Yankees unearth Red Sox jersey in new stadium  —  Construction Worker Tells His Side Of ‘Jerseygate’  —  NEW YORK — A construction worker's bid to curse the Yankees by planting a Red Sox jersey in their new stadium was foiled Sunday when the team removed the offending shirt from its burial spot in the ballpark.

Madden: Call Girardi Joe fool  —  BOSTON - For what it's worth to Joe Girardi - who presumably had Yankee legions and Red Sox Nation alike screaming, “What is he thinking?” when he elected to pitch to Manny Ramirez with first base open in the pivotal sixth inning Saturday …

Liriano plays it cool on eve of 2008 debut  —  Francisco Liriano — once again — will be making a highly anticipated appearance in a Twins uniform when he takes the mound today.  —  KANSAS CITY, MO. — Twins pitcher Francisco Liriano is no stranger to the anticipation surrounding him today …

Rays' Niemann beats Orioles in debut  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP)—Jeff Niemann allowed one run over six innings in his major league debut and B.J. Upton hit a three-run homer during a six-run fifth, helping the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-2 on Sunday.

Texas Rangers go down to Blue Jays, 4-1  —  egrant@dallasnews.com  —  ARLINGTON - The latest craze for metric-minded general managers is to try to determine what makes a good fielding team and what makes a bad one.  —  Put away those slide rules, boys.

M's ace Bedard scratched with nagging hip injury  —  SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners scratched Erik Bedard as their starting pitcher before Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Angels because of inflammation in his left hip.  —  “His hip flared up again,” manager John McLaren said.

Papelbon is worth the wait  —  It took just three pitches, the final one a 96-mile-per-hour fastball that he had waited 2 hours 11 minutes to throw.  —  Jonathan Papelbon had been up and down and up and down and back up again, a feat that seemed incredible, even as he started to warm up for the third and final time.

Glavine hurts hamstring, leaves start vs. Nationals  —  WASHINGTON — Atlanta Braves pitcher Tom Glavine left his start against the Washington Nationals with a strained right hamstring after failing to record an out in the first inning Sunday, matching the shortest outing of his 22-season career.

On the Pirates: The lefty left out  —  Why did Gorzelanny not get long-term offer?  —  Not long after the Pirates' new management took over late last summer, two key players were identified as targets for long-term contracts: Freddy Sanchez and Matt Capps.  —  Before long, Adam LaRoche, then Ian Snell were added.

E-trade: Errors in judgment … From a fan's standpoint, evaluating trades can be one of the most intriguing aspects of professional sports.  Just as there are winners and losers on the field, there are also winners and losers off it.  —  So, implementing the same baseball scoring system …

Markov: Dusty Baker's lineups aren't half bad  —  There was a chorus of complaints from Reds' faithful over the Reds' opening-day lineup, and this has continued in reaction to subsequent lineups over the Reds' first two weeks of play.  I asked folks to submit to me what they felt the opening …

Victorino on DL with right calf strain  —  Phillies center fielder suffered same injury last season  —  PHILADELPHIA — Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday night with a strained right calf, the same injury that curtailed his 2007 production.