Rangers, Red Sox rained out again  —  Millwood pushed back a day, will start Monday in NY  —  BOSTON — The pink bats never got out onto the field.  —  The Rangers were one of the first teams to agree to use pink bats on Mother's Day to raise money for charity, but that noble idea got washed away by rain.

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.

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.

First Pitch, May 15  —  CROWDED  —  The Colorado Rockies have a big decision to make on right-handed pitcher Sunwoo Kim, who allowed one hit in eight shutout innings of a rehabilitation start for Class AAA Colorado Springs against Omaha on Saturday.  At some point, the Rockies are going to be faced …

Notes: Tigers staff being stingy  —  Bonderman leads rotation that tops MLB in pitches per inning  —  CLEVELAND — Jeremy Bonderman struck out eight batters in eight innings here Saturday, yet needed just 98 pitches to do it.  Kenny Rogers used just 90 pitches to last eight scoreless innings April 30 against the Twins.

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 …

Clubs think pink on Mother's Day  —  Players use special bats; clubs raise breast cancer awareness  —  From Yankee Stadium in New York to AT&T Park in San Francisco, it was a day to think pink around Major League Baseball.  —  Culminating a weeklong initiative designed to create awareness …

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.

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 …

Where Did We Go Right?  —  It's May, and just as they did at this time last year, the Padres have transformed themselves from a mediocre (or worse) team into the hottest item this side of George Clooney's African thing-solving crusade.  So, how are they doing it?  —  Hitting

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.