Baseball owners have agreed to rehire five of the 22 umpires who lost their jobs in a failed mass resignation three years ago and to allow four more umpires to retire with back pay and benefits.
Gary Darling, Bill Hohn, Larry Poncino, Larry Vanover and Joe West will rejoin the major-league staff. Four others -- Drew Coble, Greg Kosc, Frank Pulli, Terry Tata -- officially will retire.
Astros make Miller No. 1
Wade Miller, who had a breakout 16-8 season with the Houston Astros last year, was picked by Manager Jimy Williams to start the team's season opener April 2 against Milwaukee. Roy Oswalt, Shane Reynolds and Dave Mlicki will follow him in the rotation with Carlos Hernandez and Tim Redding vying for the fifth slot.
Short hops
The closing on the sale of the Boston Red Sox to John Henry's group is expected to be completed today or tomorrow with the dismissal of General Manager Dan Duquette likely to take place soon thereafter. ... Oft-injured New York Yankees outfielder Rondell White strained his left rib cage swinging a bat and could be out at least the next 10 days. First baseman Jason Giambi (left hamstring) took part in pregame drills but missed his second consecutive intrasquad game. ... Enron Corp. asked the New York judge overseeing its bankruptcy case for more time to decide whether to honor its 30-year, $100 million naming rights agreement with the Houston Astros for Enron Field.
Labor negotiations resumed with owners saying they want to make the amateur draft international and withhold pay of suspended players. ... Standout University of Texas running back Cedric Benson will play in the Los Angeles Dodgers' organization as a minor-league outfielder this summer. ... B.J. Surhoff, 37, made it clear that if he's not in the Atlanta Braves' starting lineup, he would rather play elsewhere. ... Satoru Komiyama, the New York Mets' latest Japanese import, gave up three runs and five hits in one inning in an intrasquad game.
Baseball Notebook: Majors to rehire 5 umpires 
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