The Toughness of Jorge Posada  —  A few weeks ago, I was asked a simple question: if you could have one Yankee at the plate in a big situation, who would it be?  —  I didn't look at any numbers.  I went on my gut.  I picked Jorge Posada.  —  Posada is just tough.  That's the easiest way to put it.

Rocket and the country star  —  Roger Clemens allegedly had a 10-year romance with ...  Roger Clemens carried on a decade-long affair with country star Mindy McCready, a romance that began when McCready was a 15-year-old aspiring singer performing in a karaoke bar and Clemens …

Delgado (2 HRs) snubs curtain call in Mets win  —  How good a day was it at Shea Stadium yesterday?  Carlos Delgado, an early-season target of boos and brickbats from Mets fans, heard nothing but cheers after his second home run in a 6-3 win over the Braves.

Pirates top Phillies, 5-1  —  Myers at a loss to explain anemic fastball  —  Poof.  —  The fastball that made Brett Myers a first-round draft pick in 1999 is nowhere to be found.  The pitch that hit 95 m.p.h. suddenly cannot break 88 m.p.h.  That is a concern for Myers and the Phillies …

Prospectus Today  —  Reality Check  —  Four weeks into the season, we have to start making calls.  It's still a little early in most cases, but we have enough information to reach tentative conclusions about some players, teams, and issues.  For the next three days, that's what we'll do …

Beckett is fuming about 20 straight … ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — So much for not making any excuses.  —  It is certainly true that the Red Sox have had a tough schedule to start the season.  Boston had a shortened spring training due to its opening series in Japan.

Padilla, Texas Rangers shut out Twins, 10-0  —  egrant@dallasnews.com  —  ARLINGTON - The Texas Rangers punctuated a weekend full of questions with an exclamation point.  —  They spent 72 hours dissecting how April has gone horribly awry, how the season can be saved and the safety of manager Ron Washington's job.

Smoltz complains of sore shoulder after shaky outing  —  New York — If 20 strikeouts in his previous two starts seduced some into thinking John Smoltz might go on like this forever, Sunday served as a reminder that it can't.  —  Even the bearded Braves icon can't ignore pain and keep mowing down hitters in perpetuity.

Ramirez's consecutive steals streak ends at 9  —  MILWAUKEE - Hanley Ramirez's streak of nine consecutive steals without being caught ended at the plate Sunday.  —  With runners at the corners, two out and Jeremy Hermida hitting in the fifth, Ramirez broke for home.

The Windup … Hey Johan, bring back that Cy Young Award, would you?  Seems like we might have been a little quick handing out the hardware.  —  Sunday's scintillating showdown between two starting studs — Brandon Webb of the Diamondbacks and Jake Peavy of the Padres …

Mailbag: Is Lannan the real deal?  —  Beat reporter Bill Ladson answers Nationals fans' questions  —  Is John Lannan the real deal?  —  There is no question that Lannan is the real deal.  He is, by far, the best pitcher on the team and should have been on the Opening Day roster.

Hatteberg would welcome a trade  —  SAN FRANCISCO - Scott Hatteberg is not one to demand a trade or even complain.  But you get the impression he's miserable in his current role of pinch-hitter/occasional starter.  —  “It's difficult,” he said.  “I've never been a very good pinch-hitter.

Will any GM join Krivsky on unemployment line? … This isn't like the old days, when some baseball teams were run by the lazy, the unqualified or the truly incompetent.  Today there's only one team like that, two tops.  —  Almost every baseball owner now understands the importance …

Life After Barry Is a Strikeout At the Ballpark  —  Without Famed Slugger, Rubber-Chicken Sales And Kayak Rentals Fall  —  SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Giants this year got off to one of their worst starts since moving here from New York in 1958, losing 11 of their first 17 games.

Marlins Notebook: Olsen's next start could be pushed back  —  MILWAUKEE — Left-hander Scott Olsen said he felt fine Saturday, a day after he complained of general soreness after leaving Friday's game in the eighth inning.  But the Marlins are leaving open the chance of pushing back his next start.

Alou's future uncertain with new setback  —  Oft-injured veteran outfielder to have tests on swollen left ankle  —  NEW YORK — A CT scan of the left ankle of Moises Alou administered on Friday provided inconclusive results, and now the immediate future of the oft-injured player …

Quick Work and Gray Braves  —  The Braves understand that one of the risks involved with older, injury-prone players is that they're going to need to go to their backups.  The team has them in place, but they'd hoped they wouldn't have to use them quite yet; it's one thing to have Plan B in place …