Minaya explains Randolph's dismissal  —  Mets general manager: ‘I had to make a decision’  —  ANAHEIM — Shortly after Willie Randolph arrived back at his hotel on Monday night, fresh off a victory, Mets general manager Omar Minaya called him into his own hotel room.

Game 71: Padres at Yankees  —  (Check all the updates for news.  Lots of stuff today)  —  YANKEES (37-33)  —  Damon LF  —  Jeter SS  —  Abreu RF  —  Rodriguez 3B  —  Matsui DH  —  Giambi 1B  —  Posada C  —  Cano 2B  —  Cabrera CF  —  Pettitte LHP

Johnson to make Class A rehab start  —  Right-hander advancing in recovery from Tommy John surgery  —  SEATTLE — Encouraged by a couple of Gulf Coast League starts, the Marlins are advancing Josh Johnson to pitching in games for Class A Jupiter in the Florida State League.

Who might replace Bavasi?  —  An ex-GM helps the P-I develop list of potentials  —  Mariners president Chuck Armstrong said Monday he has some candidates in mind to replace the fired Bill Bavasi as general manager.  —  He didn't name names, of course, but Armstrong is well connected after 25 years in the game.

Carpenter gets upbeat news  —  Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter returned from his trip to Alabama for a second opinion on his right elbow with reassuring news that he shouldn't hesitate to restart his rehab.  —  “All of my tests were fine; my ligament and my reconstruction looks good,” …

Tigers' Renteria, Thames set milestones  —  SAN FRANCISCO (AP)—Marcus Thames has been hitting home runs at a rate that not even Barry Bonds could match.  —  Thames homered in his fifth straight game and Kenny Rogers pitched seven strong innings to help the Detroit Tigers beat the San Francisco Giants 5-1 on Tuesday night.

Riske looks good in rehab assignment  —  Injured hurler may be set for return after another outing  —  MILWAUKEE — David Riske was very sharp in a 38-pitch simulated inning on Saturday afternoon, and he was even better in his rehab assignment Tuesday night for Triple-A Nashville.

Rays spoil Piniella's return, beat Cubs  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP)—Evan Longoria's homer snapped a sixth-inning tie.  The rookie's stellar defense sealed another Tampa Bay victory and spoiled Lou Pinella's return to Tropicana Field.  —  Longoria fielded Reed Johnson's ninth-inning bunt …

CWS Game Eight: Fresno State 5, North Carolina 3  —  Bulldog bullpen shuts down Tar Heels to move to 2-0  —  OMAHA—So far, it's a Bulldog party in the 2008 College World Series.  —  Fresno State joined Georgia, which shares the Bulldog as its mascot, as the only two undefeated teams in the Series …

A's rough up Arizona's Webb in 15-1 win  —  PHOENIX (AP)—The Oakland Athletics are in the wrong division.  —  Mark Ellis hit two home runs to lead a six-homer barrage as Oakland routed Brandon Webb and the Arizona Diamondbacks 15-1 on Tuesday night—the Athletics' fourth straight win over an NL West club.

REYES HURT AS MANUEL LOSES DEBUT  —  ANAHEIM — Jerry Manuel's debut started ominously last night and got worse from there.  —  Manuel and the Mets lost Jose Reyes to a tight left hamstring just four pitches into the game, then watched ace Johan Santana look mortal in a 6-1 interleague loss to the Angels.