There is no cause for alarm  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — I suppose you want to know what's going on.  —  Baseball's going on.  The Big 162.  The ebb and the flow.  —  They go to Minnesota, drop three in a row, and you want someone to hijack their plane and drop them off in the middle of the Pacific Ocean somewhere.

Chacon could be on the way out  —  CLEVELAND - It appears unlikely that Shawn Chacon will make his scheduled start Sunday, but that could be the least of his concerns.  With Chacon failing to show any of the magic he had last season, his time with the Yankees could be coming to an end.

METS 5, PIRATES 0  —  Slow-Pitch Baseball as Hernández Quells the Pirates Softly  —  Cliff Floyd scored one of the Mets' five runs in the first inning in a 5-0 win over Kip Wells and the Pirates.  Orlando Hernández earned the victory.  —  Orlando Hernández threw …

Marlins win with ample support system  —  Yusmeiro Petit won his first major-league start thanks to an outburst by Florida's offense, which produced 19 hits and tied a team record with an eight-run inning.  —  cspencer@MiamiHerald.com  —  WASHINGTON - It looked for the longest time that Wednesday wouldn't be Yusmeiro Petit's day.

Dusty's lifeline — winning  —  HOUSTON — A day after prompting speculation about manager Dusty Baker's future by saying he will evaluate the Cubs' situation during the All-Star break, general manager Jim Hendry tried to temper all the guesswork.  —  Hendry said Wednesday that Baker might …

Ten Things I Didn't Know Last Week  —  Interleague play finished this past Sunday and the American League gave the National an old-fashioned whuppin': 154-98.  I'm not the biggest fan of interleague play, but I don't hate it either, and it certainly does give me good material for this column.

RANGERS NOTES  —  Loe could move to bullpen  —  ARLINGTON - Right-hander Kameron Loe, who is on the disabled list with a right elbow bone bruise, played catch on flat ground from 90 feet Wednesday.  He is scheduled to throw bullpen sessions Friday and Sunday, then begin a rehab assignment at Double A Frisco.

Twins option Bonser to Class AAA Rochester  —  The Twins optioned Boof Bonser, a righthanded starting pitcher, to Class AAA Rochester on Wednesday.  Bonser was 2-2 with a 5.30 ERA in seven starts for the Twins.  He lasted only three innings, allowing four runs on four hits and four walks, in Tuesday night's 7-2 loss to Kansas City.

Yankees' International Haul Sits At Eight  —  Yankees international scouting director Lin Garrett said the Yankees weren't trying to send a message to anybody.  —  Instead, the Yankees just tried to improve their farm system, which has produced some quality of late (Chien-Ming Wang …

THE CAVALRY  —  As you've probably heard, the Cardinals have made a move to bolster a struggling pitching staff, trading outfield prospect Terry Evans to the Angels for Jeff Weaver.  I'm old enough to remember another Weaver riding to town to save the day.  Let's hope this one isn't quite as preposterous.

60 Years and 1,000 Tales Since 14 Were Ejected  —  Sixty years is a long time to stretch a memory.  But Dario Lodigiani is certain that the reason that he and 13 other Chicago White Sox players and coaches were ejected from a game against the Boston Red Sox had nothing to do with a ventriloquist in the stands.

Wagner behind Nomar in Final Vote  —  Closer in striking distance for last National League spot  —  NEW YORK — Major League Baseball officials say the Monster 2006 All-Star Final Vote count in each league is too close to call, and what that means is that Mets fans still have a chance to add …

Elbow surgery will end Martinez's season  —  WASHINGTON — Carlos Martinez's season is over.  —  As the Marlins feared, the right-hander needs Tommy John surgery.  Dr. James Andrews, who examined Martinez on Wednesday, will perform the operation today in Birmingham, Ala.

Notes: Brewers shuffle roster  —  Eveland returns, Moeller designated for assignment  —  rbraun@journalsentinel.com  —  Circumstances and a season-long slump caused the Milwaukee Brewers to make a couple of roster moves after their 13-inning victory over the Cincinnati Reds Wednesday night.

Pirates Notebook: Burnitz, Randa amenable to being traded  —  NEW YORK — Neither Jeromy Burnitz nor Joe Randa has asked the Pirates for a trade.  —  But neither sounds as if he would be terribly troubled if one were to happen.  —  Check out Burnitz's typically candid response to a question on the matter yesterday: