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

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

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.

Colon to disabled list  —  Red Sox righthander Bartolo Colon has been placed on the 15-day disabled list because of stiffness in his lower back.  —  The Red Sox have recalled righthander Chris Smith from Triple A Pawtucket to take his spot on the roster.  —  Colon twice came to the plate …

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.

Twins' Gardenhire fined by MLB  —  Clubs did not comply with pace of game regulations  —  MINNEAPOLIS — Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was fined an undisclosed amount of money after his team did not comply with Major League Baseball's pace of game regulations this past weekend, the league said in a release on Tuesday.