Girardi holds closed-door meeting  —  Manager trying to spark underperforming Yankees  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Joe Girardi held the first closed-door meeting of his Yankees managerial tenure on Wednesday, addressing his team for about 30 minutes before the club's game against the Rays at Tropicana Field.

Hollywood Edmonds en route to Chicago  —  Jim Edmonds is expected to be in a Cubs uniform Thursday afternoon, playing centerfield and batting ninth in the lineup.  —  Ninth?  —  “He's going to hit ninth,” manager Lou Piniella said.  “I'm going to move the pitcher to eighth, and hit him ninth.”

Rays sign Kazmir to 3-year, $28.5M deal  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP)—Tampa Bay left-hander Scott Kazmir agreed Wednesday to a $28.5 million, three-year extension through 2011, a deal with a club option that could raise the contract's value to $39.5 million over four seasons.

Broken fingernail lands BoSox's Buchholz on DL  —  BALTIMORE — Clay Buchholz was put on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday by the Boston Red Sox because of a broken nail on his right middle finger.  —  The Red Sox filled his roster spot by recalling outfielder Jonathan Van Every from Triple-A Pawtucket.

Diamondbacks improve to 7-1 vs. Rockies  —  PHOENIX (AP)—Micah Owings has made headlines with his bat.  —  He can pitch too.  —  Owings threw six shutout innings as the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Colorado Rockies 4-3 on Wednesday night, extending their domination of the defending NL champions.

Sabathia 5-hits A's, fans 11 in 2-0 win  —  CLEVELAND (AP)—C.C. Sabathia pitched a five-hitter and struck out 11 in the Cleveland Indians' major league-leading seventh shutout, a 2-0 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday night.  —  Sabathia (3-5) extended the scoreless streak …

Report: Magowan to Step Down from Giants Friday  —  The San Francisco Giants will be holding a special ownership meeting on Friday, at which time, managing partner Peter Magowan will reportedly step down from the leading position within the organization.  —  As reported yesterday …

A-Rod will test quadriceps by running bases  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Alex Rodriguez is expected to run the bases at Tropicana Field before Thursday's game, in what could be the final test before playing in rehab games.  —  Rodriguez has been on the disabled list since April 30 with a right quadriceps strain.

Lo Duca calls WFAN  —  Brian Schneider is no Paul Lo Duca on his weekly spots on WFAN - not that the newest Mets catcher wants to match Lo Duca's penchant for being a lightning rod.  —  We were reminded of how things used to be when Lo Duca, on the DL with the Nationals with a broken hand …

Lackey sharp, but Angels fall to ChiSox  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP)—Carlos Quentin did what he does every day—checked the lineup card to see if he was playing.  This time, he was batting third for the first time this season.  —  Quentin made White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen look smart …

Tonight's lineup and early notes from Shea  — Looks like Pedro Martinez survived today's simulated game in PSL.  Martinez, rehabbing from a strained left hamstring, threw 55 pitches and used his whole repertoire during the four-inning stint.  Just as important, Martinez fielded his position adequately …