DAVID CONE Pitching great decides to retire

An ailing hip forced the veteran major leaguer to step away from the game.
NEW YORK (AP) -- David Cone stood just inside the Mets' clubhouse, personally delivering the news as his teammates trickled in.
It was time to say goodbye.
Dressed in a business suit and still looking boyishly young despite a hint of gray around the temples, Cone retired Friday. He cut short his comeback with New York, calling it a career at age 40 because of an arthritic left hip, rather than a tired right arm.
"This is the end, for sure," the pitcher said at Shea Stadium.
No regrets
No tears, no long speeches filled with regret. In fact, Cone even called out across the clubhouse to kid the guy taking his place on the roster -- 42-year-old reliever John Franco, activated from the disabled list after being sidelined since 2001 by elbow surgery.
"One of the old expressions in baseball is, 'It's time to get out of the game and give the young guys a chance,' " Cone said.
Joked Franco: "Man, I'm sorry I forced you out."
Cone, who sat out the 2002 season, was 1-3 with a 6.50 ERA in five games this year, four of them starts. He made his final appearance Wednesday in Philadelphia, giving up a solo home run to Placido Polanco in two innings of relief.
By the time Cone woke up the next morning and limped across the room, he knew he was done. He told Mets management on Thursday night that he was retiring; Franco heard it on the radio Friday.
"I've been struggling with it for a while," Cone said as he stood next to his wife, Lynn. "It's a bit abrupt. But I can't do it physically the way I want anymore.
"Sure, I've had some sad moments," he said. "In some sense, there's a relief. Coming out of spring training, I really had high hopes. It was a little disappointing. But I wouldn't have traded this for anything."
Began in 1986
Cone finished 194-126 in a big league career that began in 1986 with Kansas City and spanned nearly 3,000 innings.
He won the 1994 AL Cy Young Award with the Royals and pitched a perfect game with the New York Yankees on July 18, 1999.
Cone earned five World Series championship rings, four with the Yankees and one with Toronto. The five-time All-Star also ranks 17th on baseball's career strikeout list with 2,668.
He rose to prominence with the Mets in the late 1980s, and the team played a video tribute to him on the scoreboard in the first inning of Friday night's game against Atlanta.
Fans were told he had retired and there was an ovation. But Cone was not in the ballpark to hear it -- he'd already started the next phase of his life, and had gone home to have dinner with his wife.
"He was fun to pitch with, and he was fun to watch pitch," Yankees ace Roger Clemens said in Detroit.
Said Yankees manager Joe Torre: "I'm happy for David because he tried."
Offered position
Mets general manager Steve Phillips said it was entirely Cone's decision to retire. The team has offered Cone a position in the organization, and he said he will consider the possibilities.
Cone thanked the Mets for giving him a chance to finish his career in New York.
"Last year, I kind of faded away. No one knew if I was going to play," he said.
His official announcement gave him an opportunity "to do this right."