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MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PICKS- (associated press): pedro staying patient wit hrehab.

Pedro Martinez is staying patient with his rehabilitation from shoulder surgery.

The New York Mets' ace made 50 throws from about 60 feet on flat ground Tuesday and said he's on schedule to throw four times a week. The three-time Cy Young Award winner increased his distance from approximately 40 feet a week ago.

''Everything feels better,'' Martinez said. ''Sleeping feels better. I can roll onto my arm, lay on my side.''

Still, he won't predict when he'll be back on the mound. He's simply not looking that far ahead.

''I'm working to get ready for that day,'' Martinez said. ''I can't talk about it. Talking about all that, I'd probably run away to Jamaica or something. I'm just doing what they say to do each day and not looking ahead. I am doing what I am told to do so I don't mess anything up. I saw what I did before the playoffs last year and that was not good.''

The 35-year-old right-hander insists he'll leave it up to the doctors and training staff to determine when he can pitch again.

''I'm going to complete this work and do all my rehab work. I'm going to do everything they tell me to do,'' Martinez said. ''I'm working hard enough that if I'm not in shape by that time, I'm hanging them up.''





FREE MLB PICKS: (associated press): pirates starter ready to rejoin rotation.

Sean Burnett was supposed to be the starting pitcher who would play the most pivotal role in the Pittsburgh Pirates' long-anticipated turnaround.

That was three years ago - before Burnett blew out his left elbow and pitching prospects Zach Duke, Paul Maholm, Ian Snell and Tom Gorzelanny arrived.

That was before one year of rehabilitation and another of uneven pitching in the minor leagues transformed Burnett from a potential ace to just another pitcher with a longshot chance.

Burnett hasn't pitched in the majors in nearly three years, but he is certain that once he gets back - and he is convinced it won't be long - he will be there to stay.

''I know what I'm capable of, and being hurt gave an opportunity to some of these guys that came up and they took advantage of it,'' said Burnett, who was 5-5 with a 5.02 ERA in 2004. ''I think when I'm healthy I'm as good as any of them, and I think I proved that before the (elbow) surgery and that's what I've got to prove now. When I'm healthy, I'm as good as anyone here.''

Burnett was 21 when he won five starts in a row shortly after that midseason callup in 2004. No Pirates rookie had done that since Mike Dunne in 1987, and former manager Lloyd McClendon said it was obvious how the rest of the lineup picked up its play with Burnett on the mound.

Soon after he joined them, a Pirates team that would go on to finish 72-89 ran off a 10-game winning streak.

''This kid's makeup is off the charts,'' McClendon said. ''He's not fazed by big situations and he proved it again.''

After Burnett's five-game run ended, it was evident he wasn't the pitcher who had come up a couple of months before. He went on the disabled list Aug. 23 after three consecutive losses and had reconstructive surgery a month later. He didn't return to the mound again until he was 8-11 with a 5.16 ERA in 13 starts, about a half season's work, for Triple-A Indianapolis last season.

''I said I was ready last year, but it was more to psych myself up and try to get myself ready mentally,'' he said. ''I knew I wasn't quite ready. I think I proved that with the year I had, being up and down. Everybody told me I was going to have that year after coming off surgery, it's a roller-coaster.''

As a result, Burnett has a much lower profile in this camp than he did before the former first-round draft pick got hurt in 2004, when the Pirates didn't have as many starting pitching prospects as they do now. Manager Jim Tracy has praised his work to date this spring training, which consists of three scoreless innings.

General manager Dave Littlefield likes Burnett's competitiveness, and how being forced to pitch himself back into the Pirates' plans has motivated him rather than discouraged him.

''I see an improved fastball, more life to the fastball, more crispness to the breaking stuff, and I'm definitely encouraged that he's getting back to where he once was,'' Littlefield said. ''In some ways, he's a more mature pitcher now, and appears to be very serious about wanting to make this team.''

Burnett would be discouraged if he were 32 or 33, but he won't turn 25 until Sept. 17. He believes this will be a much-improved season for him, and that he will return to Pittsburgh before it is over.

''I'm back to where I was, coming up through the minor leagues,'' he said. ''I know I've kind of slipped into the background, but I kind of like where I am now. I've just got to throw the ball well and prove I'm healthy and ready to go.''

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL FREE PICKS- (associated press): the comeback kid sammy sosa gets two more hits.

Sammy Sosa sounds a little annoyed that anyone ever doubted him.

The former slugger got two more hits Tuesday, and his comeback with the Texas Rangers is going exceedingly well - at least in exhibition games.

''Don't tell me this is spring training,'' Sosa said after a 12-8 loss to the Chicago White Sox (+101) in Surprise, Ariz. ''I came here to play and I've been playing good. Spring training or not, it doesn't matter to me. I could be playing in Mexico and it would be the same thing.''

The 38-year-old Sosa went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI against Chicago. In nine games this spring, he's hitting .464 (13-for-28) with two homers, two doubles, a triple and six RBIs.

Sosa sat out last season after batting only .221 with 14 homers in 102 games for Baltimore in 2005.

''I'm a good player. I may surprise other people but I never surprise myself. I know I was out for a year, but give me some credit. You're talking to me like I've never hit before,'' he said. ''I'm a positive thinker. I never think negative. If I show up for spring training it's for a reason - because I know I can make it. I'm not here for the money. I've got money. I'm not here because I'm struggling. I'm a gamer.''

The 1998 NL MVP is 12 homers shy of becoming the fifth player in major league history to hit 600.

''I haven't taken a year off in 17 years since I started playing,'' Sosa said. ''I feel hungry again.''

Rangers manager Ron Washington said Sosa's work ethic and the time he's spent with hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo left little doubt in his mind about the former slugger's chance for success.

''I said from the beginning that I thought he was going to do what he's doing,'' Washington said. ''He's got too much knowledge and Rudy has too much knowledge for him not to do what he's doing.

''When you find a guy like him with the work ethic he has, you trust him until he proves you wrong. And he hasn't proven me wrong yet.''

FREE MLB PICKS- (associated press): former cards ace suppan ready to steady brewers staff.

Jeff Suppan kissed the Pope's ring, hoisted the World Series trophy and signed the largest contract in Brewers history, all in a 13-month span.

He called his meeting with Pope Benedict XVI in November 2005, during a Pontifical Council of Church and Sport, a life-changing experience.

''It was tremendous,'' Suppan said. ''Meeting someone of that stature, just for a brief moment, was special. I could just see the sincerity in his eyes, I could feel the holiness of his presence. It kind of inspired me.''

Now Suppan is getting ready for the much more mundane task of lead a pitching staff that's been hampered with injuries the past two seasons, a group that does include former All-Stars Ben Sheets and Chris Capuano.

newbodog.com has the Brewers listed at +1600 to win the 2007 National League Pennant.

''I don't know what they were lacking last year, that's not for me to judge,'' Suppan said. ''I thought they were a very good team but for whatever reason, maybe injuries, they weren't able to play where they wanted to play at.''

Suppan, the NL championship series MVP with the St. Louis, will earn $42 million during the next four years. He said he can't worry about the perception that he's being overpaid.

''The contract, has it sunk in? I really even haven't thought about that,'' he said. ''However people perceive it, I mean I have no control over that. The only thing I can do is control what I have control of, that's going out, making good pitch selections and trying to hit a location.''

Suppan made at least 31 starts and pitched 188 innings or more each of the last eight seasons. Sheets has made just 39 starts over the past two seasons - he went 6-7 with a 3.82 ERA in 17 starts last year and was hampered by shoulder problems that sent him to the disabled list twice.

When Sheets and last year's fourth starter, Tomo Ohka, missed their turns due to injuries, Milwaukee went 6-17. The rotation was 48-58 with a 4.73 ERA last season, nearly three-quarters of a point higher than in 2005.

''We've got more guys to choose from, more guys that are productive,'' manager Ned Yost said.

''There have been times when I write the lineup up and really hope that we can score a lot of runs today and win a baseball game. You put certain names down, and you just feel like you're going to be in this game, and you've got a great chance of winning it. I think this year we're going to be able to put five names down on five consecutive days and have that feeling.''

Suppan, 12-7 with a 4.12 ERA with the Cardinals last year, also has played for Kansas City, Pittsburgh and Boston. He attributed his health to the consistency of his pitching motion.

''When you're able to repeat and understand your mechanics and why you do what you do, I think it helps for durability,'' said Suppan, who has 301 career starts and went 12-7 with a 4.12 ERA with the Cardinals. ''I think some of it is luck, and just how it is, but you never take that for granted. You always continue to do your work.''

Yost hopes Suppan's experience will benefit the rest of a rotation that includes right-handers Dave Bush and Claudio Vargas. He said all work hard.

''If they're not pitching, they're in the computer room looking at their next opponent, looking for weaknesses, trying to formulate their game plan,'' Yost said.

MLB FREE PICKS- (associated press): bonds talks about playing in 2008.

Opening day is still three weeks away and Barry Bonds already is talking about 2008.

Asked Monday whether he'd like to play next season if he's still healthy, Bonds responded, ''sure.'' Bonds hedged a bit later in the interview, but it's clear he's not quite ready to step away.

''Let me get through '07 first,'' he said. ''If I'm healthy, I'd consider coming back.''

Bonds said he feels ''100 percent'' better than he did last spring, when he was coming back from three operations on his right knee. He is moving better than he did at this time last year and played for the fourth straight day Monday against the Chicago Cubs.

He said it took until August for him to feel he was back in baseball shape last year and that his improved health has put him in a better frame of mind.

''When you feel better, your mood is better,'' he said. ''The last couple of years it wasn't happening.''

Along with his balky knee, Bonds was dogged in spring training last year by allegations of steroid use in the book ''Game of Shadows.'' Then in April, it was revealed that a grand jury was investigating him for possible perjury regarding to his testimony in the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative scandal.

Bonds said he'd like to keep playing as long as he's healthy but added that it's getting harder and harder to do the work it takes each offseason to get ready.

He said unlike Roger Clemens, who is mulling whether to come back for another partial season this year, a hitter can't join a team in the middle of the season.

''That's the hardest part for us,'' he said. ''We don't get as much time off. If we don't start early, we have to play catch up.''

Giants manager Bruce Bochy said watching Bonds leaves no doubt that the slugger could play beyond 2007.

''There's no question in my mind he has a lot of baseball left,'' Bochy said. ''He came in here in good shape. He's been running well, he's swinging the bat well. He looks like he's on a mission to play longer.''

The biggest on-field question surrounding Bonds this season is whether he will hit the 22 home runs he needs to break Hank Aaron's career home run mark of 755.

newbodog.com has Bonds reaching this historic mark at -230. However, if you're looking for a more profitable bet, he is +400 to lead the majors in home runs in 07.

Bonds said he didn't know if Aaron would be on hand if he's in position to break the record and wasn't about to predict when that milestone homer might come.

''I just want to do it. Period,'' he said.

Bonds said he would have probably broken Aaron's mark if not for the knee injuries that limited him to 14 games in 2005 and slowed him down for much of last season as well. If falls short of the mark this season, he admits that would play into his decision about 2008.

''It would be something to consider,'' he said. ''It would be something to listen to over the winter.''

Bonds said he's not afraid of retirement, enjoying his time away from the game during his rehab from the knee injuries in 2005.

''I had a year off. I had a year off at home and I liked it,'' he said. ''I didn't miss the game as much as I thought.''

When the possibility of hitting 800 homers was brought up, Bonds said to ''call Alex'' - a reference to the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez, who has 464 homers at the age of 31.

''Whatever I end up with, I'll be happy,'' Bonds said.

Bonds has other goals as well. He said he'd have no problem getting the 70 RBIs he needs this year for 2,000 but might need to alter his strategy if he's going to get the 159 hits he needs to reach 3,000 in 2007.

''Got to get some bunts in then,'' he said.

Bonds had a tough day in the field Monday, the fourth straight day he was in the Giants lineup. He lost a pair of first-inning fly balls in the bright sun in left field, contributing to a six-run inning for the Chicago Cubs, and went 1-for-3 with a single at the plate in the Giants' 10-5 loss.

''We should play more night games,'' he said. ''We'd have a better chance of seeing the ball.''

Bonds will be off on Tuesday when the Giants host the Oakland Athletics in their only night game at Scottsdale Stadium this year before returning to the lineup as the designated hitter against the Angels in Tempe on Wednesday.


MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PICKS: (associated press): maddux misses start.

Greg Maddux was scratched from a scheduled start Monday for the San Diego Padres against the Chicago White Sox because of a a mild lower abdominal strain.

The Padres went on to win the game 10-8 as +114 underdogs.

Maddux felt a slight strain since his last start, on March 8 against the Chicago Cubs, and was pulled for precautionary reasons.

''He would have been available during the season, but why push it on March 12?'' San Diego manager Bud Black said.

Maddux gave up two runs and five hits in three innings against the Cubs. He has a 3.60 ERA in two spring training starts, allowing two runs and striking out four in five innings.

Maddux, who turns 41 next month, is 333-203 with a 3.08 ERA in 21 major league seasons.
FREE MLB PICKS- (associated press): chippers jones injured.

Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones sprained his left ankle on his first at-bat Monday and was removed from the game St. Louis.

The Cardinals went on to win the game 3-1 as -115 favorites.

Jones broke awkwardly from the box on a grounder to first and jogged a few steps before turning around and limping to the dugout. The team said Jones, who has been plagued by foot problems in recent seasons, was day to day.

Jones is batting .222 (4-for-18) this spring with one double and two RBIs.


MLB PICKS- (associated press): angels encouraged after colon workout.


Los Angeles Angels starters Bartolo Colon and Jered Weaver each threw 45 pitches in a bullpen session Monday and looked good, according to pitching coach Mike Butcher.

Whether they'll be ready to take their spots in the rotation when the season opens remains uncertain.

SportsInterAction.com has the Angels set at +700 to win the AL Pennant this season.

''We're taking it one step at a time and progressing to whatever level they can progress to,'' Butcher said.

Colon has had shoulder problems, while Weaver was shut down early in spring training with biceps tendinitis.

''They are going to be ready at some point of the season. I'm not going to put a date on it,'' Butcher said. ''The schedule is, we take it to a certain date and after that then we can readjust the schedule. If they are progressing quicker, we tear up the paper and start all over and progress at a more rapid pace.''

Weaver was 11-2 with a 2.56 ERA last year after starting the season at Triple-A Salt Lake.

Butcher said he's not discounting the possibility that Weaver could be ready for what would be his first scheduled start on April 6.

''I want him to have a goal. He has a goal and he wants to be ready for it. I think it is great to have goals. It gives him some light at the end of the tunnel. I like the April 6, but it's not in stone,'' Butcher said.