Church's return to Mets a good thing, Manuel says  —  Ryan Church's expected return to the lineup tomorrow creates some issues for manager Jerry Manuel.  Issues he's more than happy to deal with because he views Church as “a great, great addition to us.”  —  Church went -for-4 …

Hal Steinbrenner calls upon captain Jeter  —  Most weeks that the Yankees are at home, team co-chairman Hal Steinbrenner meets with general manager Brian Cashman and manager Joe Girardi at Yankee Stadium.  Last Friday, Steinbrenner added one to the invite list: captain Derek Jeter.

Duchscherer, Gallagher latest A's to go on DL  —  SEATTLE — All-Star right-hander Justin Duchscherer went back on the disabled list Thursday because of a strained hip, the latest in an epidemic of injuries for the fallen Oakland Athletics.  —  Duchscherer was placed on the 15-day disabled list …

Gorzelanny returning; Bautista sent to Toronto  —  Tom Gorzelanny will join the Pirates today in Milwaukee, back from a month-plus of pitching with Class AAA Indianapolis, and will be added to the 25-man roster shortly thereafter.  —  Beyond that, though, plenty is unclear:

Red Sox' time is now  —  Sox need to clinch early to have chance in October  —  + Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email + Bio  —  The obvious priority, as David Ortiz [stats] recently noted, is to “win games, win games, win games.”  But the more the Red Sox [team stats] can win now, the better their chances later.

NO LO CONTENDERS  —  YANKS PUT UP NO FIGHT VS. HALLADAY  —  TORONTO - The tombstone has been engraved, the caskets are ordered and members of the fan base have started the mourning process.  —  Now, The Post welcomes you to the Tragic Number Countdown.  —  There isn't a better time to begin …

Former Met great Tom Seaver not sad to see Shea go  —  There are memories everywhere for Tom Seaver at Shea Stadium.  —  When he looks out at the field, he sees the ghosts of teammates past.  When he looks into the stands, he hears the fans who cheered him during his 11 seasons as a Met.

Andino delivers PCL's fifth cycle  —  Goes 5-for-6 with two RBIs in Albuquerque's 16-8 rout of New Orleans  —  It's the year of the cycle in the Pacific Coast League.  —  Robert Andino became the fifth PCL player to achieve the feat this season, going 5-for-6 with two RBIs …

Webb, D-Backs complete sweep  —  As his Diamondbacks teammates were lining up and giving each other high-fives Thursday night, Brandon Webb wanted to rip off his uniform and show them the battle scar that helped him earn his career-high 19th victory.  —  The shot off the bat …

“Outside the Lines” revisits the battle between Danny Almonte and Matt Cerda in the 2001 Little League World Series.  —  Two airplanes destroyed the Twin Towers, and two boys went back to the rest of their lives.  —  Nineteen days before, these boys had played a crisp Little League World Series ballgame …

Zambrano earns 13th win to lift Cubs  —  CHICAGO (AP)—Carlos Zambrano delivered a heated first-inning lecture to someone he knew would listen—himself.  Upset after giving up a four-pitch walk to leadoff batter Chris Dickerson, Zambrano calmed down, regrouped and got out of the inning.

Lee wins 18th, Sizemore tallies 7 RBI to lead Indians sweep  —  CLEVELAND (AP) — Cliff Lee won his AL-best 18th victory and seventh straight decision, backed by Grady Sizemore's career-high seven RBI, as Cleveland Indians beat the Kansas City Royals 10-3 on Thursday.  —  GAME REPORT: Indians 10, Royals 3

I've just been handed an urgent and horrifying news story.  I need all of you, to stop what you're doing and listen.  —  According to his agent, Carl Pavano has been told he will start against the Orioles on Saturday.  —  God help us all.  —  UPDATE, 2:46 p.m.: “He worked extremely hard …