Game 16: Yankees at Red Sox (updated with Joe Girardi audio)  —  Pitching: RHP Joba Chamberlain (0-0, 5.06).  —  Chamberlain vs. the Boston hitters.  —  RED SOX (9-6)  —  Ellsbury CF  —  Pedroia 2B  —  Ortiz DH  —  Youkilis 1B  —  Drew RF  —  Bay LF  —  Lowell 3B  —  Varitek C

The road not taken: Alex Rodriguez's career with Boston  —  The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox renew their rivalry this weekend without Alex Rodriguez, who is rehabbing from hip surgery at the Yankees' training facility in Tampa, injury merely the latest twist in his tortured saga in pinstripes.

Slumping Mets eye major shakeup  —  ST. LOUIS - Jerry Manuel shook up his lineup Thursday afternoon, but the tinkering became irrelevant when the Mets' starting pitching again faltered.  —  Now, a more significant shakeup may be looming, with coaches on the firing line and Mike Pelfrey's …

Hamels OK after line drive tattoos him in Phillies' loss to Brewers  —  IT IS easy to imagine the types of thoughts that fly through a pitcher's mind when a line drive comes screaming off a bat headed directly toward the front of the mound, particularly when the hitter is Prince Fielder …

Zack Greinke Has The Admirable Story, Not Josh Hamilton  —  I've gotten tired of hearing about the “hero” Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton is.  Yeah I'm happy for him that he overcame drug addiction, became a 2008 All-Star and MVP candidate, and put on a show in the 2008 Home Run Derby, but come on now.

The Biz Beat  —  Forbes on Baseball  —  Forbes came out with its annual Business of Baseball report this week, including the magazine's estimates of each team's financial performance and current value.  By the time you read this, Bud Selig and a few team execs will have probably called the numbers ludicrous, or worse.

Milton Bradley of the Chicago Cubs says he's unable to play, and won't ‘snap’  —  CHICAGO — After playing one game at far less than full speed, Chicago Cubs outfielder Milton Bradley said Thursday he's not close to returning from a lingering groin injury.  —  Bradley

Ryan, Romero land on disabled list  —  Closer shelved indefinitely; rookie may return by mid-May  —  TORONTO — The Blue Jays are being forced to reconfigure their pitching staff once again.  Sticking with the unfortunate trend of the past few seasons, Toronto lost another pair of arms …

What did Warren Spahn know? … I love to dig into the detailed data we have today to test common beliefs or quotes like the one I just reported.  Most times this kind of research ends up confirming what decades of baseball knowledge already tell us—and I strongly suspect I'm working on one of such cases.

Opinion: The Clock is Ticking on Sheffield  —  The Mets will face Nationals LHP Scott Olsen tonight, marking the first time this season the team will face a left-handed starting pitcher.  —  Yesterday, Jerry Manuel told reporters he will likely start the right-handed hitting Fernando Tatis …