It hurts Jeter to watch, but kids help ease pain  —  Derek Jeter sat alone in front of his locker at about 20minutes to 5 last night, having answered all possible questions about his injured right thumb.  The rest of the Yankees were on the field for batting practice, but Jeter was not with them …

Rangers pick lefty from Alabama  —  ARLINGTON - Most things being pretty equal, the Rangers' first-round draft decision Tuesday came down to taking a lefty or right-hander.  —  In the case of the Rangers, left is always right.  —  And so, the club chose diminutive Alabama high schooler Kasey Kiker …

Nats pin future on young talent  —  WASHINGTON—With new ownership in place, the Nationals finally have a future, and they used yesterday's First-Year Player Draft to start building for it.  —  Unencumbered by cost restraints and under guidance from new ownership to build the franchise's farm system …

Grimsley reportedly admitted to illicit drug use  —  Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Jason Grimsley told federal investigators he used illegal performance-enhancing drugs, according to court documents unsealed late Tuesday.  —  Thirteen agents searched Grimsley's house in Scottsdale, Ariz. …

Tigers get a taste of Cintron … CHICAGO — There are, in fact, several living human beings who can remember the last time a Tigers-White Sox series felt like this.  —  Big.  Well, bigger than a Daily Lotto drawing, anyway.  —  Meaningful.  Well, more meaningful than a Nicole Jordan novel, at least.

Tigers nab Tar Heels lefty in first round  —  Signability issues reported help Miller slide to Detroit  —  DETROIT — As odd as it sounds for the Tigers, the rich just got richer.  —  For the second year in a row, the Tigers benefited from a highly-rated prospect who fell out of the top handful of spots.

Gagne sore after first save  —  In his second outing, the Dodgers closer feels some discomfort  —  LOS ANGELES — Eric Gagne converted his first save in nearly a year on Tuesday night, but the grimace on his face and slow readings of the radar gun told the rest of the story.

Penned-up emotions  —  Wagner surprised that Willie didn't use him in save situation  —  LOS ANGELES - Billy Wagner sat alone on the dugout bench early yesterday afternoon, bouncing a baseball off the concrete steps as he searched for the right words to answer a series of delicate questions.

Notes: Cordero remains confident  —  Guillen rehabbing sore hamstring; Zimmerman returns to lineup  —  ATLANTA — Chad Cordero isn't ready to declare that he's cured his problems against the Braves.  —  At the same time, the Nationals' closer never put too much stock in the struggles he endured when facing Atlanta.

Injury hampers lefty Anderson  —  Anderson has MRI after leaving game with elbow soreness  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Left-handed pitcher Brian Anderson had a setback on the road to recovery from Tommy John surgery.  —  Anderson was taken out of an extended spring game Monday after complaining …

Was it right pick?  No one really knows  —  Here's the one thing we know for sure about baseball's amateur draft: We don't know anything.  To question the wisdom of the Royals taking Luke Hochevar with the first pick is like second-guessing your buddy for picking a Powerball number.

College Top 25  —  DURHAM, N.C.—The top three teams remained the same in Baseball America's weekly Top 25 college baseball rankings, as Rice, Cal State Fullerton and Clemson went 3-0 in their regionals.  —  Texas and Nebraska tumbled out of the Top 10 with early exits from the regionals played at their home parks.

Reyes Is a Dynamo, but He's Still Not Playing the Percentages  —  LOS ANGELES, June 6 — Coming off a tough loss Sunday, José Reyes set the tone for the Mets' 4-1 victory Monday by hitting a homer to lead off the game.  It was his sixth home run of the year, one fewer than his career high, set last season.

Drawing the line at 1969 … In 1900, there was no such thing as air conditioners, movies, corn flakes or bubble gum.  But somehow, in baseball, we consider 1900 to be part of the "modern" era.  —  You couldn't listen to a game on a radio in 1900, let alone watch one on DirecTV.

Mauer's bat not enough  —  Twin regains batting lead, but Liriano loses  —  SEATTLE — The buddy system of pitching success finally ran out on Francisco Liriano on Tuesday night in Seattle.  —  After beating pals Felix Hernandez and Ervin Santana in pitching matchups his previous two starts …