With N.Y. in town, let Z speculation begin  —  CHICAGO — With the New York Yankees coming to town, it's only normal that some Chicago Cubs players will be under the microscope of baseball scouts and media with the trading deadline only six weeks away.  —  The one name that keeps coming up in baseball circles is Carlos Zambrano.

Tampa Bay Rays' plunking of Kevin Youkilis was necessary  —  ST. PETERSBURG — The result mattered.  No reason to pretend otherwise.  —  The Red Sox won the game, won the series and expanded their lead on the Rays in the American League East.  If you are a bottom-line person, that's as clear-cut as it gets.

Yankees Edge Ahead In Q Poll  —  At Least Among Men  —  The Yankees may have had a rough off-season, with Cliff Lee spurning their mega-million dollar offer to go to the Phillies and Andy Pettitte retiring.  The Red Sox had a banner off-season, adding stars Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford …

LaRoche has surgery, expected back in spring  —  WASHINGTON — Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche underwent left shoulder surgery Thursday morning at Washington Hospital Center.  The surgery was performed by Dr. Wiemi Douoguih, who performed a shoulder SLAP repair, which means major work was done inside the shoulder.

Frank and Jamie McCourt announce settlement in Dodgers divorce case  —  The divorce settlement requires Frank McCourt to win two crucial decisions to assure his continued ownership of the Los Angeles Dodgers.  The divorce settlement could be voided if baseball Commissioner Bud Selig rejects …

Josh Beckett and DIPS Theory  —  Last year, Josh Beckett posted a 5.78 ERA in 21 starts, and his struggles were one of the main reasons the Red Sox missed the playoffs.  This year, Josh Beckett has a 1.86 ERA in 14 starts, and his dominance is one of the reasons that the Red Sox have the best record in the American League.

When Batting Champions Get Traded  —  It shouldn't come as any surprise that if Jose Reyes, the current National League leader in batting average, gets traded, the move will be almost entirely unprecedented.  Generally, players at the top of the league leaders category in batting average are considered irreplaceable, and stay put.

Peter Gammons on M&M: Andrew Miller ‘either going to be a really good reliever or a fascinating starter’  —  MLB Network and NESN analyst Peter Gammons made his weekly appearance on the Mut & Merloni show Friday to talk about the Red Sox.  To hear the interview, go to the Mut & Merloni audio on demand page.

The Man Who Knew Too Much (About Baseball)  —  Believe it or not, most of our writers didn't enter the world sporting an @baseballprospectus.com address; with a few exceptions, they started out somewhere else.  In an effort to up your reading pleasure while tipping our caps …

The great realignment debate  —  Special guest Buster Olney joins the discussion about pros and cons of realigning MLB … Here at Rumblings and Grumblings, we've always believed in realignment — every time we drove through a pothole we didn't see coming.  But baseball realignment?

Yankees pregame: The Gordon era/Ranger accuses two Yankees/more from Cashman  —  We're going to see if the Brian Gordon era lasts just one day or more.  —  Brian Cashman spoke about the machinations involved in bringing the 32-year-old converted outfielder and 15-year minor-leaguer here to start today.

Minor League Transactions: June 8-14  —  Players listed with an asterisk (*) signed minor league contracts, replacing major league pacts with the same organization.  That's a fancy way of saying the player has been optioned or outrighted to the minors.  —  Number in parentheses indicate draft round.