Author: Unknown

Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez was pulled from tonight’s game after two innings.

Palm Beach Post reporter Joe Capozzi reports Florida manager Fredi Gonzalez had an animated discussion with Ramirez in the middle of the second inning. Ramirez then picked up his gear and went into the clubhouse.

Ramirez fouled a pitch off his left foot in his first at-bat. The next inning, on a bloop single by Arizona’s Tony Abreu, he jogged to retrieve the ball after kicking it toward the outfield. That led to Gonzalez’s talk with Ramirez between innings.

Brian Barden replaced Ramirez at shortstop.

The Mets are looking for another starting pitcher, but don’t look for a reunion between the club and free-agent right-hander Pedro Martinez.

The New York Daily News, citing an unnamed source "with direct knowledge of the Mets’ thinking," reports Martinez is not an attractive option to the club. The newspaper reports the Mets have the payroll flexibility to bolster the rotation and have held preliminary trade talks with other teams.

Martinez pitched four injury-filled seasons with the Mets, compiling a 32-23 record in 79 games.

In other Mets news, ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin reports general manager Omar Minaya will be in Atlanta to watch the team open a two-game series with Braves on Monday. A team official tells Rubin that Minaya is coming down just to lend support and might not be in Atlanta for long.

If the White Sox want to trade catcher A.J. Pierzynski before he can veto a deal, they reportedly have an interested suitor — the Rangers.

Texas has inquired about Pierzynski as it looks to shore up its catching situation, the Chicago Tribune’s Mark Gonzales reports. Gonzales adds that the White Sox are listening.

Pierzynski, 33, will gain no-trade rights next month when he reaches 10 years of major league service time. He has spent the past five-plus seasons with the Sox.

Gonzales says the Rangers’ ownership situation complicates a possible trade; the team is still in the process of being sold, so it’s unclear how much of Pierzynski’s remaining salary Texas is willing to take. Pierzynski is due to make at least $6.25 million this season. He also can become a free agent in the offseason.

Chicago has an internal replacement for Pierzynski in Triple-A catcher Tyler Flowers.

Chipper Jones tells The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he’s willing to trade spots in the Braves’ batting order with rookie phenom Jason Heyward.

Jones says he’d move from his customary third spot to second, with Heyward moving down a notch to the 3-hole.

"Ultimately I always describe that a No. 3 hitter is a guy who can do it all," Jones tells the newspaper’s Carroll Rogers. "A guy who can hit for average and power, draw walks, run, score runs, drive in runs. At least right now Jason is really the only guy that can do all of those things. With the way I’m swinging the bat, right now I’m more of a table-setter."

Jones is batting .229 with two home runs, eight RBIs and a .375 slugging percentage. He does have a .388 on-base percentage, thanks to 25 walks. Heyward is hitting .287/.411/.584 with eight homers and 28 RBIs. The latter totals are both team highs.

Jones has told Braves manager Bobby Cox he’s willing to make the switch, but he says he’ll hit wherever he’s slotted.

"Anything Bobby wants to do with the lineup, I’ve always made it known I’ll do whatever’s best for the team, and he knows that," Jones said. "I have no qualms hitting second, I have no qualms hitting fourth, fifth, sixth, whatever."

Cox says that, for now, he’ll keep his current top three intact: second baseman Martin Prado, Heyward and Jones.

"I just like it the way it is," Cox says. "Chipper – he just missed hitting a homer (Friday) night. What’s the difference, second or third, anyway, to be honest with you."

Cox notes that Heyward has had RBI opportunities from the 2-spot, and Jones’ high OBP leads to opportunities for hitters below him.

"Chipper’s got a high on-base percentage always. That’s pretty good for (Brian) McCann and (Troy) Glaus and (Eric) Hinske right now, too," Cox says.

Despite the Angels’ slow start – their worst in 20 years – general manager Tony Reagins told the Los Angeles Times that he doesn’t believe the roster needs an overhaul.

"It’s concerning when you’re not playing well, but we believe the players we have assembled have the capability to play at a much higher level," Reagins said. "We have to get guys into their games, and that hasn’t happened yet."

Reagins admitted he has had a couple of trade discussions but isn’t looking to make wholesale changes.

Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo told The Washington Post that he hasn’t set a date for rookie right-hander Stephen Strasburg’s major league debut.

"There’s a window there that I’ve decided, but there’s so many variables still," Rizzo said. "I can’t even pinpoint to the point where I can tell people who really need to know."

Rizzo also hinted that right-hander Drew Storen, a reliever who also was drafted in the first round last June, could debut before Strasburg. There has been speculation that Strasburg will be called up to start in Washington on June 4.

With so much baseball in his blood — his brother Aaron, father Bob and grandfather Ray all played in the majors — it’s easy to understand why Bret Boone couldn’t stay away from the game for long after retiring in 2008. The 41-year-old Boone, a three-time All-Star with 252 career homers, was hired to manage the Golden Baseball League’s Victoria Seals earlier this year. He discussed the career move with Sporting News’ Ken Bradley.

Sporting News: How did you land this job with Victoria?
Bret Boone: I got a phone call from a buddy of mine who was in this league last year, Paul Abbott, who pitched — and I played with him in Seattle in ’01 and ’02. He asked if I was interested. You know, I never really considered doing something like this and I thought this might be interesting and a good experience — kind of get my foot back in the door and find out if this is something I want to do.

The opportunity was for 3 1/2 months versus the usual five- or six-month minor league season, so that worked family-wise better for me. And I think it’s just an opportunity to get some experience and find out if this is something I want to do, and hopefully along the way help a few kids.

SN: For someone who hasn’t been out of the game as a player long and whose family is so much about baseball, was it difficult to step away?
BB: It was very hard. I’ve had a lot of friends who retired and did very well and were happy. For me it was a little different. It was tough. When I walked away from the game I thought it was going to be easy for me, and it was kind of like, Wow, all this stress and stuff I’d been going through for 15, 20 years — finally, I can just relax and step off the stage. But you find you miss it. It’s your way of life for so many years and basically all you’ve done. All of a sudden it’s not there.

It’s definitely been an adjustment for me, especially early. In the last year or so, it’s gotten a lot better and I’ve come to grips with it. I have a lot of great memories and it was a lot of fun. But I’ve been able to turn the page now and move on to the second portion of my life, and maybe that’s going to be in the managing side.

SN: You’ve been able to see your oldest son’s baseball games, among other things, though. That has been a nice change, hasn’t it?
BB: You get to do that part where I’ve never been able to do that. I’ve always been traveling, on road trips and all of a sudden—you can ask my wife, I’m probably driving her nuts being home 24-7. So this is a little break from that. Kind of back in my old life, which was going on the road and traveling and staying busy. … Waking up in the morning and having something to do other than to go get Starbucks and take the kids to school. I mean, that’s great and I’ve been lucky to spend that time with them, but at my age, you need something to get up in the morning and do and hopefully have a passion for.

An MRI exam on Phillies closer Brad Lidge’s surgically repaired elbow revealed no structural damage, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Instead, Lidge is listed as day-to-day with inflammation in the lining of his elbow joint. He had experienced elbow stiffness earlier this week and was sent back to Philadelphia to have it examined.

Lidge, who began the season on the disabled list, has one save and a 2.70 ERA in four appearances with the Phillies this season.

With Lidge and Ryan Madson (toe surgery) both unavailable this week, Jose Contreras has been handling the save chances for Philadelphia.

Giants catcher Bengie Molina is angry at ESPN for making fun of his lack of speed.

Molina blogged for MLB.com that it was "hard to take" the network’s "sarcastic depiction" of his unsuccessful sprint from third base to home plate against the Marlins last week. The clip included slow-motion video and music from the movie "Chariots of Fire."

"Look, you can say I’m the slowest guy in baseball or in all of sports or in the entire world. I don’t take issue with that because I AM the slowest guy," Molina wrote. "I have always been the slowest guy. I can’t challenge that criticism. But ESPN’s intention was not to criticize but to humiliate."

In the blog, Molina trumpeted his career accomplishments and his dedication to the Giants while taking more swipes at the network, which employs a handful of former major league players, managers and executives as analysts. The diss occurred during "SportsCenter," by non-athlete anchors.

"Until recently, I had thought of ESPN as a network run by professionals who know sports. I thought the people at ESPN, because they focus only on sports, actually understood the game and what pro athletes do to reach the highest level of their sport."

"I know I’m a public figure and I just have to take my lumps. But I would like those people at ESPN who, from a safe distance, make fun of players for a cheap laugh, to remember that players are actual people. With wives and mothers and fathers and children and brothers and sisters.

Molina also acknowledges Henry Schulman, the longtime Giants beat reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, who defended Molina against ESPN.

Dismissing speculation that manager Trey Hillman is on the hot seat because of the last-place Royals’ poor start, general manager Dayton Moore told the Kansas City Star that Hill is "exactly what our organization needs at this point in time."

"Trey is a tremendous leader," Moore told the newspaper, "somebody who is very consistent with who he is day in and day out."

Moore admitted, however, that he is disappointed with the team’s poor play. Kansas City is 11-23 after losing 4-0 to Cleveland on Wednesday night. The Royals left 13 men on base in the game.

Kansas City is now 56 games below .500 since Hillman was hired after the 2007 season, replacing Buddy Bell, who resigned. Hillman managed five years in Japan, including the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters to the 2006 title.

"We’ve got to play better," Moore told the Star. "It’s not a question of effort or passion from our coaching staff. It’s all there. But together, we’ve got to perform and win games."

Moore maintained that the Royals can get back into the division race, but also warned that personnel changes are likely if there’s no turnaround.

"I believe in our baseball team," he told the Star. "I believe in the talent that we have here."

Hillman acknowledged his vulnerability in speaking with reporters Wednesday.

"I know it’s the last year of my contract," Hillman said. "I’ve been driven my whole live to be as successful as I could be. I’m still driven the same way. At the end of the day, what Trey Hillman really wants is the Kansas City Royals to be a contending club and to be in position to win baseball games. That’s all I want."

The manager, like his GM, tried to sound hopeful about the rest of the season.

"I’m still 11 games under .500," Hillman said. "I still feel blessed to be here. We’re not where we want to be. We’ve got 120-something games left. Over the years where I’ve been and what I’ve done, I’ve learned the first month and half of a season does not a season make. We can still gain some ground. We’ve still got some time to do some things right."

Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.