Initial reports: Posada's injury not season-ending  —  Jorge Posada's shoulder injury does not appear to be season-threatening.  That's the early word on the New York Yankees catcher following an exam by Dr. James Andrews on Monday.  —  Posada was placed on the 15-day disabled list …

Yanks chip away to split with Tribe  —  Four-run sixth ends hitless spell; Mussina wins second straight  —  CLEVELAND — The Yankees have been away from home so often this month, Mike Mussina seemed legitimately surprised when he realized his assumptions were incorrect: another hotel room was not …

Mindy McCready weeps as she confirms affair with ‘kind and caring’ Roger Clemens  —  Barricaded behind tightly drawn blinds at her Nashville home Monday, country singer Mindy McCready confirmed a long-term affair with embattled pitcher Roger Clemens.  —  “I cannot refute anything in the story …

Bondy: All wrong bringing Wright into mess  —  David Wright talks with Carlos Delgado in the dugout during Sunday's game ...  You have to understand: Wright is a golden child, one of the chosen.  He is a homegrown organization talent, which means he is treated very differently than the latest free agent on the block.

Pitchers face demotions sans improvement  —  SAN FRANCISCO — A disappointing April has created rotation impatience beyond Franklin Morales and Ubaldo Jimenez.  —  Mark Redman could be sent to the bullpen — or worse — if he doesn't show marked improvement.

THUMB'S DOWN FOR SCHNEIDER  —  Mets catcher Brian Schneider remains in the hospital with a staph infection in his left thumb, unsure when he'll be able to return to the team.  —  “It's frustrating,” Schneider told The Post in a telephone interview from his hospital room.  “It's a bad infection.

Sports Illustrated Jinxes the Cubs in April?  Coverline: “It's Gonna Happen”  —  We think this might be exclusive, since it won't hit the SI website (and mailboxes) until later today, and newsstands Thursday, but this week's cover is pure genius.  Jinx much?

Jonathan Papelbon improves numbers … How does he do it?  How can Jonathan Papelbon [stats] make his pitches miss so many bats, so many times?  —  “He throws the heck out of the ball,” Red Sox [team stats] pitching coach John Farrell said.  —  If it was only that simple.

Bobby Valentine on His New Tribeca Documentary  —  To Mets fans, Bobby Valentine needs no introduction: The flamboyant player turned manager helped lead the Mets out of their nineties rut and all the way to the World Series in 2000.  But as depicted in the new Tribeca film The Zen of Bobby V …

Lieberthal to officially retire as a Phillie  —  Former catcher spent most of 14-season career in Philadelphia  —  PHILADELPHIA — Mike Lieberthal never wanted to leave the Phillies, and now he's going to leave baseball as a member of the organization for which he spent most of his career.

No curses for Dodgers' Lowe  —  The Dodgers never had a Bambino, other than the one year Babe Ruth spent as Brooklyn's first-base coach back in 1938.  They had Billy Cox, Billy Herman and Billy Grabarkewitz, but no one seems to recall them ever having a billy goat.

ON DECK: TIGERS AT YANKEES  —  The Yankees return home tonight to take on the Tigers (7:05, YES, WCBS) after playing 18 out of their previous 20 games on the road, but unfortunately some of their stars will not be on the field to greet the Stadium crowd.  —  Alex Rodriguez re-injured …

Pirates' trade pieces raise stakes  —  Nady, Bay, Grabow more valuable now than when offered  —  NEW YORK — Over a long inaugural winter as the Pirates' general manager, Neal Huntington had set out to revamp his roster with significant veteran-for-prospect trades.  —  Trouble was, no one was buying.

Justin Verlander's struggles through Pitch F/X  —  When Justin Verlander is at his best, one has to wonder how hitters even manage to put the bat on the ball, let alone make hard contact.  Since being selected out of Old Dominion with the second overall pick in the 2004 draft …

Giants send struggling pitcher Barry Zito to bullpen  —  SAN FRANCISCO (AP)—Barry Zito was demoted to the bullpen Monday by the San Francisco Giants, who hope the former ace can correct his problems by working in relief.  —  Zito, who only 16 months ago signed a $126 million …