Sturtze's year could be over  —  Scott Proctor could tell something was wrong.  Before the Yankees' 4-2 loss last night to the Texas Rangers, he saw fellow reliever Tanyon Sturtze emerge from Joe Torre's office with a look on his face that made it clear he needed to be alone.  So Proctor kept his distance.

Proper grip eludes pitcher  —  BALTIMORE — Because the Red Sox won, Curt Schilling said, he was assured of getting some sleep last night.  ''An hour or two, anyway," he said.  —  But the stuff that keeps Schilling up at night — and Sox fans wondering what happened to the guy who was so dominant …

Baby blues  —  Dodgers getting boost from vaunted farm system  —  The Los Angeles Dodgers' roster has been like a runway at LAX, with players flying on top of each other in ways only an air-traffic controller could love.  The past hasn't left yet, but the future is arriving.

Hermida homers, poised for return  —  Jeremy Hermida appears ready to return to the Marlins this weekend after playing pain-free in his second consecutive extended spring game.  —  "It's been a long time waiting,'' Hermida said Tuesday in Jupiter after he went 1-for-2 with a home run. "

Notes: Chances for Minors pitchers?  —  MRI reveals torn elbow ligament for Drese, surgery may follow  —  CHICAGO — Entering Tuesday's action, the Nationals' pitching staff is near the bottom of almost every category, and the team is still debating whether or not to carry more than 11 pitchers.

Jays drop Molina's well-rounded return  —  Former Angels catcher gets first steal; plunked Glaus day-to-day  —  ANAHEIM — If nothing else, catcher Bengie Molina's return to Angel Stadium on Tuesday night had its moments.  —  Several of them, actually.  —  The first came when he emerged …

Padres-Diamondbacks Preview  —  Jake Peavy hopes to help the San Diego Padres defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks for the first time this season when the NL West rivals continue a three-game series at Chase Field on Tuesday.  —  Peavy (3-3, 3.61 ERA) is 2- with a 1.29 ERA over his last three outings …

Unsympathetic figure  —  HOUSTON - Victim Barry is tired.  He said he sleeps all the time, and occasionally a mistress isn't even involved.  —  Victim Barry is haunted.  He said the ghost of Babe Ruth is hovering over him, shaking his concentration as he tries to hit his 714th home run …

A's smack Felix around  —  OAKLAND, Calif. — The Mariners came into the season fairly confident that Felix Hernandez wasn't in over his head, pitching in the big leagues at 20.  —  It would be no surprise if that confidence had been shaken some in the first six weeks of the 2006 season.

Mets' pitchers face challenge from Pujols  —  ST. LOUIS — Those four fingers the Mets showed Barry Bonds last month?  —  Well, they'll show them to Albert Pujols this week.  And as Bonds twice did when the Mets went after him in San Francisco, don't be surprised to see similar results …

Field-and-scream effort  —  Rookie Logan has a nightmare night in an ugly Sox defeat  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Brandon McCarthy suffered from a high pitch count Tuesday night and lasted only four-plus innings.  —  That paled in comparison, however, to the embarrassing outing …

Willis takes another loss; Ramirez hurt  —  ATLANTA — After winning 22 games last season, Dontrelle Willis might wonder now whether he'll get even two wins this season.  —  And the Marlins might wonder if they'll ever hold a lead again.  —  Two outs away from nailing down that elusive second win …

Showing his age  —  Johnson's woes reveal his best days are behind him  —  For much of the last two seasons the Yankees have excused the decline of Randy Johnson with some creative thinking.  See, it never could be just that Johnson was getting hit and getting old.

LaRoche's disorder in spotlight  —  ATLANTA — Adam LaRoche knows how it looks.  He doesn't seem to be trying hard.  He comes across as inattentive, sluggish, a little too laid-back to be a professional athlete.  —  When LaRoche was coming up through the minors, countless coaches and instructors told him to show more emotion.

Ball from stands nearly hits Jones  —  Incident raises security concerns  —  An allegedly inebriated fan in right field threw a ball that barely missed hitting Jacque Jones before the ninth inning Tuesday, raising some red flags about security problems in the bleachers.