Easley Deal Second to Alomar’s

The Detroit Tigers signed all-star Damion Easley to a four-year contract extension Thursday that will make him the second-highest-paid second baseman in baseball.

Easley will receive a guaranteed $26.5 million plus incentives. The deal runs through the 2004 season and contains an option for 2005 that could push the total value of the deal to as much as $35 million, according to Paul Cohen, Easley’s agent.

The only second baseman with a higher annual salary is Roberto Alomar, who signed a four-year, $32-million deal with the Cleveland Indians in the off-season.

Easley, 29, will make $3.6 million over each of the next two seasons.

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Kevin Tapani of the Chicago Cubs, who already has sat out one scheduled start because of stiffness in his shoulder, was put on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to April 13.

The right-hander is the fifth Cub pitcher to go on the disabled list this year, and the season is only three weeks old. It’s the most pitchers the Cubs have had on the DL in one season since 1995, when they opened with four on it and had a total of seven.

The trend started with NL Rookie of the Year Kerry Wood, who suffered a torn ligament in his pitching elbow in his first spring start. Terry Adams joined him soon after because of a sprained elbow, and then came Kurt Miller with a strained rib cage. The fifth pitcher, Jeremi Gonzalez, still is recovering from elbow surgery last year.

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The memory of Joe DiMaggio will bring a diverse throng of fans, celebrities and former teammates to St. Patrick’s Cathedral for a memorial service today in New York.

The guest list includes Woody Allen, Henry Kissinger and Yogi Berra.

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Pitcher Rocky Coppinger was recalled by the Baltimore Orioles from triple-A Rochester and was scheduled to start Sunday against the Oakland Athletics. . . . Texas Ranger right-hander John Burkett, forced to leave his start Tuesday because of tightness in his shoulder, was put on the 15-day disabled list. The Rangers made the move retroactive to Wednesday and called up left-hander Mike Venafro from triple-A Oklahoma of the Pacific Coast League.