Lester diagnosed with cancer  —  Sox pitcher has form of lymphoma  —  The Red Sox announced yesterday that Jon Lester, 22, had been diagnosed with a rare form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a blood cancer, and will begin treatment in the coming week.  —  Sox manager Terry Francona …

So far, so good on Ortiz's heart tests  —  You never hear the word ``unremarkable" associated with David Ortiz, but in this case, it's a good thing.  —  That was the word used to describe the results of Ortiz's heart tests conducted Wednesday and Thursday at Massachusetts General Hospital by a team of experts.

Gloom blankets the Twins  —  NEW YORK — The dark clouds are expected to roll into New York this morning, bringing severe winds and heavy rain.  —  And that's just the storm following the Twins around this week.  —  The weather system that Tropical Storm Ernesto is supposed to blow over the Bronx today — that's nothing.

He'll Likely Return A First Baseman  —  NEW YORK — Gary Sheffield had a box of bats delivered to his locker at Yankee Stadium Friday afternoon but he won't be able to use them for at least another week.  —  Sheffield, who has been on the disabled list since May 14 because of a torn ligament …

Major League Yankees lover  —  1st game in 50 yrs. a ball for fan, 103  —  Helen Beller is truly a Yankees fan for the ages.  —  The great-great-grandma from Manhattan's upper West Side has been rootin' for the Bronx Bombers all her life, which began in 1903, the same year the Yanks were born as the Highlanders.

Pérez Exhibits His Inconsistency  —  DENVER, Aug. 31 The Mets' rotation will receive a jolt this weekend when Tom Glavine and Orlando Hernández start for the first time in two weeks, but the long-anticipated return to normalcy does not signal good news for everyone.

It's time for Jeter to get his MVP due  —  He says he doesn't even think about it, but you know that can't be true.  After all these years, there is plenty of evidence that Derek Jeter is genuine about putting winning above all individual pursuits, but that doesn't mean he isn't human.

Baker doesn't argue Maddux's rip at defense  —  After his last victory made him 3-0 as a Dodger, Greg Maddux was quoted as saying, "I've seen more plays here in a month than I've seen in the last three months.  They cover a lot of ground."  —  If true, that would be an indictment of the team …

More duties for Borowski?  —  · One way for the Marlins to address their set-up problems: Give the job to the closer.  —  Joe Borowski won't be logging two-inning saves the rest of the way, but he and pitching coach Rick Kranitz said they were open to a greater workload.

997 At-Bats, and the Twins' Tyner Can't Buy a Round-Tripper  —  The running gag on the Minnesota Twins about Jason Tyner's lack of power reached a high point Aug. 13.  That is the day the willowy Tyner, the Twins' fill-in left fielder and a former No. 1 draft pick of the Mets, had a single …

The best young tandem in baseball?  Tough call  —  A scout last week asked me this question:  —  "Who would you take, the Mets' Jose Reyes and David Wright or the Phillies' Ryan Howard and Chase Utley?"  —  Without giving the topic much thought, I responded, "Howard and Utley."