PETTITTE VISITING BOSTON.(SPORTS) - Albany Times Union (Albany, NY)

Byline: Combined wire services

Andy Pettitte talking with the Houston Astros was anticipated and barely registered on owner George Steinbrenner's angst radar screen.

Of course, the New York Yankees' free-agent left-hander would speak to his hometown team.

The Boston Red Sox, however, are another matter, and while talks with other teams are deemed exploratory, there's no mystery as to Steinbrenner's reaction should Pettitte leave for Fenway Park, where he'll be today or Friday to meet with the Yankees' greatest rival.

One of Pettitte's agents, Randy Hendricks, in an e-mail Wednesday, said he would not be fooling around in Boston.

``The Red Sox have expressed strong interest,'' Hendricks wrote, and Pettitte's interest is logical for no other reason than to force the Yankees to dig deeper, as they did in Bernie Williams' negotiations after the 1998 season.

Speculation that the 31-year-old Pettitte, with 149 career victories and 13 more wins in the postseason, will remain with the Yankees was enhanced after pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre announced last week he would return for another season.

Pettitte, who lives in Deer Park, Tex., and his agents met in Houston on Tuesday with Astros owner Drayton McLane and general manager Gerry Hunsicker.

Hunsicker said the discussions were for background with no dollar figures exchanged.

It's not hard to ascertain the Red Sox's interest in Pettitte exceeds tweaking the Yankees: They must improve their rotation after Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe, especially with Martinez showing signs of wearing down.

The Red Sox, however, are saddled with $100 million remaining on Manny Ramirez's contract and with Nomar Garciaparra and Martinez scheduled to be free agents after 2004, it's questionable how much they can give Pettitte. Red Sox: Former Phillies manager Terry Francona was back in Boston for another round of interviews on Wednesday, a day after he met with Red Sox owner John Henry about the vacant managerial job.

``I was impressed with his knowledge of the game and his forthrightness,'' Henry said. ``He is a serious candidate, but no decisions have been made.''

Los Angeles Dodgers coach Glenn Hoffman and Anaheim Angels bench coach Joe Maddon also have been interviewed. Mets: Former Mets and Giants outfielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo will return to Japan and play for the Pacific League's Nippon Ham Fighters next season.

Shinjo, who spent most of the 2003 season with Triple-A Norfolk, batted .193 in 62 games with the Mets last season. Astros: Catcher Brad Ausmus agreed to a $4 million, two-year contract to stay in Houston. A two-time Gold Glove winner, he hit .229 with 47 RBI last season. Mariners: Free-agent outfielder Raul Ibanez agreed to a $13.25 million, three-year contract. Ibanez, who came up in Seattle's system, blossomed over the past two years in Kansas City, where he hit .294 both years.

He drove in 103 runs in 2002 and 90 last season. Indians: Outfielder Milton Bradley agreed to a $1.73 million, one-year contract. He batted .321 with 10 homers and 56 RBI last season, but he missed the final six weeks with a lower back injury. Tigers: Former Detroit second baseman Lou Whitaker will join his old team at spring training next year as an instructor.

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Football: Hull 2 Boston 1.(Sport) - The People (London, England)

HULL CITY left it late against 10-man Boston as Stuart Green headed home a last-gasp winner from close range. It was a cruel blow for the visitors, who had done enough to earn a point.

Boston almost took the lead against the run of play when Mark Angel's shot drew a fine save from Paul Musselwhite.

Neil Thompson's side were caught cold when Stuart Elliott's looping header gave goalkeeper Paul Bastock no chance.

But Boston were rewarded when Neil Redfearn floated a free-kick to the far post for Paul Ellender to poke home.

Lucic, Welker, Youkilis, Garnett embody intensity in Boston sports - The Boston Globe (Boston, MA)

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SABERHAGEN WINS AGAIN FOR BOSTON.(Sports) - Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)

Byline: Associated Press

BOSTON - Bret Saberhagen continued his comeback with a second consecutive victory and Mo Vaughn homered on Monday to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 6-3 victory over the Oakland Athletics.

Oakland lost its fourth consecutive game and has yet to win a game on the road this season. Boston has not yet lost at home, having swept the Seattle Mariners in three games over the weekend.

Saberhagen (2-0) sat out all of 1996 after surgery on his right shoulder and spent most of last season in rehabilitation. In all, he went more than two years between his last win for Colorado on Sept. 26, 1995, and his next, on April 5 against Seattle.

The two-time Cy Young winner, struck out six and walked two.

Indians 6, Mariners 5

At Cleveland

Ken Griffey Jr. homered twice and became the second-youngest player with 300 homers, but Seattle's bullpen wasted another lead as Cleveland beat the Mariners.

Griffey, who had the 31st multihomer game of his career, hit two-run shots in the first against Dave Burba (2-1) and the seventh against Jose Mesa.

Griffey's first homer and a solo shot in the sixth by David Segui gave the Mariners a 3-0 lead. But the Indians scored six in the sixth, taking a 6-3 lead on Brian Giles' three-run homer off Bobby Ayala.

Ken Cloude (1-1) allowed four straight hits to start the inning, and Ayala failed to preserve a 3-3 tie. Seattle's bullpen blew two saves against Boston last weekend and the Mariners fired pitching coach Nardi Contreras on Monday, replacing him with Stan Williams.

Griffey's historic homer, estimated at 391 feet, was his sixth of the season and third in two days. Griffey is 28 years, 143 days old. Jimmie Foxx was 27 years, 328 days when he hit his 300th.

Devil Rays 13, Twins 12

At St. Petersburg, Fla.

Robert Smith homered in the 14th inning and Esteban Yan closed the game with five perfect innings as Tampa Bay overcame a six-run deficit to beat Minnesota.

At 7-4, Tampa Bay is off to the best start by an expansion team. The 1977 Toronto Blue Jays, 1969 Kansas City Royals and 1962 Houston Colt .45s began 6-5.

Smith, 4-for-7 in the game, connected off Mike Trombley (0-1) to end the longest game in the Devil Rays' young history at 4 hours, 54 minutes. Yan (2-0), Tampa Bay's seventh pitcher, was the winner.

Quinton McCracken drove in four runs and had three of Tampa Bay's 19 hits.

Royals 11, Blue Jays 1

At Kansas City, Mo.

Glendon Rusch got his first win at Kauffman Stadium and rookie Larry Sutton, Shane Mack and Mike Sweeney all homered off Pat Hentgen, leading Kansas City to victory over Toronto.

Rusch (1-2), who entered the game with a 12.54 ERA, allowed seven hits in eight innings. He struck out six and walked one in the longest outing by a Royals pitcher this season.

The left-hander was 0-7 in 15 previous starts at home.

Hentgen (1-1) allowed six hits and eight runs in three innings.

Mack went 3-for-4 with four RBI.

Rangers 10, Tigers 1

At Arlington, Texas

Lee Stevens hit three home runs and Bobby Witt got his 100th career victory with Texas as the Rangers defeated Detroit.

Stevens hit solo homers in the second and fifth, before connecting on a two-run shot in the seventh for his first three-homer game. Attempting to become the 13th player to homer four times in a game, he walked in the eighth.

Juan Gonzalez added a two-run homer for the Rangers, who have won four of five.

Witt (1-0) gave up six hits over 6 2/3 innings in getting his 125th career victory.

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ACC RIVALS BACK IN BOSTON.(Sports) - The Cincinnati Post (Cincinnati, OH)

Byline: Jimmy Golen Associated Press

BOSTON -- During Maryland's last visit to this city, for a regular-season game against Boston College, coach Brenda Frese took her team on a surprise bus trip.

The destination was un-disclosed.

The players were puzzled.

But when they unloaded at the new Boston Garden, the site of the NCAA women's Final Four, the message was clear.

'If you want to come back here, the next time will be for the Final Four,' Maryland guard Shay Doron recalled on Monday, a day before the Terrapins play Duke for the NCAA title. 'That feeling was unbelievable. You just want to get back here no matter what.'

Maryland (33-4) reached the title game by beating top-ranked North Carolina in the semifinals Sunday -- its second victory this year over the Tar Heels, a team no one else beat even once. But the groundwork was laid much earlier, when Frese took over the once-proud program in 2002.

The original power in the Atlantic Coast Conference and a charter member of the NCAA Final Four, 25 years ago, Maryland won five of the ACC's first six tournaments but hadn't broken .500 in the conference in five years before Frese arrived.

'First, it is my job to keep reminding people of history, because we feel like it's pretty special at Maryland,' Frese said. 'I think people forget, since it was in the 1980s, that Maryland still owns the most ACC titles and has done some pretty special things.'

So Frese didn't talk about making baby steps back to greatness.

'From Day 1, it's always been about an ACC championship, the NCAA championship,' Doron said. 'I think it was just making us believe that we can be a part of something different that nobody in the country can say they've ever done ... going from a 10-18 team to three years later playing in the Final Four.'

Standing in Maryland's way is another No. 1 seed: Duke (31-3), which is trying to earn its first national championship in its fourth trip to the Final Four since 1999. The Blue Devils also visited Boston College's campus this season, but coach Gail Goestenkors opted not to make a special trip to see the championship site.

'I've done that in the past several years and I felt like that put more pressure on my kids, honestly,' she said.

Duke will rely on frontcourt stars Alison Bales -- a graduate of Beavercreek High School near Dayton, Ohio -- and Mistie Williams to take back whatever advantage Maryland has with its speed. The ACC rivals have played three times this year, and Maryland has improved each time -- losing by 18, losing by 10 and then winning by eight in the ACC tournament semifinals.

DAMON SIGNS CONTRACT WITH BOSTON.(SPORTS) - The Cincinnati Post (Cincinnati, OH)

Byline: Compiled from Post news services

Johnny Damon had his eye on the Red Sox after becoming a free agent. He sharpened his focus when Boston traded Carl Everett to Texas.

That left a gap in center field that Damon, wishing to be closer to his family in Florida, was eager to fill. So he left the Oakland Athletics and agreed Friday to a $31 million, four-year contract with Boston.

Damon gives the traditionally lead-footed Red Sox a speedy leadoff hitter who has scored more than 100 runs each of the last four seasons.

But the signing of Damon, 28, could cost the Red Sox another newly acquired speedster, former Reds second baseman Pokey Reese, who already has been with three teams this week.

Reese was among six players on the 40-man roster who weren't offered contracts by Thursday's deadline. Reese, traded Tuesday from Cincinnati to Colorado and dealt to Boston the following day, finds himself on the open market.

''Financially, we didn't have the capability to fit him in with our structure when we signed Johnny,'' said Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette.

Duquette said the Red Sox still want to sign Reese, but conceded the infielder probably will talk to other clubs.

Also not offered a contract by Boston was former Reds infielder Chris Stynes.

In 958 games in his seven seasons, Damon has a .286 average with 74 homers, 401 RBI, 612 runs and 183 stolen bases.

SADLER A FREE AGENT - Former Reds utility player Donnie Sadler became a free agent Friday when the Kansas City Royals didn't offer him a contract for next season.

Sadler, who hit .129 in 54 games last season, had been designated for assignment Wednesday to make room on the 40-man roster for former Red Michael Tucker, acquired in a trade with the Chicago Cubs.

Kansas City hopes to sign Sadler to a minor-league deal.

ASTROS SIGN PITCHING PAIR - Free-agent pitcher T.J. Mathews agreed Friday to a $1 million, one-year contract with the Houston Astros, who also signed former Red C.J. Nitkowski to a minor-league deal.

Mathews, 31, has a career record of 32-26 with a 3.84 ERA and 16 saves,

pitching for Oakland and St. Louis. He was a combined 1-1 with a 4.30 ERA and one save in 30 relief appearances last season for the Athletics and Cardinals.

Nitkowski, 28, returns to the Astros after pitching for Detroit and the New York Mets. He has a career record of 16-30 with a 5.37 ERA in 270 games, including 44 starts.

PARK DEAL CLOSE - Chan Ho Park's agent was headed to Texas this weekend to try to finalize a $65 million, five-year contract with the Rangers.

''We're continuing to talk and we've had some breakthroughs as to what we're doing,'' agent Scott Boras said.

Boras and the Rangers have an understanding on the format of the deal, according to a lawyer familiar with the negotiations who spoke on the condition he not be identified. The sides were close to an agreement but had not yet agreed on all the details, the lawyer said.

Boras, who last year negotiated a record $252 million, 10-year deal between the Rangers and shortstop Alex Rodriguez, intended to travel to the Dallas area Friday or this morning.

Despite adding Rodriguez, the Rangers finished last in the American League West at 73-89 and had a 5.71 ERA, the highest in the major leagues.

New general manager John Hart has added pitchers John Rocker, Todd Van Poppel, Jay Powell and former Red Dave Burba since the season ended.

Park went 15-11 with a 3.50 ERA for the Dodgers last season.

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BULLPEN WOES PUZZLING BOSTON.(SPORTS) - Albany Times Union (Albany, NY)

Byline: PETER SCHMUCK Baltimore Sun

Pedro Martinez looked perplexed, which probably is a pretty good way to look after you pitch great twice in a row and come away with nothing to show for it.

The Boston Red Sox ace has given up just one run in his first 15 innings, but the bullpen has come unraveled in each game -- giving up a total of six runs in two ugly ninth innings.

``There is nothing I can do after I go seven or eight innings,'' Martinez said last week. ``There is nothing you can do. You just have to hope someone comes after you. You just pray to God that they do the job.''

This does not register as a ringing endorsement of the new-look Red Sox relief corps or the front-office decision to go into the 2003 season without an established closer.

Martinez, who will face the Orioles today in the Red Sox's home opener at Fenway Park, was skeptical about the closer-by-committee arrangement from the start, but continues to express halfhearted confidence that it will work.

``I have to be confident,'' he said. ``There is no other way for me to go. I have to trust my teammates and my manager. There is nothing else to do.''

The fans and media in Boston also are getting a little uncomfortable as the club's quick 4-1 start has melted away and the bullpen continues to give up too many late-inning runs. Red Sox relievers entered Thursday night's series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays with a 6.55 ERA.

There is some suspicion in Boston that the front office may have outsmarted itself. This is, after all, the team that turned convention on its ear by hiring 28-year-old GM Theo Epstein and adding new-age baseball statistics guru Bill James to the brain trust.

``We're not trying to reinvent the wheel or think outside the box,'' Epstein said. ``We just want to win. During the off-season, we were just looking at what was available. We couldn't alchemize a dominant reliever in the off-season.''

The Red Sox felt they could achieve an acceptable level of success in the late innings with a combination of pitchers that includes veteran right-handers Chad Fox, Mike Timlin, Ramiro Mendoza and Bobby Howry and left-hander Alan Embree. It has yet to work out as planned.

Embree and Fox gave up five runs in the ninth inning on opening day to spoil an outstanding performance by Martinez. Fox walked in the winning run in the ninth inning of the other Martinez start. Mendoza, who came over from the Yankees with much fanfare, has given up eight earned runs in his first six innings.

Timlin has been the most dependable veteran, allowing just a run in his first three appearances. ``We're a little bit concerned, and rightfully so,'' said manager Grady Little, ``but we also have confidence they'll get it straightened out very quickly.''

Epstein said it's a bit too early to panic, but he's not surprised Red Sox fans already are on alert.