Ortiz scratched tonight  —  Brandon Moss has joined the Red Sox in Tampa, and the corresponding move might be a trip to the DL for Sean Casey.  Casey suffered a strained right hip flexor in last night's game.  —  In other news, David Ortiz was in the original Red Sox lineup …

Nomar headed back to DL  —  Departs Friday's win in ninth; Andruw exited earlier  —  LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers are expected to place Nomar Garciaparra on the disabled list Saturday and recall third baseman Blake DeWitt to replace him.  —  Garciaparra suffered a strained left calf muscle …

Game 25: Yankees at Indians  —  YANKEES  —  Notes: The man, the myth, the legend that is David Shelley Duncan is back with the Yankees and hitting sixth.  He was, as you might imagine, quite excited.  We shook hands and it still hurts. ...  No word yet on the corresponding move but I would guess Chris Britton's stay is over. ...

Reliever Bruney likely out for season  —  CLEVELAND - Right-handed reliever Brian Bruney almost certainly will miss the remainder of the season after being diagnosed with a Lisfranc fracture in his right foot.  —  Bruney was placed on the 15-day disabled list and is not expected back before 2009, general manager Brian Cashman said.

Nix treading carefully during cold streak  —  Rookie second baseman struggling in season's first month  —  LOS ANGELES — Rockies rookie second baseman Jayson Nix might be on precarious Major League footing, with his .128 batting average.  In returning him to the starting lineup on Friday night …

Patience rewards Marlins in extras win  —  Team scores three in 10th inning off Mota for victory  —  MILWAUKEE — Patience and stellar pitching paid off for the Marlins on Friday night.  —  Wes Helms, Cody Ross and Mike Rabelo each had RBIs in the 10th inning as the Marlins finally broke through …

Thome's in the 500 Club, but Maybe Not in THE Club  —  Jim Thome of the White Sox hits long homers, prodigious homers, majestic homers, a lot of homers.  Thome is patient and powerful, a left-hander hitter with an open stance, with an uppercut swing and with forearms as massive as telephone poles.

Back spasms sideline Braves' Jones  —  Pre-game injury makes third baseman a late scratch vs. Mets  —  NEW YORK — Hot-hitting Chipper Jones had back spasms while changing into his uniform Saturday morning and was scratched from the Braves' lineup for an afternoon game against the Mets at Shea Stadium.

Ledezma plunks Conor Jackson in ribs  —  Post game host on Channel 4, Bob Scanlan got real fired up talking about Ledezma hitting Conor Jackson in the ribs after he swung so hard that he fell to his knees in the previous pitch. … Conor Jackson swings so hard that he falls to his knees.

The Stalwart and the Shaky Preserve a Mets Victory  —  It would all be so much easier for the Mets if every time Manager Willie Randolph removed his starting pitcher, the same designated reliever would appear.  Another would follow, as many as necessary, and not only would they appear …

Burres pitches O's past ChiSox in opener  —  CHICAGO (AP)—About 15 hours after his start was rained out, Brian Burres jumped back on the mound for the Baltimore Orioles and pitched one of the best games of his career.  —  The quick turnaround didn't faze Burres, who pitched eight shutout innings …

Saltalamacchia called up; will Laird finally be dealt?  —  Jarrod Saltalamacchia has been called up, and GM Jon Daniels has no plans for him to warm the bench.  Salty performed well at AAA Oklahoma, and when backup backstop Adam Melhuse broke a bone in his hand on Thursday, the call-up seemed imminent.

Tracy Could Be Trade Fodder For D'Backs  —  It looks like Diamondbacks 3B/1B Chad Tracy is close to returning from knee problems that have limited him to just one at bat since August 12 of last year.  KFFL reported that he would work out in extended spring training starting this past Wednesday …

Francisco Liriano's Pitching Mechanics: Before & After  —  I've been following with some interest the return to baseball of Francisco Liriano.  He was putting up historic number before he went down with a torn UCL.  —  The folks over at Baseball Intellect recently did a comparison …