Top prospect Hughes to pitch for Yanks Thursday  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A day after getting swept by the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees said Monday they plan on having top pitching prospect Phil Hughes make his major league debut Thursday against Toronto.

Surgery finally here for Prior  —  Will have scope of his problematic shoulder on Tuesday  —  After being demoted to Triple-A Iowa at the end of March, Mark Prior said he felt fine and insisted he still could get major-league hitters out.  —  He didn't look at the decision by the Cubs as a crossroads in his star-crossed career.

Under The Knife: No Excuses by Will Carroll  —  No Excuses  —  Injuries are never an excuse.  Yes, they're often used that way, whether it's a GM shrugging his shoulders and saying it's a "part of the game," or if it's the guy in your fantasy league saying he would have won …

A's place Harden, Bradley on 15-day disabled list  —  OAKLAND, Calif. — Just when Rich Harden was hoping for a healthy, full season, he got hurt again.  —  The Oakland Athletics placed their ace right-hander on the 15-day disabled list Monday with a strained right shoulder and also put center fielder Milton Bradley on the DL.

Furious Halsey rips A's  —  Pitcher says team worried only about money, not players  —  (04-23) 04:00 PDT Arlington, Texas — Brad Halsey figured when he was held out of his start at Triple-A Sacramento on Saturday that he was coming up to start for Rich Harden on Tuesday.

Pulitzer Prize winner Halberstam killed in car crash  —  SAN FRANCISCO — David Halberstam, a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer who chronicled the Vietnam War generation, civil rights and the world of sports, was killed in a car crash Monday, his wife and local authorities said.  He was 73.

Rangers put closer Gagne on DL with hip injury  —  ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers put closer Eric Gagne on the 15-day disabled list Monday, a day after the oft-injured right-hander left the game in the middle of just his second save situation for his new team.

Fenway's home run derby: Property owners swing for fences  —  How much is a tiny gas station next door to Fenway Park [map] worth?  —  According to one of its owners, Charlie Giannakopoulos, its true value is more than $10 million.  —  The Shell station at the corner of Boylston …

Neshek is king of eBay and the mound  —  Pat Neshek is a hard-core collector of baseball and hockey cards, a huge fan of "The Simpsons" and one of the most entertaining bloggers around.  He also happens to be one of the most dominant relief pitchers in baseball.

BASEBALL DAILY DOSE (Apr 23)  —  Daily Dose discusses Rich Harden's latest setback and what the Cubs will do with their suddenly crowded outfield.  —  Future stars Ryan Braun, Tim Lincecum and Hunter Pence highlight the list of NL minor leaguers likely to help fantasy teams later this year.

2008 Club Options  —  Instead of rehashing the usual Jacque Jones/Jose Capellan trade rumors, let's take a stab at predicting whether teams will exercise their 2008 options.  —  Ivan Rodriguez - $13MM with $3MM buyout.  Pudge will be 36 in 2008, but his defensive value and continued pop seem to justify the $10MM difference.

Slumping Sheffield won't sulk  —  DETROIT — In perfect weather Sunday, Gary Sheffield waited for a storm to pass.  —  For the first time this season, Sheffield wasn't in the starting lineup — nor did he play in the Tigers 6-5, 12-inning victory over the White Sox.

Boyd hopes tour, league help out  —  It's one thing to talk about the dwindling number of African-American players on major league rosters, it's another thing to try to do something about it.  —  Count Dennis ''Oil Can'' Boyd, Marquis Grissom, and Delino DeShields among those taking …