Baseball Capsules: Ramirez ready for a real New York reception

NEW YORK - Manny Ramirez also wants to avoid talking about the past.

The Los Angeles Dodgers slugger turned aside all questions about drug use and his 50-game suspension prior to Tuesday night's series opener against the New York Mets.

Far from his fans in Southern California, Ramirez figured to get a less-than-sunny reception at Citi Field. But he was downright jovial during a 5-minute pregame press session.

And when it came to the future, he was even more playful. Tapping a reporter's notebook, he said: "Put in a good word for the All-Star game next year."

Tennis player Querrey happy that Ramirez is back

NEWPORT, R.I. - Sam Querrey is happy to see that Manny Ramirez is back from a drug suspension.

The tennis player, a fan of Ramirez's Los Angeles Dodgers, accepts the rigorous drug testing in his own sport.

"I've probably been tested 10 times this year. It keeps things honest," he said after the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships were halted by rain Tuesday.

"It's not fun having someone come knocking on your door at 7 a.m.," he said. "They have this whereabouts program. You have to tell people where you are every day."

Ramirez returned from a 50-game drug suspension Friday.

The Dodgers are 2-1 since his return, with a comfortable lead atop the NL West Division.

"I'm glad he's back," Querrey said. "He's a great hitter."

Querrey understands that Ramirez's name may now be tainted forever in baseball.

"You hate hearing that. It's kind of a bummer, especially a guy like that, who's one of the greatest players ever," he said. "Now, if he goes down in the record books, there's kind of an asterisk mark there. It's kind of like a 'What if?' in front of every stat." 

Cardinals' La Russa drops suit against Twitter

ST. LOUIS - St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa has quietly dropped his lawsuit against the social networking site Twitter Inc.

A one-paragraph statement filed June 26 with the U.S. District Court in San Francisco said La Russa had dropped all claims - and that San Francisco-based Twitter did not compensate him in exchange. It also said he could not refile the same complaint.

"I think it's been resolved," La Russa said before Tuesday night's game against the Milwaukee Brewers. "We've been saying that for a while. I don't know what the official thing is."

La Russa declined to discuss specifics of the case.

Calls and e-mails to La Russa's attorney, Gregory McCoy, and to Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, were not returned Tuesday. Twitter attorney Rodger Cole said in an e-mail that he was not authorized to discuss the case.

La Russa's lawsuit, originally filed in San Francisco Superior Court in May and transferred to federal court on June 5, alleged trademark infringement, "cybersquatting" and misappropriation of his name. It claimed an unauthorized page that used his name caused emotional distress by making light of his DUI charge and the deaths of two Cardinals pitchers in recent seasons.

La Russa said June 5 that he and Twitter had reached a settlement, with Twitter agreeing to pay legal fees and make a donation to his California-based Animal Rescue Foundation.

But Twitter, in a blog posting, said there was no settlement. Stone later told The Associated Press in an e-mail that Twitter resolved the account impersonation in accordance with its terms of service.

Corynne McSherry, a lawyer who's been following the case for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said ending the short-lived suit was a "very sensible thing to do." The foundation consists of lawyers and activists protecting fair use and free speech on the Internet.

"The claims were weak at best, simply not allowable ... and would completely lose at the end of the day," she said. "It really should not have been brought in the first place. Wiser heads prevailed."

McSherry said the case was watched closely to see how the law is applied to new companies like Twitter.

The one-paragraph court filing said in part, "La Russa hereby dismisses with prejudice all claims in this action against Twitter Inc., with each party to bear its own costs and attorneys' fees. No payment was made by Twitter to La Russa in exchange for this dismissal."

McSherry said the last sentence was unusual and appeared to signal that the parties, or at least Twitter, wanted to make it clear that "there was no payoff here to make the lawsuit go away."

She noted that Google has taken a hard stance fighting many small cases instead of paying off claimants even when it might be cheaper to do so.

"They're saying, 'maybe we need to fight these battles now,'" she said.

The impostor's Twitter account bearing La Russa's name is no longer active. The lawsuit included a screen shot of three tweets. One posted on April 19 said: "Lost 2 out of 3, but we made it out of Chicago without one drunk driving incident or dead pitcher."

Cardinals pitcher Darryl Kile died of a heart condition in his Chicago hotel room in 2002. Cardinals reliever Josh Hancock died in an auto accident in April 2007, and the medical examiner measured his blood-alcohol level at 0.157 - nearly twice the legal limit.

In March 2007, La Russa was found sleeping behind the wheel of a running sport utility vehicle during spring training with a blood-alcohol level of 0.093 percent. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence.

La Russa's lawsuit said the page bearing his name was hurtful to the 64-year-old manager, who has led the Cardinals since 1996 and managed the Chicago White Sox and Oakland A's during a 30-year managerial career.

-- Chryl Wittenauer

Beltran, Reyes not close to coming off DL for Mets

NEW YORK - Help isn't coming anytime soon for the banged-up New York Mets.

Shortstop Jose Reyes had a cortisone shot Tuesday because he still feels pain in his right leg, and center fielder Carlos Beltran will need a rehabilitation assignment once the bone bruise below his right knee subsides. He won't even be re-examined until the All-Star break, when he'll have an MRI.

New York (39-42) had lost eight of 10 games going into Tuesday night's homestand opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"Sometimes you lose focus and things go wrong, you know, totally wrong," said Beltran, who has watched games on television from his basement. "With the team that we have now, we can play a lot better than what we're playing, that's for sure. You know, if you watch the games, you know that they're plays we should be making."

Before the game, the Mets practiced calling for popups - a problem this season.

"It's not necessarily a punishment. These have been things we've been planning to do," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said. "It was just addressing some issues that have gone wrong for us that we haven't had a chance to address."

New York, trying to contend in its first season at Citi Field, had hoped to get some injured starters back at the start of the second half.

"It's hard for me to give you specific dates," Mets general manager Omar Minaya said. "You know it's not going to happen the next day after the All-Star game. The guys are going to have to probably go out there and you know, strengthen their legs and, you know, play some games, get some at-bats. What timeframe that is, I just don't know that."

Beltran hasn't played since June 21 and has been limited to working on a bicycle and in a pool. He was elected to start Tuesday's All-Star game in St. Louis but will not go.

He has undergone platelet rich plasma therapy in which blood is removed, platelets are separated in a centrifuge and then re-injected.

"Sometimes I feel it," Beltran said of the bruise. "Sometimes walking I do feel it."

Reyes, sidelined since May 20, can now hit right-handed but still can't accelerate without pain.

"He has pushed it and in pushing it, it definitely tightened up some," Minaya said.

First baseman Carlos Delgado is just starting to swing off a tee following hip surgery on May 19. Right-hander John Maine, out since June 6 because of shoulder pain, is still limited to throwing on flat ground.

"Delgado, we're talking about the middle of August. We hope that these other guys are before that. And hopefully, John Maine is before Carlos Delgado," Minaya said.

Setup man J.J. Putz hasn't started throwing following surgery June 9 to remove a bone spur and fragments of bone from his right elbow and likely won't return until late August or early September. Former closer Billy Wagner also could return around the final month; he is throwing to batters in his rehabilitation from elbow ligament replacement surgery last Sept. 10.

On the plus side, left-hander Oliver Perez, sidelined with knee tendinitis, is set to start Wednesday night in his first big league appearance since May 2.

"I'd like to see good life on his pitches," Manuel said. "All the reports that I've gotten is that he's really throwing the ball well."

Since Beltran's last game the Mets had lost nine of 14 and hit .234, scoring three runs or fewer in 10 games, including three shutouts and three one-run games. David Wright batted 11 for 52 (.212) with one homer, three RBIs, 15 strikeouts and three grounded into double plays. That included an 0 for 22 with eight strikeouts and three GIDPs as the Mets went 0-6 against the Yankees and Phillies the last two weekends.

New York began Tuesday third in the NL East, 4½ games behind first-place Philadelphia.

"When we were playing terrible, you know, no one really took advantage of anything," Beltran said.

Minaya said there haven't been any viable trade opportunities because so many teams remain in playoff contention.

"The biggest mistake I've seen sometimes general managers make is when they feel urgency, they make big mistakes," Minaya said. "There's not this magic bullet that you bring in here."

New York's farm system was weakened by trades to acquire Delgado and Johan Santana. Minaya wants to preserve his best prospects.

"I have to keep an eye not only on '09, but I have to keep an eye on '10, '11 and '12," he said.

-- Ronald Blum

Dempster goes on DL for Cubs

CHICAGO - Just when the Chicago Cubs figured they were getting healthy, a freak accident landed right-hander Ryan Dempster on the disabled list with a fracture of his big right toe. He could be out for up to a month.

Dempster was hopping over the dugout railing to go on the field and celebrate Sunday's victory over the Milwaukee Brewers when he caught his back leg on the railing and landed hard, injuring his toe. An X-ray taken Tuesday revealed the non-displaced fracture.

"It's not pretty. It's pretty ugly right now," Dempster said.

Dempster had been scheduled to pitch Tuesday night against Atlanta and said he hoped he would only miss three starts, including one after the All-Star break.

But manager Lou Piniella said that was an optimistic view and that after talking with trainer Mark O'Neal, Dempster could miss up to three weeks and maybe a month.

"I was coming out of the dugout, stepping over the top of the railing there, sitting up on the ledge, and caught my left foot on the rail as I was coming over and it spun me around and slammed me into the ground," Dempster said.

"When I did it, I thought I just ripped my nail back on my foot. ... My foot I guess just the way it hit came down straight into the ground."

Dempster had planned to numb up his toe and make the start Tuesday, but decided to get an X-ray to make sure everything was OK.

"You never want to do anything like this," said Dempster, a 17-game winner last season.

"It's a weird thing. Three days before that I took a ball off the shin and kick-saved one to myself. And I took a ball off my face in batting practice, off the cage, and I was just fine. And then something as simple as that happens and I put myself on the DL."

The Cubs recalled right-hander Kevin Hart from Triple-A Iowa, one day after he'd been optioned back to the minors, and plan to put him in the rotation. He'll start Wednesday against the Braves.

Carlos Zambrano, on three days rest, made the start Tuesday night in Dempster's place.

"We were healthy for a day," Piniella said. On Monday, the Cubs had activated Aramis Ramirez, Reed Johnson and Angel Guzman off the disabled list. And now they've put one of their most reliable pitchers right back on.

"Dempster is sick about this and so am I," Pinella said. "It's something you never expect to happen. Just a freak thing."

Dempster is 5-5 with a 4.09 ERA in 17 starts for the Cubs this season. He made the switch back to starter last season after being the Cubs' closer for three years. He went 17-6 with a 2.96 ERA in 33 starts and was picked for the All-Star team in 2008.

Now he's got to get treatment and stay in shape. He'll have another X-ray right after the All-Star break.

"I was just going out to celebrate the win," he said. "It's unfortunate, but at the same time, it's a small little injury. Hopefully the time will be minimal and I'll be back and ready to go."

-- Rick Gano

Cardinals place DeRosa on DL due to injured wrist

ST. LOUIS - The St. Louis Cardinals are placing newly acquired utilityman Mark DeRosa on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to July 1, because of a strained left wrist.

The Cardinals also announced before Tuesday night's game at Milwaukee that infielder Brian Barden and outfielder Nick Stavinoha are being recalled from Triple-A Memphis. St. Louis is sending infielder Tyler Greene to Memphis.

DeRosa, acquired last month from the Cleveland Indians, was injured during a June 30 game. He got off to a stuttering start with the Cardinals, going 0 for 9 in three games after batting .270 with 13 homers and 50 RBIs with Cleveland.

Barden batted .238 with four home runs and 10 RBIs in 51 games for the Cardinals this season, earning top NL rookie honors in April. Stavinoha batted .234 with one homer and 13 RBIs in 27 games with St. Louis this season.

Dodgers' Belisario sent back to L.A. with elbow pain

NEW YORK - Dodgers reliever Ronald Belisario is going back to Los Angeles for tests on his painful right elbow.

Belisario left the team before Tuesday night's series opener against the New York Mets.

Belisario made his major league debut this season and leads the team with 43 appearances. He is 1-2 with a 2.42 ERA. The right-hander had pitched 13 2-3 straight scoreless innings before a rough outing Saturday at San Diego.

Markel signs free-agent deal with Marlins

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Former West Virginia University centerfielder Austin Markel has signed a free-agent deal with the Florida Marlins.

The university said Tuesday that Markel is expected to join the Marlins' Jamestown affiliate in the Class A New York-Penn League.

Markel hit .357 with 15 home runs and 56 RBIs this season. He's is the fourth Mountaineer to sign with a major-league franchise. The others were Tobias Streich with the Minnesota Twins, Vince Belnome with the San Diego Padres and Billy Gross with the Baltimore Orioles.

American League

Jays GM will listen to Halladay offers

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Roy Halladay wants to keep pitching for Toronto, but is willing to consider accepting a trade if approached by the Blue Jays.

"I want to stay, but I think it's a situation you have to evaluate," Halladay said before Tuesday night's game against Tampa Bay. "I'm really not at that situation just yet. If something does come up, you weigh your options at that point. I hate to put the cart in front of the horse and start saying 'Do I want to do that? I think you just evaluate the situations when they come."

Halladay is 10-2 with a 2.79 ERA in 16 starts. He'll be paid $14.25 million this year and his contract, which has a no trade clause, expires after the 2010 season, when he's set to earn $15.75 million.

"Really at this point, I just want to focus on my job here," Halladay said.

The 17th overall pick in 1995, Halladay has spent his entire career with the Blue Jays, amassing a career mark of 141-68 with a 3.47 ERA. He won the Cy Young Award in 2003 and finished second to Cleveland's Cliff Lee last season.

Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi on Tuesday said he's willing to listen to offers for Halladay.

"I don't think anything has changed, I just think, 'You know what, why not listen? The worst we can say is no,'" Ricciardi told The Canadian Press on Tuesday.

"If someone wants Roy and they're willing to blow us away, we'd be willing to listen, that's all I'm saying. That doesn't mean we'd trade him, that doesn't mean we're looking to trade him. All it means is we'd be willing to listen."

"In the past we weren't willing to listen and we figured let's just see what someone's got out there and what someone is willing to offer," Ricciardi said.

The Blue Jays began Tuesday at 43-41, seven games back of Boston in the AL East and six out of the wild card - behind six other teams.

"All I can do is try to avoid that becoming a distraction and go from there," Halladay said. "It's a situation where, I think, if it's best for the team, it's best for me, then it just means you go from there. It's basically just saying this is an option that we have and maybe we'll look at it. I think that's really the extent at this point."

Ricciardi was vague when asked if salary would be a factor. The Blue Jays' payroll is just short of $81 million, 16th out of 30 big league teams.

"I'm not so sure payroll-wise where we're going to be able to be after 2010. I'm not so sure that the player wants to stay here beyond 2010. I'm not sure of those things," he said. "So those are all things we have to weigh out. He's under contract through next year and worst-case scenario, he does not sign back with us and we get two draft picks."

Interim CEO Paul Beeston declined to comment on dealing Halladay but did say the team's payroll for next season is still a work in progress. The Blue Jays have $82.45 million committed to Halladay and seven others next year.

"We will be getting into it over the next month," Beeston said. "We'll be looking at next year, we'll do a three-year plan and a five-year plan as best we can project it."

The only salary commitments the Blue Jays have between 2011-14 are to Vernon Wells, Alex Rios and Aaron Hill worth about $40 million per season.

Royals option Hernandez to Triple-A

DETROIT - The Kansas City Royals have optioned infielder Luis Hernandez to Triple-A Omaha to make room for Ryan Freel.

The Royals acquired Freel from the Chicago Cubs on Monday in exchange for cash and a player to be named. Freel got the start in center field Tuesday night against the Detroit Tigers and was batting ninth.

Hernandez hit .204 with no homers and two RBIs in 22 games.

Doctor finds no further problems in Slowey's wrist

MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Kevin Slowey is resting his strained right wrist.

Slowey saw a doctor in Baltimore on Monday, and the specialist found no serious problems. Twins general manager Bill Smith said Slowey received a cortisone injection and will try throwing again this weekend.

Slowey was placed on the 15-day disabled list last Friday after the injury flared up during his start against Detroit. He was hurt last September by a batted ball, but he wasn't bothered while he pitched until now.

Slowey's 10 victories are tied for the American League lead. If he's healthy enough after the All-Star break, he can be activated and rejoin the rotation on July 19.

Elsewhere

Hearing scheduled on Leyritz bond

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - A Florida judge has scheduled a hearing later this week on whether former major leaguer Jim Leyritz should be jailed until his upcoming DUI manslaughter trial.

After a brief hearing Tuesday, Broward County Circuit Judge Marc Gold decided to consider Leyritz's bond revocation on Thursday.

The 45-year-old Leyritz was arrested last week after his ex-wife accused him of beating her. He had been free on bail on the manslaughter charge.

Leyritz is scheduled to go on trial on the manslaughter charge Sept. 14. Police have said Leyritz was drunk when he caused a fatal car crash in December 2007.

Leyritz, who played for six teams in 11 seasons, hit a memorable home run in the 1996 World Series to help the Yankees win Game 4 against Atlanta.