CHANGE: GIRARDI'S MANTRA FOR 2009  —  YANKEE Stadium will not close its doors until Sunday night, but in many ways the 2009 season started last night with Phil Hughes back on the mound and Joe Girardi talking about learning from his experiences this season.  There is only one way to learn …

Homers trump ‘pen woes in Mets’ win  —  Relief corps makes it interesting, but bats lead charge over Nats  —  WASHINGTON — It was something less than the manager had sought.  Jerry Manuel had ordered up a shutout Wednesday afternoon.  —  “Nine innings of shutout ball — I won't take anything less …

Schilling blasts Manny  —  Injured Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling threw some high heat at former teammate Manny Ramirez this afternoon on sports radio WEEI's “The Big Show,” saying the slugger's “level of disrespect to teammates and people was unfathomable.”

Sheets feels ‘cutting’ sensation in elbow  —  Brewers ace has been dealing with discomfort since August  —  CHICAGO — The Brewers might be without Ben Sheets for the second straight September, right when they need him most.  —  The right-hander was forced out of his start against the Cubs …

Likely there's a Sabean in Giants' future  —  (09-18) 04:00 PDT Phoenix — William Neukom will have many important items on his agenda when he becomes the Giants' managing general partner Oct. 1, but it appears his to-do list will not include a general manager search.

Ramirez talks Torre out of rest  —  Dodgers manager scraps plan to give slugger Thursday off  —  PITTSBURGH — Dodgers manager Joe Torre made a couple more lineup changes for Wednesday night's game with the Pirates and scrapped another one he planned for Thursday's getaway day game.

Rays rout Red Sox 10-3, lead East by 2  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP)—Baseball's feel-good story of the year is on the verge of getting even better.  —  The AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays beat the Boston Red Sox 10-3 Wednesday night, moving closer to their first playoff berth with another …

A Brian Cashman audit - and there's a live chat today  —  So I was watching The Show That Shall Not Be Named last week, and they were doing a bit, something like “The 5 Reasons Brian Cashman Shouldn't Be Brought Back.”  One of the reasons was Jaret Wright.  —  And as I am prone to do sometimes …

Ichiro collects hit No. 200 for '08  —  Ties Keeler for most consecutive 200-hit seasons  —  KANSAS CITY — Move over Willie Keeler.  Here stands Ichiro Suzuki.  —  Ichiro had three hits on Wednesday against the Royals to reach the 200-hit plateau for the eighth consecutive year.

Ramirez exits win with bad shoulder  —  NL East standings Team W-L Pct GB  —  Philadelphia 85-67 .559 -  —  New York 84-67 .556 1/2  —  Florida 79-72 .523 51/2 NL wild-card standings  —  New York 84-67 .556 -  —  Milwaukee 84-68 .553 1/2  —  Houston 80-71 .530 4  —  Florida 79-72 .523 5

Drunk fan at Shea falls victim to fans' prank  —  If you are going to get drunk and pass out in a public place, Shea Stadium might not be the best place to do it.  —  One fan during the second game of a doubleheader in Queens learned this the hard way when he apparently passed out in his box seat …

Bedard could miss 6-9 months  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Given his general demeanor, Erik Bedard wasn't about to spend much of the past three months talking about his injuries.  He's not big on talking, and what would have been the point?  Bedard couldn't pitch, his left shoulder was sore and it wasn't getting better.