Father of Red Sox Pitcher Lester Has Cancer

Jon Lester's father has a highly treatable form of cancer, the Boston lefty and lymphoma survivor said in an interview with ESPN.

"It's very different than mine," Lester told the network, which aired the interview yesterday before Boston's first trip of the season to Lester's native Seattle area.

"His is slow growing," Lester said of his father. "His is something that he's going to die with, not die from. . . . He's doing really well. He has to go through the treatments . . . but at the same time, it's going to knock it down to where he can live a normal, healthy life."

Lester threw a no-hitter against Kansas City last Monday, but took a loss yesterday against Oakland.

He also won Boston's World Series-clinching game against Colorado last fall, but is best known for his remarkable return to the majors last year after having a rare form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma diagnosed in 2006. He went 4-0 in 11 starts late in the regular season before his playoff heroics.

· CARMONA TO MISS FOUR WEEKS: Cleveland RHP Fausto Carmona is expected to be sidelined four weeks with a strained left hip.

An MRI exam revealed a moderate strain of an exterior muscle in Carmona's left hip, Lonnie Soloff, Cleveland's head athletic trainer, said.

Carmona went 4-1 with a 2.25 ERA through his first nine starts before giving up six runs in two innings Friday night in a 13-9 loss to Texas.

The 24-year-old strained his hip in the third inning when he covered first base on a grounder hit by the Rangers' David Murphy.

· POSADA TO TAMPA: New York C Jorge Posada expects to play four or five games in extended spring training as he continues to rehabilitate his injured throwing shoulder.

Posada is headed to Tampa, where he will hit and catch but not be allowed to throw during the first two games. If all goes according to plan, he'll add the throwing in his third game.

Manager Joe Girardi said he hopes to have Posada back within two weeks. Posada indicated it could be June 3.

The five-time all-star hasn't played since April 26.

-- From News Services