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 …

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.

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.

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.

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 …

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.

Dodgers ride Penny past D-Backs  —  Four-run third paves way to All-Star righty's 10th win  —  LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers, who at one point in Wednesday night's game with the Arizona Diamondbacks had six runs on the board, held on to win, 5-4.  —  Do the math.

Sox looking to avert history  —  Boston (50-32) at Tampa Bay (38-47), 7:15 p.m. ET  —  If anyone can save Boston from being swept by the Rays for the first time in history, it's Tim Wakefield.  Boston's right-hander is 14-2 in 31 appearances against Tampa Bay and sports a 6-0 record with a 2.08 ERA in 16 games at Tropicana Field.

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 …

Day after 'pen leaked, Reds deal for Guardado  —  CINCINNATI — Trying to bolster their struggling bullpen, the Cincinnati Reds acquired Eddie Guardado and cash from the Seattle Mariners on Thursday for minor league pitcher Travis Chick.  —  The Reds made the trade a day after blowing …

Break up the Phillies  —  Wagner says former team needs to make big changes  —  People who have spoken to Phillies general manager Pat Gillick believe he will not stand pat this trading season.  They say he desperately wants to improve the Phillies' current clubhouse atmosphere.

Buying, not selling, deadline-deal plan  —  In a distinct change from the recent past, there won't be a for-sale sign posted at 20th and Blake this July.  —  If the Rockies continue to stay in contention in the National League West - they remain confident they will do just that …

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.

Jeff Weaver  —  A number three starter will look good in Cardinals red.  —  The flowing Thor locks?  Maybe not.  But this trade, on the surface, appears to be vintage Jocketty.  He bought low-as I posted yesterday, the Angels wanted Lastings Milledge a week and a half ago-and sold high …

Cardinal sins  —  The suddenly slipping Cardinals, Walt Jocketty said just the other day, weren't looking for a pitcher.  As bad as the Cardinals' pitching has been — and, for them, it's been historically bad lately — the team's longtime general manager said he was perfectly content to ride …

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.