Dustin Pedroia returning to Boston tomorrow; knee surgery possible  —  NEW YORK — Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia will return to Boston tomorrow to have his right knee examined and is facing the possibility of surgery that would sideline him for at least a month.

A.J. Burnett sick of hearing about past  —  NEW YORK — New York Yankees right-hander A.J. Burnett is sick of hearing about all the success he had against the Boston Red Sox when he was with the Toronto Blue Jays.  —  In fact, he thinks it's “retarded.”  —  “I'm not in Toronto (anymore) …

Yanks' Joba has ligament tear; year likely over  —  NEW YORK — Yankees setup man Joba Chamberlain has a torn ligament in his right elbow, manager Joe Girardi announced Thursday.  He is likely going to miss the remainder of the season.  —  “My guess is he probably is going to have to have surgery,” Girardi said.

A's fire Geren as manager … OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The Oakland Athletics fired manager Bob Geren on Thursday in the midst of a nine-game losing streak that has sent them tumbling to the bottom of the AL West standings.  —  “It felt like at this point a change was necessary,” general manager Billy Beane said.

Even rally can't get monkey off Angels' backs  —  Manager Mike Scioscia grows more frustrated after Angels waste chances and lose fifth in a row.  —  The longer the postgame interview went on, the more Mike Scioscia's voice filled with ire.  —  The Angels manager has stressed patience during …

Jim Northrup career highlights  —  Yesterday, sad news broke in the baseball world: Former Tigers outfielder Jim Northrup died at age 71 of Alzheimer's disease.  —  Though he was no one's idea of a Hall of Famer and never an All-Star, he did have a rather impressive career.

Nyjer Morgan doesn't realize it's 9th inning until he wins game  —  A terrifying, then wonderful thought came to Nyjer Morgan  —  as he noticed teammates streaming out of the Milwaukee Brewers dugout.  —  They were running after him to celebrate his tie-breaking, game-ending RBI double and a 7-6 victory over the New York Mets!

Assessing the new managers … Wednesday night was a rough one for a trio of managers in one of the largest and best classes of managers in their first full year with new teams.  Terry Collins' Mets relief corps blew a 6-2 lead late in a 7-6 defeat to the Brewers, the Braves' Fredi Gonzalez …

Never too early to look ahead to Class of 2012  —  College pitchers, high school hitters look to be strengths of Draft  —  Now that the 2011 First-Year Player Draft is over and done with, it's time to look ahead to the Class of 2012.  —  It might seem too far in the future …

Frank McCourt will make next Dodgers' payroll  —  Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt will meet his club's June 15 payroll obligations, according to a baseball official with knowledge of the situation, but not authorized to speak publicly on it.  —  McCourt was also in danger of missing …

$4M in Harwell memorabilia put at risk by Detroit library  —  He envisioned tourist draw, but security, access are a problem  —  Detroit — The doors are locked and the lights are usually off where the Detroit Public Library houses Ernie Harwell's life passion.

Rangers beat Tigers, avoid being swept  —  ARLINGTON, Texas — Alexi Ogando scattered six hits over 7 2-3 innings to remain unbeaten, Adrian Beltre homered, and the Texas Rangers avoided a three-game sweep by Detroit with a 7-3 victory over the Tigers on Wednesday night.

Diamondbacks announcer Mark Grace arrested in DUI in Scottsdale … Former Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago Cubs first baseman Mark Grace was arrested in Scottsdale on Memorial Day on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, according to a police report.