgot to ask his GM when Joba Chamberlain will debut in the Yankees' rotation.  —  However, don't take that as indifference when it comes to converting baseball's premier set …

Harang appears affected by relief outing  —  Reds bats come up with two hits off former teammate in loss  —  CINCINNATI — The costly 18-inning game last weekend didn't just give the Reds one isolated loss on one isolated day.  The carryover from that six-hour day became visible on Thursday …

Hinshaw has earned his keep  —  Lefty's success contrasts with Threets' Triple-A struggles  —  PHOENIX — Left-hander Erick Threets was too valuable a commodity for the Giants to let go when the season began.  But Alex Hinshaw's emergence could make Threets expendable.

Guzman not focusing on free agency  —  Talks on hold til end of season; shortstop hopes to stay  —  SAN DIEGO — Nationals shortstop Cristian Guzman is having the best year of his career thus far.  Entering Friday's action against the Diamondbacks, Guzman is hitting .304 with five home runs and 20 RBIs …

Quote: Willie was Illin'  —  Following last night's game, SNY's Kevin Burkhardt asked Willie Randolph, “It seems like all the things that were illing this club...it's like they've all come together, is it just timing,” to which Randolph smiled, laughed and asked, “Illing?  Is that like the hip-hop term, illin'.

McAllister Promoted to Tampa, Almonte Activated  —  CHARLESTON- Charleston RiverDogs starting pitcher Zach McAllister has been promoted to the High Class-A Tampa Yankees, the New York Yankees announced Thursday.  Outfielder Abraham Almonte has also been activated from the disabled list to keep the RiverDogs at 25 players.

Thames to get everyday shot to play  —  Joyce sent down after win over Angels; Thomas recalled  —  ANAHEIM — Marcus Thames is getting his shot.  —  While Tigers manager Jim Leyland announced Wednesday that Curtis Granderson would be an everyday player for the near future …

Church Says He Does Not Regret Helping Out Mets  —  Before reporters were permitted into the Mets' clubhouse Thursday afternoon, Brian Schneider asked his teammates to lower the volume of the music blasting from the computer.  Ryan Church was coming in soon and, because of his concussion, he may not have appreciated the loud noise.

MacPhail happy to wait, watch for now  —  The trade deadline is two months away, giving Andy MacPhail plenty of time to plot the next move in the Orioles' rebuilding process.  But for now, MacPhail is satisfied to sit and observe a team that has exceeded expectations a third of the way through the season.

Brewers' Tavarez brings October mind-set, but ring doesn't come along  —  MILWAUKEE — Julian Tavarez didn't pitch in the postseason for the Boston Red Sox last season, but for being on the regular season roster, he has a World Series ring.  —  Somewhere.  —  It seems the newest member …

Mariners Notebook |  Morrow switch to role of starter looks more iffy  —  All the talk about the Mariners converting Brandon Morrow to a starting role out of the team's bullpen this year was apparently just that.  —  Now that the talking is done, it seems the Mariners have ruled it out.

Schoeneweis?  Endy?  Tatis?  —  I dare you to write me a more improbable script for a victory than what happened last night in the Mets' 7-6 victory over the first-place Marlins.  I mean, Fernando Tatis?  On a team with a payroll approaching $140 million?  Maybe that's what makes this win so inspiring.