Glavine, Reyes out of All-Star Game  —  Veteran decides he won't be able to pitch after starting Sunday  —  NEW YORK — What might have been a contingent of seven Mets All-Stars now is a set of three.  Tom Glavine, who started for the Mets on Sunday against the Marlins, has withdrawn from the game …

Wood wonders if 2005 surgery was wrong move  —  MILWAUKEE — Manager Dusty Baker said Sunday that Kerry Wood told him he is second-guessing whether it was the right decision for him to undergo labrum surgery last August.  —  Wood is out for the season after an MRI arthrogram Friday discovered a partial tear in his right rotator cuff.

PNC Park a winner, but Pirates . . .  Pittsburgh gets its ballpark right, but team is all wrong  —  PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh's steel-and-glass skyline is so close, it appears to hover over the right fielder's shoulder.  There are three major rivers located about the length of a Jason Bay home run from the ballpark's boundaries.

Finally, time to give it a rest  —  CHICAGO — The scoreboard in right-center field was full of ``F"s, as in final scores.  Even the West Coast games were complete.  As a matter of fact, the Sunday night game between St. Louis and Houston was underway.  —  All-Star break getaway planes were being missed.

Future Shock  —  Jay Bruce, of, Low Class A Dayton (Reds)  —  With the 10th, 11th and 12th picks of the 2005 draft, the Tigers, Pirates and Reds all took high school outfielders.  Both Detroit's Cameron Maybin and Pittsburgh's Andrew McCutchen have been impressive in their full-season debuts, but Bruce has been the best of the trio.

Rogers, Penny chosen as All-Star starters  —  PITTSBURGH —Kenny Rogers has gone from all-star scourge to All-Star game starter.  The Tigers' left-hander, the top winner for the team with the best record in the majors, will be on the mound for the AL on Tuesday night against Brad Penny of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

World beaters  —  Royals prospects spark U.S. team in Futures Game  —  PITTSBURGH (AP) — If the All-Star Futures Game is any indication, there's hope for the lowly Kansas City Royals.  —  A pair of their prospects, Billy Butler and Alex Gordon, led the United States to an 8-5 victory …

What Is Gil Meche?  —  Another day, another good start from Gil Meche, resulting in a Mariners win.  With the performance today, he lowered his ERA to 3.83 for the season and has been essentially annointed the team's current ace by the coaching staff, as he will start the first game after the all-star break.

Phillies Notes |  Gordon not worrying about trade rumors  —  Phillies Notes  —  For as long as Phillies closer Tom Gordon has been around, he has been traded only once.  —  That was from the Chicago Cubs to Houston in 2002, and the move seemed to reinvigorate his career.

Braves, Indians Get Active In Pacific Rim  —  The international signing period, which began July 2, doesn't just apply to Latin America.  —  The Braves and Indians made significant splashes in the Far East in the first week of the period, with both teams signing pitchers out of Taiwan …

Millwood expects Friday start  —  ARLINGTON - Rangers right-hander Kevin Millwood said he is healthy and ready to start Friday in Baltimore.  —  Millwood threw off a mound Sunday for the first time since straining his right biceps muscle July 2 against Houston.

WAGS WOULD MORTGAGE FUTURE, BUT WILL OMAR?  —  July 10, 2006 — BILLY WAGNER turns 35 in two weeks and the Mets have a 12-game lead in the NL East.  These are the pertinent numbers in the closer's baseball life.  The short time he has left in the game and the wide lead his club has in its division.

Speculation frays manager's nerves  —  Here's the thing about managerial firings: You can smell them a mile away, like a bushel of rotten, festering eggs.  —  The Phillies are having a stink bomb of a season, but there have been no real indications that Charlie Manuel is on the way out.  —  None.

Measuring homers a guessing game  —  Pittsburgh - Bow-tied essayists and dyed-in-flannel traditionalists love small ball.  Most fans, however, love to see the ball get small.  —  Dating to 1883, there has been a fascination with big-league power, with watching a ball loosen itself …

Going Deep: Answering your questions  —  Clearing up confusion over MLB's procedural rules … Q: I always get a little confused about the different ways call-ups from the Minors occur, i.e., purchasing a contract vs. recalling a player.  —  A: It boils down to whether the player is already on the 40-man roster.