01:00 AM EDT on Monday, June 14, 2004

Divers searched through the silt of a Sudbury (Mass.) pond again yesterday for an elusive piano that -- according to legend -- Red Sox slugger Babe Ruth pushed into the water. But the searchers surfaced without so much as a pedal or a piano string.

"Personally, I believe in providence, and I think we've gone too far for it not to be there," said piano-hunter Eloise Newell.

A veteran underwater search expert, John Fish, has helped the enterprise by searching for promising underwater spots at the one-mile-diameter Willis Pond, but the three-diver expedition struck out for the fourth time yesterday. It is actually the fifth search; the first was with a camera lowered into the water.

Newell believes the piano will be found buried somewhere in the muck at the bottom of the pond. She's using the search to raise awareness about mental illness, which she equates with the stigma of the "Curse of the Bambino" against the Red Sox.

The Red Sox sold the Babe to the New York Yankees in 1919, the year after the Red Sox won the World Series. The Red Sox haven't won a World Series since, and superstitious Red Sox fans say that was the start of the curse.

The Babe vacationed at the cabin during the offseason in 1917 and 1918, and is said to have dunked the piano in the offseason after the 1918 World Series. It's not clear how the piano might have ended up in the pond, though theories abound, many involving the Babe's legendary fondness for alcohol.

One theory is that Ruth tossed it in as a display of strength, and another is that Ruth wanted to be rid of it because it was out of tune. Still another is that the Babe moved the piano onto the frozen pond for a children's singalong, then left it on the pond, where it eventually fell through the ice.

ROUNDUP BALDELLI HURTING: Tampa Bay center fielder and Cumberland native Rocco Baldelli was out of the lineup for the second straight game yesterday. Baldelli, who can't swing a bat because of a sprained left thumb, will be reevaluated tomorrow.

RIVERA AILING: Add closer Mariano Rivera to the list of ailing star pitchers on the New York Yankees' staff. Rivera was unavailable to pitch yesterday in the Yankees' 6-5, 12-inning victory over the San Diego Padres. "I was not going to use Mo today," manager Joe Torre said. "He was a little uncomfortable. He had a little tightness in his back." Torre and pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre weren't too worried about Rivera. "I would be surprised if he's not ready to go Tuesday," Torre said. While Rivera has appeared in a league-leading 34 games this season, Stottlemyre doesn't think it's a problem because Rivera has only pitched two innings twice, and has worked 35 2/3 innings in getting a league-leading 26 saves in 27 opportunities. The Yankees are also down two starters. Kevin Brown and Mike Mussina were both hurt last week and are limited to playing catch. Tanyon Sturtze will make his first start for the Yankees on Wednesday. Jose Contreras will start tomorrow in place of Brown, on his normal rest, and Sturtze will pitch Wednesday in Mussina's spot. Torre still has not announced a starter for Thursday.

ROYALS MOVES : The Kansas City Royals designated outfielders Brandon Berger and Wilton Guerrero for assignment yesterday. They team also purchased the contracts of infielder Damian Jackson from Triple-A Omaha and outfielder Dee Brown from Double-A Wichita. Jackson was hitting .179 in 10 games at Omaha with one home run and nine RBI. Brown, who has had several appearances with the Royals since being a first-round draft pick in 1996, was hitting .303 with 12 home runs and 50 RBI for Wichita.

SOSA BEGINS REHAB : Sammy Sosa hit an RBI single off the center-field wall for the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx yesterday as he began a three-day rehabilitation assignment with the Chicago Cubs' Double-A affiliate in Jackson, Tbnn. Sosa has been on the disabled list since May 16 with a sprained ligament in his lower back brought on by two sneezes. "I feel great," Sosa said. "I felt kind of funny the first at-bat. I was seeing the ball pretty good. I need to see for myself and find out how my back feels. And, you know, I think I'm on my way to the major leagues." West Tenn beat the Birmingham Barons, 2-1.

ONE FOR STARTERS: Right-hander Paul Byrd is to make his first start of the season for the Braves tomorrow. Byrd, who made a rehab start at Triple-A Richmond Wednesday, is recovering from elbow ligament replacement surgery last July. Byrd has yet to pitch for Atlanta since signing as a free agent in 2002.

MILESTONES POSSIBLE: The Phillies host the Reds in a makeup game today. Cincinnati's Ken Griffey Jr. has 499 career homers, while Philadelphia's Jim Thome has 399. "It'll be fun," Thome said. "It's great for the fans. We were supposed to have an off day but it's cool that this happened when it happened."