Red Sox dealing with threat  —  Beef up security for Tampa Bay trip  —  + Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email  —  HOUSTON - The Red Sox [team stats] and Major League Baseball have dispatched security teams to St. Petersburg, Fla., for the next three days due to a recent threat made against the club's players.

Holly Hill's Brett Gardner called up to New York Yankees  —  Don't believe dreams can come true?  —  Just talk to Brett Gardner.  Because, Sunday afternoon, Gardner's big-league dream came true when Scranton/Wilkes-Barre manager Dave Miley called him into his office and informed …

INSIDE PITCH  —  Second baseman Dan Uggla said his sprained left ankle felt better Sunday but chances are he won't return to action until Thursday at the earliest.  —  Uggla left Saturday's game in the fourth inning after he took a hard turn toward second base on a single then lost his footing and stumbled in the dirt.

Nine-Game Test Awaits the Yankees  —  The schedule says the Texas Rangers will make their only appearance at Yankee Stadium this week, but that is not exactly accurate.  A chunk of the Rangers' lineup will probably come back next month for the All-Star Game.

Padres organization soon could reach crossroads in woeful season  —  A week ago, Sandy Alderson was waffling.  He was wiggling.  He was waiting.  Rather than pick a pigeonhole he might later wish to leave, the Padres' Harvard-trained CEO cleverly characterized his ballclub not as buyers or sellers …

Examining Omar Vizquel  —  When a 41-year-old shortstop goes 1-for-his-last-32, is it not fair to wonder if he has reached the end of the line?  Is he just in a slump or is it something bigger than that?  —  The player in question is Omar Vizquel.  To try and answer the above questions …

An Interview with Darrell Rasner  —  Following my interview with agent Matt Sosnick, I asked Matt if it would be OK to interview one of his players.  Being in New York and sucker for the low-down from one of the less-heralded players, I checked if the Yanks Darrell Rasner would be amenable.

Notebook: Top pick nears deal  —  KANSAS CITY — The Cardinals are close enough to finalizing a deal with first-round draft selection Brett Wallace that negotiations could conclude during the seven-game home stand that begins tonight against the New York Mets, according to sources familiar with the process.