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.

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.

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

Tejada has All-Star ballot competition  —  Astros shortstop being pursued by Ramirez, three others  —  Houston's Miguel Tejada is still clinging to the lead, but Florida's Hanley Ramirez and the three other shortstops chasing Tejada in the National League All-Star voting have narrowed …

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 …

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.

Ninth-inning rally propels LSU to 6-5 victory over Rice at CWS  —  OMAHA — LSU finally made a highlight video on location at the College World Series that does not star Skip Bertman.  —  It was like a movie.  Call it, “The Magic's Back at Rosenblatt.”  —  The Tigers' five-game losing streak …

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.

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.

Chatting with Sandy Alderson (Part 2)  —  This is the second of a three-part interview (Part 1 is here) with San Diego Padres CEO Sandy Alderson.  Big thanks to Mr. Alderson for taking time out of his busy schedule to make himself available, and also to his assistant, Dayle Tedrow …

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 …

Spear: Buzhardt's memory will never fade  —  FOUR YEARS SEEM like yesterday.  The memories are that clear, the stories that good.  —  John Buzhardt and I met at the Mid-Carolina Country Club grill room to talk about his professional baseball career, and seldom has an interview been so entertaining.

Minnesota's Hernandez shuts down Nationals  —  MINNEAPOLIS - Livan Hernandez finally found a way to keep opposing hitters off base, earning his first victory in over a month in Minnesota's 2-1 win over the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night.  —  Hernandez (7-4), who is on pace to become …