BASEBALL: Martinez returns to practice

Pedro Martinez threw a baseball Wednesday in Port St. Lucie, Fla., for the first time since rotator cuff surgery last October.

The New York ace lightly tossed a ball for about 10 minutes from a distance of 45 feet at the Mets’ minor league complex.

The 35-year-old Martinez went 9-8 last season with a 4.48 ERA. He had been doing the majority of his rehabilitation in the Dominican Republic during the past five months.

Contreras feels fine

Jose Contreras felt great, even if he didn’t entirely show it.

Scheduled to be the regular-season opening-day starter for the Chicago White Sox, Contreras allowed two runs over four innings in a 10-5 loss to the Kansas City Royals at Tucson, Ariz.

Chicago closer and Spirit Lake, Idaho, native Bobby Jenks is expected to pitch today for the first time since feeling tightness in his right shoulder in his spring training debut.

Clemens watches Yanks

Roger Clemens created quite a stir at the ballpark in Tampa, Fla., when he showed up to watch good friend Andy Pettitte pitch for the New York Yankees against Cincinnati.

The 44-year-old Clemens has been discounting any talk that he’ll play in the majors this season. But he at least acknowledged a time frame (early May) for making his choice.

Around the league

Longtime Philadelphia coach John Vukovich is in grave condition in a Philadelphia-area hospital because of complications caused by an inoperable brain tumor. … Bob Feller, at 88 the second-oldest living member of baseball’s Hall of Fame, was unhurt in a minor car accident at the Cleveland Indians’ spring training complex in Winter Haven, Fla. … Mike Piazza had a bag of ice wrapped around his left arm and was held out of Oakland’s exhibition game against the Chicago Cubs, a day after being hit by a pitch. … San Francisco first baseman Ryan Klesko will miss the next week of spring training with a strained muscle in his left side. … Kris Benson is experiencing increased soreness in his right shoulder, a development that means the Baltimore pitcher may need surgery on his torn rotator cuff. … Oakland center fielder Mark Kotsay will have arthroscopic surgery on his back today and could be sidelined up to three months. … Former catcher Gene Oliver, who played for St. Louis and the Cubs during a 10-year major league career, died Saturday at Rock Island, Ill., of complications following lung surgery. He was 71.