Cubs, Rays eye Pedro  —  A source close to Pedro Martinez indicated tonight that both the Chicago Cubs and Tampa Bay Rays have watched Martinez throw in the Dominican and both teams have begun to at least explore how much money it would take to lure Martinez back to the mound.

Source: Chien-Ming Wang to remain in New York Yankees rotation  —  Despite having a 21.61 ERA as a starter, Yankees right-hander Chien-Ming Wang is expected to remain in the rotation, a source told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney.  —  Wang has the highest starter's ERA through five starts since 1913 …

Maine's Start Is Pushed Back, but Mets Say It's No Cause for Alarm  —  The Mets pushed John Maine's next start back a day, to Saturday at Yankee Stadium, because of shoulder discomfort that he described as “nothing serious.”  In his next sentence, Maine said, “It's just maybe a little dead.”

Red Sox' 8th a wonder  —  Extend streak vs. Yankees  —  + Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email  —  Like Christmas for an 8-year-old, Aug. 6 cannot come soon enough for the Red Sox [team stats] and their fans.  —  The Sox get to play the Yankees again - 10 more times, actually.

A new client for Scott Boras?  How about McCourt's son  —  Gavin McCourt, the son of Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, was drafted in the 39th round Thursday by the Boston Red Sox.  Will Scott Boras do the negotiating?  —  McCourt was an all-league outfielder at North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake …

Orlando Hernandez agrees with Rangers  —  ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — El Duque will try to make a comeback with the Texas Rangers.  —  Orlando Hernandez, who has been part of four World Series championship teams, agreed to a minor league contract Thursday with the Rangers.

Phillies Minor League Player Ozuna Suspended  —  The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball announced today that Philadelphia Phillies Minor League infielder Pablo Ozuna has received a 50-game suspension after showing an elevated Testosterone/Epitestosterone ratio, a performance-enhancing substance violation …

Angels draft boxing legend Ali's son  —  Catcher led high school team to division title in Michigan  —  His world-famous father lived for the late rounds, winning his fights with his famous rope-a-dope strategy.  A late round — the 40th, to be precise — was where Asaad Ali …

John Maine on the DL  —  The Mets have put Mets RHP John Maine on the 15-day disabled list due to fatigue and weakness in his right shoulder.  —  Following the game, Omar Minaya told reporters that Maine had an MRI earlier in the week, which showed no structural damage.

Astros 2, Cubs 1, 13 Innings  —  HOUSTON (AP) — Geoff Blum drove in the winning run for the second straight game, hitting an RBI single in the 13th inning that led the Houston Astros over the Chicago Cubs 2-1 Thursday.  —  Blum singled down the right-field line off Jose Ascanio to score Hunter Pence.

If the Nats could trade Strasburg  —  Opinions vary on what Washington could get in return for its No. 1 pick  —  It's time once again to play America's favorite second-guessing game — What If?  —  Here's this week's mesmerizing hypothetical question: If baseball teams were allowed to trade draft picks …

St. Louis Cardinals' manager Tony La Russa defends Hal McRae  —  MIAMI — The Cardinals enjoyed the National League's most productive offense in April.  They have endured its least productive one since.  To manager Tony La Russa, the same players celebrated for the earlier breakout …