The Yankees say they are perfectly willing to go the rest of the way with Todd Greene and Bobby Estalella, whom they acquired in the Brian Boehringer deal with the Giants and will be coming up from Columbus this weekend.

Speaking of catching, would you have guessed that Cincinnati's Jason LaRue is leading all National League catchers in throwing out runners (61.3 percent going into Wednesday's games)? That's far ahead of runner-up Brad Ausmus of the Astros (49.3 percent).

It should come as no surprise that Ivan Rodriguez leads the AL and the majors (63.6 percent), followed by Cleveland's Einar Diaz (38 percent).

Alfonso figures prominently in the Mets 2002 plans, at either second or third base, and their attempt to clear salary late in the season is to open up payroll to sign two offensive players and one starting pitcher. With the huge Korean population near Shea Stadium, look for the Mets to make a big move for Chan Ho Park, who the Dodgers may let walk without much of a fight.