No dirt on Ramírez-Youkilis dust-up  —  Although the most explosive portion of fight night at Fenway Park occurred during the bottom of the second inning, after James Shields hit Coco Crisp with a pitch, the undercard was no less intriguing.  —  Before the start of the fifth inning, there was an issue in the Red Sox dugout.

Waiting for the Call  —  NORWICH, Conn. — The ballpark here sits at the end of a winding industrial road, surrounded by trees, with no sense of place.  It rained all day Wednesday, and most of the 1,353 paying fans stayed home.  Kids were disappointed if they left with only one foul ball.

Cubs beat LA on Fukudome's single in 9th  —  LOS ANGELES (AP)—It's always an intriguing showdown when one of the former stars of the Japanese League faces another in a major league game.  So far, Kosuke Fukudome is having more fun than Takashi Saito when the Chicago Cubs play the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Corner infielders dominate atypical first round … Overview  —  This year's first round was unusual in a number of ways.  We had five college relievers taken, beating the previous record of three (set in 2003).  We also saw eight corner infielders taken and four catchers …

Pelfrey Is Solid, but Mets Still Lose  —  SAN DIEGO — This was a pivotal moment, a pivotal moment in the game, in Mike Pelfrey's development, and the Mets pitching coach, Rick Peterson, sensed it.  He ran out to check on his struggling pitcher, putting his hands on Pelfrey's shoulders.

Yankees draft fireballer in first round  —  Righty Cole goes No. 28; Stanford lefty first compensation pick  —  NEW YORK — The New York Yankees selected right-hander Gerrit Cole on Thursday with their first-round pick in the 2008 First Year Player Draft, using the 28th overall pick …

Clutch Project: Checking In  —  Every week or so I like to take a look at how Tangotiger's Great Clutch Project is shaping up.  For those of you unfamiliar with the project, the gist of it is to find out if fans know which players on their team are “clutch”.

Contreras helps White Sox sweep Royals  —  CHICAGO (AP)—Jose Contreras didn't have his best pitch, the split-finger fastball, and against the woeful Royals he didn't need it.  —  Last year it might have been a different story.  —  Contreras won his fourth straight decision and Jim Thome homered …

Chipper hits No. 400 against Marlins  —  Third baseman goes deep in sixth inning off Nolasco  —  ATLANTA — Braves third baseman Chipper Jones hit his 400th home run in the sixth inning of Thursday's game against the Marlins.  —  Jones hit the homer, his 14th of the season …

Flores OK after being hit by pitch  —  Washington (25-36) vs. San Francisco (25-35), Fri., 7:35 p.m. ET  —  WASHINGTON — The Nationals received a scare Thursday when catcher Jesus Flores was hit on the left hand by a Todd Wellemeyer pitch in the fourth inning of the first game of a day-night doubleheader.

Mets snag college bats Davis, Havens  —  Team adds pop in first round with first baseman and shortstop  —  NEW YORK — Recent history has rarely seen the Mets have their way when it comes to the First-Year Player Draft.  Their picks snapped away through free-agent spending …

Griardi overrules on Joba  —  Joe Girardi said Thursday that he does not understand claims by Johnny Damon that moving Joba Chamberlain to the starting rotation has weakened the bullpen and cost the Yankees wins.  —  “We're putting a great arm in the rotation that we believe is going to win games …

O's take pitcher Matusz with fourth pick  —  LHP went 12-2 with 1.71 ERA with University of San Diego this season  —  The Orioles used the fourth pick in today's amateur baseball draft to select left-hander Brian Matusz from the University of San Diego.  —  Matusz, a finalist …