Harper: Sox steal Yankee pride  —  BOSTON - In the end, the steal of home was more than an embarrassing punctuation mark to a sweep at the hands of the Red Sox that was full of heartbreak and exasperation.  —  For the Yankees, it was symbolic of a weekend in which they were beaten in the cruelest of ways …

PUTRID PEREZ FACES BULLPEN OR MINORS  —  The Mets might have been better off lighting that $36 million on fire.  —  Just four starts into Oliver Perez's dubious three-year deal, the Mets already are running out of patience with the mercurial left-hander after he imploded again yesterday in an 8-1 loss to the Nationals.

Irabu to make comeback in independent league in U.S.  —  Former New York Yankees pitcher Hideki Irabu (file photo) has come out of retirement and made a contract with Long Beach Armada of the independent Golden Baseball League, his management revealed on April 27.

Peter King: Jets-Browns trade, thoughts on all 32 draft classes … KANSAS CITY — I'm going to have 32 opinions on 32 teams here in a few paragraphs, and a few will surprise you.  But I've got to start off with a cool story that played a big part in the trade of the weekend — and, in all likelihood, the trade of the year in the NFL.

A more effective Hughes is headed back to Yankees  —  BOSTON - Phil Hughes is on his way back into the Yankees' rotation.  —  Hughes, 22, is the likely replacement for Chien-Ming Wang, who was placed on the disabled list with hip weakness after Friday's game.

Expiration Date  —  Next weekend, I plan to meet my former teammate and good friend Marlon Anderson here in Chicago.  His family will be in town for a wedding, and it is one of those rare occasions since I stopped playing baseball when he and I will be in the same city.  —  But isn't he supposed to be in uniform?

Phillies' Romero suing supplement makers  —  Suspended Phillies reliever J.C. Romero is suing the makers and distributors of nutritional supplements that he says are responsible for his positive steroid test last August.  —  The 27-page lawsuit, filed Monday in the Superior Court of New Jersey …

Monday Ten Pack  —  Homer Bailey, RHP, Reds (Triple-A Louisville)  —  Bailey has been crowned as the savior of the Reds' rotation for some time now, but he's run into some frustrating bouts of inconsistency at the upper levels.  Some mechanical changes this spring renewed his former promise …

Astros notes: Valverde may miss more time  —  Valverde iffy  —  Closer Jose Valverde may need to miss more time with the strained calf muscle that cost him a few days of availability during the Astros' homestand.  In closing Sunday's 3-2 win over the Brewers, Valverde felt pain on every pitch and …

JAYS FLY DESPITE PITCHING BLUES  —  This is probably like playing fantasy baseball, which readers of this site know I abhor, but what if the Toronto Blue Jays have finally put it all together and are ready to compete for real in the American League East?  Doesn't that division already have enough serious contenders?

Tampa Bay Rays starter Andy Sonnanstine frankly assesses start as “embarrassing”  —  OAKLAND, Calif. — The word RHP Andy Sonnanstine used was “embarrassing.”  —  As much as he believes he isn't pitching that poorly, and as close as he thinks he is to winning, Sonnanstine was realistic enough …

Nolan Ryan stresses conditioning over pitch counts  —  Under the leadership of club president Nolan Ryan, the Texas Rangers have embarked on a pitching experiment that could be called “back to the future on the mound.”  —  The experiment may also have a major impact on the use …

Cardinals, Pujols come under fire from Cubs' Harden  —  With his team having lost four straight games, Chicago Cubs righthander Rich Harden did what good, veteran big-league starters do.  He stopped the losing streak, pitching six strong innings and striking out nine Sunday as the Cubs beat the Cardinals 10-3 at Busch Stadium.