Statement from Hal Steinbrenner: Yanks to reduce ticket prices at new Stadium  —  This from Hal Steinbrenner via the Yankees:  —  “A few weeks ago I indicated that in light of the economy we would review the pricing of a small number of our premium locations at Yankee Stadium; specifically, our Suite Seats.

Don't expect Joba to bail out Yanks 'pen yet  —  Joba Chamberlain could certainly help the Yanks' bullpen.  But will it happen?  Ken Rosenthal has the answer and much more.

Herd's Garcia shoulders the blame  —  Aching starter runs into trouble in fifth inning  —  A broken-down pitcher.  A broken-down offense.  Another embarrassment for the Buffalo Bisons.  —  That's the capsule summary of the latest sorry affair in Coca-Cola Field as the Syracuse Chiefs rumbled past …

Ryan Braun tells Pirates to watch backs, tips off tonight's umps  —  I'd usually say that a late April series between the Brewers and Pirates doesn't really bear much watching if you're not a fan of either team — or a Prince Fielder or Nyjer Morgan fantasy owner.

Hamilton out of lineup, may go on DL  —  Rangers slugger's rib cage in ‘extreme pain’  —  ARLINGTON — Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton could likely end up on the on the disabled list with a bruised left rib cage.  —  Hamilton was not in the lineup again on Tuesday and will be examined …

Rollins predicts a .400 month  —  After saying in spring training that he had retired from the prediction business, Jimmy Rollins unretired yesterday afternoon.  —  Well, sort of.  —  Mired in an early-season slump that has resulted in his not being in the starting lineup on each of the last two Sundays …

UPDATED: Matt Vasgersian should probably stop talking for a little while.  —  Normally we've got no problem with Matt Vasgersian.  In fact, I would go as far as to say he is a friend of the site.  But this idiocy cannot go without mention.  First of all, the whole “this black person looks …

MLB shifts opening rounds of draft to prime time … NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball's amateur draft is shifting to prime time.  —  The commissioner's office said Tuesday that this year's draft will start at 6 p.m. on June 9 and be held at the studios of the MLB Network in Secaucus, N.J.

Get Used To Large Announced Attendances With Sparsely Populated Seats At The New Yankee Stadium  —  We were recently introduced to the extremely useful FanSnap.com.  It is essentially Kayak.com - but for event tickets instead of airline tickets.  In other words, the search engine has access …

Assessing Wakamatsu  —  When you have a rookie manager, your expectations have to be toned down, because what a manager says he's going to do and what he actually does are often quite different.  Wakamatsu said a lot of intelligent stuff during spring training, and he impressed a lot of smart people …

Unemployed and OK  —  Well, first off, the news...  I, along with several other people at Clear Channel Cincinnati, was laid off today.  —  I'm fine, I'm completely taken aback by the response and once again humbled by the people.  Thank you so much.  —  As for what's next?  Well, I'm hungry.

A-Rod pushes up return … Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees have moved up A-Rod's target date and are now shooting for a return to the team sometime in the first week of May, sources say.  —  Rodriguez and the Yankees were originally calling May 15 the target date for his return, and that is still the publicly stated goal.

Gordon's hip injury likely to heal better than A-Rod's  —  There are some key differences between baseball's second-most talked about hip surgery and its first, so when evaluating Alex Gordon's rehab, it's probably best to forget about Alex Rodriguez's.  —  Most notably, the tear …

Close isn't good enough  —  Jim Leyland, as he often does, put it well.  —  “Sabathia pitched very well,” he said.  “Verlander just pitched better.”  —  For what it's worth, the cagey old skipper of the Tigers likes what he sees from the Yankees.  —  “He's a great pitcher,” Leyland said of Sabathia.

Ryan Freel is not happy with the Orioles  —  Approached at his locker today, Ryan Freel was asked why he went to Delmarva last night to begin an injury-rehab assignment, but never played in the game.  —  “It would be best for me to keep my mouth shut at this point,” he said.  But then he didn't.

Orioles activate Mora, option Albers  —  The Orioles announced today that they have activated third baseman Melvin Mora (strained left hamstring) from the 15-day disabled list and optioned reliever Matt Albers to Triple-A Norfolk.  —  Mora, who went on the disabled list April 13 …

Fowler, Rockies run wild over Padres  —  Leadoff man swipes five bags but Hawpe injured in victory  —  DENVER — Garrett Atkins had seen too many improving swings, too many hard-hit balls to believe the Rockies' recent offensive slump was permanent.  —  Monday night proved he was right.