IN JOBA MATH, LESS MEANS MORE  —  IN the Bizarro World that Joba Chamberlain inhabits, the better he pitches, the fewer times he'll get the ball, while the worse he pitches, the more starts he'll get between now and the finish line.  —  It's the innings, stupid, and no …

Castro fired; Hardy sent down  —  By Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel  —  The Brewers have fired pitching coach Bill Castro and replaced him with Class AAA Nashville pitching coach Chris Bosio.  —  In another drastic move, the Brewers have sent down shortstop J.J. Hardy and recalled Alcides Escobar from Nashville.

Yankees' Gardner has cast removed  —  NEW YORK - Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner had the cast removed from his broken left thumb on Monday and will now have the finger supported by a splint until he is examined again this coming Monday.  —  If all goes well, Gardner may return soon after.

Moyer Unhappy, Feels Misled  —  Jamie Moyer did not answer questions about his demotion to the bullpen this afternoon at Wrigley Field, but he certainly spoke his mind.  —  In short, Moyer is unhappy and feels misled.  —  “I'm really not happy with this decision that the Phillies have made …

Injured Tampa Bay Rays closer Troy Percival plans to retire  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. — There's paperwork that has to be filed to make it official, but Troy Percival said he knows by the way his body hurts that his pitching career is over.  —  “I still wish I was out there playing and what have you …

Wagner's return set for Sunday; top pick near deal  —  PHOENIX - Billy Wagner's return to the major leagues is targeted for Sunday against the Giants at Citi Field, the Daily News has learned.  —  Wagner has tossed five scoreless innings against Single-A batters since beginning a rehab assignment.

Red Sox have a brawl  —  Mike Lowell delivers after fight  —  + Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email + Bio  —  The Red Sox [team stats] struck upon a novel solution to their four-guys-for-three-spots conundrum last night.  —  Kevin Youkilis [stats] starts, charges the mound and gets ejected.

Los Angeles Angels release Justin Speier after extended struggles  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. — Right-hander Justin Speier has been unconditionally released by the Los Angeles Angels, four days after the struggling reliever gave up three homers in one inning.  —  Speier was 4-2 with a 5.18 ERA for the Angels …

White Sox's Williams made another bold move in acquiring Alex Rios … Right after the Blue Jays' talented yet underperforming outfielder Alex Rios was claimed on waivers by the White Sox, Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi gave it a couple shots for a home run.  Ricciardi first requested a player off …

Manny Ramirez finding his swing  —  After a slow stretch when he might have been thinking about home runs, Ramirez gets hot against the Giants.  —  Reporting from San Francisco — Dodgers hitting coach Don Mattingly said he has noticed that Manny Ramirez has fouled off more pitches …

Arizona Diamondbacks put Scott Schoeneweis on DL with depression  —  PHOENIX — Scott Schoeneweis has been placed on the 15-day disabled list by the Arizona Diamondbacks because of depression, less than three months after his wife was found dead at their home.

Batting Helmet is Safer, but Players Hate the Look  —  Three weeks after absorbing the potentially deadly impact of a 93-mile-per-hour fastball on his batting helmet, Edgar Gonzalez still feels dizzy whenever he lies down.  Because of the lingering effects of a concussion, Gonzalez …

Report: Smoltz clears waivers  —  John Smoltz, the veteran righthander who was designated for assignment Friday after eight underwhelming starts with the Red Sox, has cleared waivers, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney.  —  Smoltz, who won 210 games and saved 154 during his stellar 20-year career …