Rangers' rest has pluses, minuses  —  BOSTON - As the Rangers paired up for boarding their chartered ark, er, flight to escape flooded Boston, the pitching perspective on a weekend full of rainouts differed.  —  Mainly, it depended where you sat.  —  For the starters, especially the young and infirm …

Is this the swan song for Alou, Bonds, other veterans?  —  IT WAS EARLY Sunday morning, hours before his team's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Giants manager Felipe Alou was packing his suitcase for the upcoming road trip.  —  That's when the question popped into his head.

NEW YANKEES PITCHING COACHES DELIVERING MIXED RESULTS  —  As Yankee fans watched the playoffs last fall, a familiar face from Pinstripe Past made a few great appearances.  Much to the surprise of many Yankee fans, Jose Contreras, the $32 million bust who led Larry Lucchino to utter the …

Mets drop game, series to Brewers  —  Martinez strikes out 10 to take over Major League lead  —  MILWAUKEE — An optimist would say the Mets were resilent.  —  A pessimist might say they failed to capitalize on many chances in their 6-5, 10-inning loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday.

Trade for Karsay adds veteran arm to bullpen  —  A's notes  —  NEW YORK — With their pitching corps in a shambles because of injuries, the A's, looking for immediate help, acquired reliever Steve Karsay from the Cleveland Indians for an undisclosed amount of cash.

Brian's return held up  —  MILWAUKEE - Mets brass is now leaning toward having Brian Bannister pitch in a minor-league game before reentering the rotation.  That would prevent the rookie from facing the Yankees on Friday and delay a decision about whether to bounce Jose Lima or Jeremi Gonzalez from the rotation.

Red Sox awash in rainouts  —  They move on to Baltimore  —  The grounds crew has been the only team on the field at Fenway Park since the sixth inning of last Friday's game against the Rangers.  (AP Photo)  —  Again it was too wet for the Red Sox to play yesterday, as the field …

Pirates choose McLouth, send Duffy to minors  —  The Pirates made official what had become increasingly obvious over the past few days: Nate McLouth is their center fielder.  —  Chris Duffy, the starter at the position on opening day, was optioned yesterday to Class AAA Indianapolis in a move …

Improved Unit still at a loss  —  Unable to find A-game  —  Afterward, Joe Torre said Randy Johnson's outing was "a step in the right direction," which may tell you something about how small expectations for the Big Unit have become in Yankeeland.  But Torre also seemed realistic when he noted that Johnson has "a ways to go yet.

Back in major leagues, veteran Erickson goes right to work  —  Scott Erickson's comeback tour now includes both the Mets and Yankees.  The veteran sinkerball specialist overcame arm surgery to pitch two games for the Mets in 2004 and joined the Yankees yesterday from Triple-A Columbus, taking injured Tanyon Sturtze's roster spot.

Blue Jays 'Tower' over Rays  —  Towers earns first victory with strong outing in finale  —  ST. PETERSBURG — Josh Towers can breathe a little easier and maybe feel a little more comfortable inside Toronto's clubhouse — let alone in the starting rotation.

Haren brilliant in Bronx  —  EVEN THOUGH he grew up in Southern California, Dan Haren spent his youth listening to stories about the Yankees.  That's just how it is when your father grew up in upper Manhattan.  —  Now Haren has a great tale of his own to tell about the Bronx.