PAVANO MAY RETURN BEFORE PHIL  —  Dropping him into the clubhouse might prove to be too much of a challenge, but there is a chance Carl “American Idle” Pavano could be ready to pitch for the Yankees before Phil Hughes.  —  “I haven't asked, but it's possible,” GM Brian Cashman said last night.

Johan, Mets done in by one pitch  —  Hernandez's grand slam proves to be all Mariners need  —  NEW YORK — The plan sometimes is flawed.  Other times, the execution is lacking.  Instances exist, though, when the plan is well-conceived, its execution is proper and the results are quite acceptable.

Salute to Remy to be shown on MLB Extra Innings  —  Tonight, distributors are making NESN's Red Sox pregame show available to MLB Extra Innings subscribers beginning at 6 p.m. EST.  This is a special event so that Red Sox fans may enjoy coverage of Jerry Remy Day at Fenway Park and a salute …

Mets sign first round pick Ike Davis … The Mets signed their first pick of the first round, power hitting first baseman Ike Davis of Arizona State.  It is believed Davis, the son of former Yankees reliever Ron Davis, received in the range of $1.5 million.

OF Christian called up from Triple-A  —  PITTSBURGH — Outfielder Justin Christian was expected to join the Yankees in time for tonight's game against the Pirates at PNC Park.  —  Christian, who started his professional career in the independent Frontier League in 2003 …

Latinos and College Baseball  —  A while back I examined the decline of African-Americans playing major-league baseball.  James Wagner looks at the racial composition of Division I college baseball and notices a different trend. … I am not concerned about the lack of foreign Latinos in college baseball.

Dunn doesn't show it much, but he loves baseball  —  The Blue Jays' GM alleged Adam Dunn didn't have passion for baseball.  That couldn't be further from the truth, Ken Rosenthal says.

Yankees Should Trade Melky Cabrera  —  Two key tenets of successful team building in baseball: First, deal from strength, and second, take advantage when the market overvalues your assets.  Brian Cashman may find himself in the unusual position of meeting both conditions for making a trade …

Vindicating Derek Jeter's fielding at short (sorta)  —  Introducing OPA!  OPA! is my new (still in the works) fielding system for use with Retrosheet, one that I've been meaning to create for a while now.  Last week, I teased the beginnings of OPA!, at least the ground ball part.

Tribe inks two to Minor League deals  —  Rincon, Graffanino to report to Triple-A Buffalo  —  CLEVELAND — The Indians are sending a couple more veteran big leaguers to Triple-A Buffalo as depth options.  Reliever Juan Rincon and infielder Tony Graffanino were signed to Minor League contracts on Tuesday.

Jeter showing low numbers  —  If there were ever a year when Derek Jeter could be called overrated, this has been it.  —  The Yankees' captain, the highest-paid shortstop in baseball, has a .279 batting average, a whopping 37 points below his career mark, while his 10 doubles and 39 runs scored put him well below his usual pace.

In 1960, a Series to Remember (or Forget)  —  PITTSBURGH — Typically, Herb Soltman and his legion of Pittsburgh Pirates fans have only one day a year to pay homage to the most dramatic ending in the 104 years of World Series play, when Bill Mazeroski blasted a game-ending …

Mets employee Plummer, with team 43 years, dies  —  NEW YORK — Jim Plummer, who had been with the New York Mets organization since he was Nolan Ryan's minor-league bat boy in 1965, died Tuesday at New York University Medical Center.  He was 56.  —  Plummer had a liver and kidney transplant …

Santo's Hall of Fame bid gets a big boost  —  Enshrined Morgan calls ex-Cub's candidacy a ‘no-brainer’  —  They sat two booths apart during the Cubs-White Sox game Sunday night at Wrigley Field, the man who would be in the Hall of Fame and the man who would help him get there.

Rain ends homestand for Drillers  —  The Tulsa Drillers lost a game to the weather on Monday, but gained a major league veteran for their starting rotation.  —  Tulsa's scheduled afternoon home game against the Springfield Cardinals was postponed due to unplayable conditions …

Francis falters quickly  —  KANSAS CITY — Jeff Francis isn't a No. 1 starter.  He's a firestarter in the first.  —  That the Rockies are card-carrying members of the National League Worst provides hope.  But the cold reality is this: They can't call themselves contenders until they play much better for a much longer period of time.