Red Sox: No time to bury Bombers  —  Boston won't revel in rival's struggles  —  BOSTON - The Yankees are staggering enough to have everyone in the franchise concerned.  The Red Sox are confident, loose and boast baseball's best record.  And after defeating a solid Atlanta team, 6-3 …

Pen shakeup put on hold  —  Forget keeping a secret.  The Cubs can't even get it right when they finally spill it.  —  In a bizarre postgame sequence Sunday, closer Ryan Dempster confirmed a Sun-Times report that he was moving to the starting rotation, saying he was ''excited'' and planned …

Remembering Doug Pappas: 1962-2004  —  1962-2004  —  There are days in all of our lives that we'd like to forget, days we wished had not happened.  Days that place matters in perspective.  Today is the anniversary of one of those days.  And while we might have been talking the sale of the Braves …

Tumbling Redbirds are swept in Detroit  —  DETROIT — The conclusion is inescapable.  The Cardinals are this bad.  —  Their 6-3 loss Sunday to Detroit capped a three-game series sweep by the Tigers and extended the Cardinals' losing streak to five, the second time this season they have reached that depth.

Jones whiffs 5 times in No. 6 spot  —  Boston — With more than a quarter of the season gone and Andruw Jones' average slipping toward .200, Braves manager Bobby Cox made a move he hoped to avoid.  —  He dropped Jones from fourth to sixth in the batting order, which spoke volumes of the severity of his slump.

BERNIE: I DON'T THINK YOU HAVE SEEN THE LAST OF ME  —  Bernie Williams remains a man without a team, but the former Yankee hasn't given up on playing again.  —  "I'm trying to stay in shape, working hard and we'll see what happens in the future," Williams told WNBC yesterday.

KID IS ALL RIGHT  —  BABY-FACED ROOKIE BAILS OUT BOMBERS  —  RON Villone played for six weeks at Triple-A with Tyler Clippard and pretty much liked everything about the lanky right-hander.  —  Before a pitch was thrown in the Subway Series finale, Villone offered a laudatory scouting report of Clippard.

BOMBERS WILL FOLLOW MLB'S LEAD ON GIAMBI'S COMMENTS  —  According to Brian Cashman, the Yankees will take their cue from Major League Baseball on what they can do about possibly voiding Jason Giambi's contract.  —  "It's all up to MLB," the GM said last night.

NL West: The Plague of Pierre  —  Ever since their team hired Billy Beane disciple Paul DePodesta as GM, traded Paul Lo Duca and acquired Hee Seop Choi and J.D. Drew in 2004, Dodger fans have been split in two camps: Those who believe that statistics predominantly tell the story of a player's value …

Carlos Zambrano's Lower Arm Slot: cause for concern?  —  I recently wrote an article on Jonathan Papelbon's arm slot issues.  My conclusion: … I had originally intended to write an article in which I discussed both Papelbon and Carlos Zambrano.  The Papelbon article ran longer than I anticipated, so I split them up.

Tattooed pitcher may become Marlins' closer  —  ST. PETERSBURG — Justin Miller's body art, those pieces visible in public, led Major League Baseball to rule that he has to wear long sleeves when he pitches.  —  But it's the one seen only inside the sanctity of the major-league clubhouse …

Jenkins hits 200th career homer  —  Milestone jack ties game, sets up game-winning single  —  MILWAUKEE — Geoff Jenkins still remembers standing at his locker after the Brewers' home finale last September, choking back tears after a trying year.  —  With rumors circulating that he might …

Hit Tracker Interview (Part 1)  —  Hands up who hasn't heard of Hit Tracker?  Right, no one ... no introduction required then!  Well, just in case you happen to be a THT virgin, I'll proffer the one paragraph version.  —  Hit Tracker was, in my opinion, the best thing to come out of the Internet in 2006.

Stop blaming Jim Bowden  —  Say what you will about James G. Bowden IV.  Everyone else has.  —  Leatherpants wrecked the Cincinnati farm system and cheated the Reds and their rookie general manager Wayne Krivsky last summer: Erstwhile All-Star shortstop Felipe Lopez and decent everyday …

Big Unit dominant in win over Bucs  —  Veteran lefty notches season-high 10 strikeouts  —  PITTSBURGH — There are going to be games when Randy Johnson just doesn't feel good.  —  After all, he is 43-years-old and is less than seven months removed from major back surgery.