Boston Red Sox critic Joe West to ump series at Fenway  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Umpire Joe West will be working the Red Sox-Royals series that begins Thursday night in Fenway Park, the first time the veteran umpire will be working a Sox game since he called out the Sox and Yankees last month …

What the heck is wrong with Tim Lincecum?  —  Tim Lincecum's career high for walks in a game is five.  —  He tied it tonight.  And by itself, that isn't so alarming.  —  Except he also tied it in his previous start, at Arizona.  And in the start before that, at home vs. the Astros.

News and notes from Fenway: Ellsbury's ribs OK but sore  —  The MRIs and CT scan taken in Tampa Bay on Jacoby Ellsbury's ribs were reviewed by the Sox medical team and indications are that Ellsbury did not suffer a new injury or re-injury to his ribs according to a team source.

New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes finds his confidence, and at the same time, his legs  —  There was no physical problem with his legs as he struggled through the opening months of the season, Jose Reyes said.  But the confidence he has always felt while running was slow to return, hampering his game.

Andre Ethier of Los Angeles Dodgers ‘tentatively’ scheduled for Monday return  —  CHICAGO — Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Andre Ethier is tentatively set to return to the team's lineup on Monday night against Arizona, the opener of a 13-game homestand.  —  Ethier, who has a broken bone …

Lohse is likely to need surgery  —  Kyle Lohse, center, struggles through the third inning in which he gave up five runs against the Angels on Saturday.  The Angels beat the Cardinals 10-7.  (David Carson/P-D)  —  SAN DIEGO — Cardinals starting pitcher Kyle Lohse is suffering …

Rumblings and Grumblings: Under-the-radar acquisitions that have sparked teams  —  Scott Rolen to the Reds and Colby Lewis to the Rangers among the key acquisitions  —  It's the stuff that happened this past winter while everybody else was digesting the 1,000th Roy Halladay trade rumor of the week.

Game Time … ANAHEIM, Calif. — No one in an Angels uniform felt worse than Bobby Abreu when the tying run scored in the top of the ninth, largely because he had dropped a flyball earlier.  —  No one felt better than Abreu did in the bottom half, after he atoned for his mistake with the game-ending hit.

Chipper Jones May Walk Away from $20 Million  —  It's not quite embarrassing for Larry Wayne Jones - yet.  Chipper is hitting just .226 with a .729 OPS, but he is just two years removed from the best offensive season of his career (2008 when he hit .364 with a 1.044 OPS) …

Zaun has labrum injury, no surgery for now  —  Brewers catcher Gregg Zaun has a torn labrum in the front of his right shoulder and said he might retire if the injury lingers deep into the summer.  —  Zaun put his chances of playing this season at “50-50.”  The doctors have recommended …