Joba's start in jeopardy due to thumb

New York Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain broke a blood vessel in his right thumb last night and his scheduled start against the Baltimore Orioles on Mother's Day is in jeopardy, according to the Daily News.

He hurt his thumb during batting practice yesterday while throwing a ball back underhanded towards the infield.

If Joba can't pitch, the Yankees will use Alfredo Aceves.

"We don't think it will be an issue (Sunday), but we had to protect ourselves," [manager Joe] Girardi said. "If he can't go, Ace would be the guy."

In five starts, Chamberlain is 1-1 with an ERA of 3.77.

Manny Ramirez, a role model?

Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote yesterday that all things related to suspended Dodger Manny Ramirez seemed to disappear at Dodger Stadium.

In today's column by Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, Ramirez is allowed to be around the team and that the Dodgers "hope" that Ramirez "sticks with the team, goes on road trips, and remains supportive."

They consider Ramirez a "role model" when it comes to work ethic for young hitters Matt Kemp and James Loney.

On the season, Kemp is batting .287 with four home runs, 23 runs batted in and eight stolen bases. Loney is hitting .278 and has yet to hit a home run, but he has 21 RBIs.

Philip Hughes rocked by Orioles

Last night, the New York Yankees got Alex Rodriguez back and a shutout from C.C. Sabathia to end their five-game losing streak.

Tonight, Phillip Hughes did his best to impersonate Chien-Ming Wang.

Hughes managed to only get five batters out while allowing eight runs on eight hits and two walks against the Orioles.

It will be up to Joba Chamberlain to nip the new losing streak in the bud tomorrow afternoon.

The Hot Corner, 5/9 edition

Astros pitcher Russ Ortiz is "not totally happy" about being sent to the bullpen according to manager Cecil Cooper. Felipe Paulino will take Ortiz's spot and start Tuesday against the Rockies.

Astros first baseman Lance Berkman, who sat out of today's game with a sore left wrist, says "I dont like to miss games, but it's one of those things where there's no point going in there and letting it linger."

Going into today's game with the Astros, the Padres have lost 14 of their past 18 games and haven't won consecutive games since April 16-18.

Dodgers pitcher Eric Stultz pitched a four-hit, complete-game shutout over the Giants today.

Mets catcher Ramon Castro left today's game with a tight right quadriceps.

The Mariners have activated Brandon Marrow from the disabled list and have placed Carlos Silva, who's struggling with an 8.48 ERA, on 15-day DL retroactive to Thursday.

Marlins starter Anibal Sanchez will miss two months due to a shoulder injury.

When the Cubs acquired Ryan Freel from the Orioles, he was expected to replace injured third baseman Aramis Ramirez in today's game. Instead, Freel was a scratch himself.

The Cubs placed Aramis Ramirez on the 15-day DL today.

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen ended shortstop Alexei Ramirez's benching today against the Texas Rangers.

With Jerry Manuel serving his one-game suspension, the Mets had a season-high 17 hits and beat the Pirates 10-1.

Per the Daily News, Ian Kennedy will have surgery after doctors discovered an aneurysm in an artery near his right shoulder.

According to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Dodgers have made all things Manny disappear including the "Mannywood" section, the posters, the dreadlock wigs in the gift shop, etc.

After the fifth straight game without Kevin Youkilis, will the Red Sox place him on the DL?

Rays third baseman Evan Longoria had five more RBIs in the Rays' victory over Boston today. He now has 26 RBIs in his past 13 games and a total of 44 RBIs on the season.

Aramis Ramirez has dislocated shoulder

If it weren't for bad luck lately, Chicago Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez wouldn't have any.

After making a nice catch on a Ryan Braun grounder, Ramirez dislocated his left shoulder.

A couple of weeks ago, he strained his calf and missed six games.

A-Rod homers on first pitch, Sabathia pitches shutout

Tonight the Yankees got just what they needed.

Third baseman Alex Rodriguez returned and played his first game of the year. On the first pitch he saw, he hit the 97-mph pitch for a three-run homerun, which was all the Yankees would need tonight.

According to ESPN, since A-Rod joined the Yankees in 2004, he has hit .435 with two home runs and nine RBIs in five games.

While the bullpen has struggled lately, the Yankees didn't have a need to go to the bullpen.

C.C. Sabathia pitched a complete-game shutout and allowing only four hits on 112 pitches.

Mariano Rivera gives up back-to-back homers

Yankees closer Mariano Rivera did something he has never done in his Major League career last night. And he surely hopes to never do it again.

Rivera gave up back-to-back homeruns to Tampa Bay Rays hitters Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria.

The Rays beat the Yankees 8-6 and the Yankees have their worst losing streak (five games) under manager Joe Girardi.

According to Girardi, Rivera, who had off-season shoulder surgery, has a "tired shoulder," which is affecting his velocity.

"I've been giving my best," Rivera said. "I haven't been 100% yet, but that's no excuse. I won't say that was the reason I lost the game. I felt great. The strength, it will be there. That's not my concern at all."

"No one's going to feel sorry for us," Girardi said. "It's our job to turn it around. ...Right now, we're in a little rut and we have to get out of it."

The Yankees are 13-15 and 5 1/2 games behind division-leading Toronto.

The Hot Corner, 5/8 edition

Michael O'Keefe of the New York Daily News points out that several Scott Boras clients have tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, such as A-Rod, Manny, Bonds, Sheffield, etc.

Yankees reliever Brian Bruney has resumed throwing making 30 throws from 60 feet (flat ground) Thursday.

The Tigers will start pitcher Dontrelle Willis on Wednesday against the Twins.

The Red Sox activated outfielder Rocco Baldelli, who went 1-for-4 in last night's 13-3 win over the Indians. "He moved well defensively," [manager Terry] Francona said. "He had some real good at-bats."

The start of the Manny Ramirez 50-day suspension period ended the Dodgers' record-setting home winning streak by losing to the Nationals 11-9.

According to reliever Octavio Dotel, via the Chicago Sun-Times, use of a language barrior as an excuse is ''stupid, that's what I think,'' Dotel said. ''From a guy coming from my area, my country, you have to know what is going on in the major-league rules and how hard they are going with this. And they're still getting caught. So I think that's stupid by our [Latin American] players.''

Dom DiMaggio has passed away at the age of 92. His 34-game hitting streak is still a record for the Red Sox.

White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle gave up only one hit against the Detroit Tigers in a 6-0 win.

The Dodgers "Mannywood" package that included two tickets and two Manny t-shirts will allow fans to receive a Dodgers t-shirt instead of a Manny t-shirt. And the team will offer refunds to those who purchased their tickets in hopes of seeing Manny.

Mets 3B David Wright is finally in a groove and is hitting .450 (9-for-20) in his last six games with two homeruns and seven RBIs in that span.

Yankees catcher Jose Molina, who suffered a strained quad, is likely to join Yankees catcher Jorge Posada on the DL.

Bob Melvin out, A.J. Hinch in?

The what-have-you-done-for-me-lately attitude is no more prevalent than it is in professional sports.

Thursday night, the Arizona Diamondbacks fired manager Bob Melvin, who was named the N.L. Manager of the Year in 2007. In addition to Melvin, hitting coach Rick Schu was fired and pitching coach Bryan Price resigned.

"Bob has done great things for this organization," General Manager Josh Byrnes said in the statement. "Having worked with him for nearly four years, I have a great deal of respect for his character and skills."

Director of Player Development A.J. Hinch is expected to replace Melvin.

The Diamondbacks are currently 12-17 and 8 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the N.L. West.

Just Manny being ... Manuela

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez has been suspended by Major League Baseball for 50 games for violating its policy on performance-enhancing drugs.

His 50-game suspension will cost him $7.7 million in lost wages, which is 31 percent (50 of 162 games) of his salary ($25 million).

"Recently I saw a physician for a personal health issue," Ramirez said in a statement released by the MLB Players' Assn. "He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was okay to give me. Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility. I have been advised not to say anything more for now. I do want to say one other thing; I've taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons."

What was the "personal health issue" and the "medication"?

Well, if Manny's right and it wasn't intended to kick-start testosterone production after a steroids cycle, then Manny was looking to get pregnant.

ESPN is reporting the drug he used was hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin), which is a fertility drug.

From the Dodgers' perspective, Manny may cost the team some money in marketing deals and negative press and publicity. But they save $7.7 million in salary due to the suspension and are likely to still win the N.L. West without Manuela for 50 games.

Perhaps the Dodgers should give the "Mannywood" ticket-holders a 31-percent refund.

13 straight at home for Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers had tied the record set by the 1911 Detroit Tigers with 12 consecutive home victories to start a season.

Now, they are in sole possession of the record for the best start at home in baseball history.

"I'm sure they're aware of it," Manager Joe Torre said. "I'm sure they'd like to be the team to own the streak by themselves, or, like the 1911 Tigers, not be around when it's broken."

The Dodgers beat the Washington Nationals 10-3 last night. Although the Nationals have the worst record in baseball (7-18), a win is a win.

(In L.A., the Lakers-Rockets game last night was physical. See details here.)

Scott Boras would "modernize" World Series

If Scott Boras had his way (and, let's face it, he gets his way all too often), he'd change the structure of the World Series.

"I'd modernize it, make it five out of nine games, with the first two in a neutral city. Announce the MVP and Cy Young awards at a gala held between the playoffs and a new World Series weekend. Move the home-run contest from the All-Star game to that week too.

"The gala and home-run derby would lead to Game 1 of the Series on Saturday, with Game 2 on Sunday. Then the Series would go on with the final seven games in the Series teams' cities. This way, different places get part of the Series. I want the World Series in Pittsburgh, Texas, Seattle. Teams in those markets would sell more season tickets. World Series weekend would be a major stage for corporate events; it could advance the game to the next level."

The economics of the game heavily favor the big spenders over the small-market teams despite the occasional exception to the rule like the Rays last year.

So, I love the idea. That being said, I still hate Boras.

The Hot Corner, 5/6 (PM) edition

Hey. Today is the 78th birthday of Willie "Say Hey" Mays.

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen says: "No Pedro, not right now. That's Kenny's decision, but right now that's not on my mind.''

When asked about the possibility of replacing Jim Thome with Barry Bonds if Thome's heel injury was serious, White Sox GM Kenny Williams responded via e-mail: "No." As we've seen with Brett Favre, "no" doesn't always mean "no."

Diamondbacks ace Brandon Webb won't play catch for at least 10 days and his earliest return would be early June.

The Seattle Mariners have placed Shawn Kelley on the 15-day DL and recalled Garrett Olson.

Giants pitcher Randy Johnson, who is 19-7 all-time against Colorado, is seeking his 298th win tonight.

Marlins pitcher Andrew Miller feels good after first rehab start. “That’s what you want to get out of the first one, make sure you feel healthy,” Miller said. “I was able to accomplish that today. I was able to, once I got settled in, kind of pitch a little bit.”

Angels pitchers Ervin Santana and John Lackey had good back-to-back rehab starts: Santana in Class-A and Lackey in Triple-AAA. Both could be back next week.

The Twins have optioned Alexei Casilla and recalled Matt Tolbert.

Tom Ricketts' $900 million purchase of the Chicago Cubs, Wrigley Field and a 25-percent stake in Comcast SportsNet Chicago is "proceeding slowly, but proceeding."

A-Rod slides for first time

New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez will be back on Friday. Unless he won't.

Initially, it was expected that A-Rod would make a return this Friday at Baltimore. But it's not "100 percent" certain.

Manager Joe Girardi said: "I'm not going to say 100 percent he's not going to be here -- or he is going to be here."

For the first time, Rodriguez slid during an extended spring training game. And he says "the slide was good...I feel good."

Rodriguez is scheduled to play six innings tomorrow.

The Hot Corner, 5/6 (AM) edition

The Brewers own the Pirates. Not since the Orioles beat the Royals 23 straight games from 1969-1970 has a team dominated another like the Brewers have with their 17th consecutive win over the Pirates.

New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada was placed on the 15-day disabled list. He'll be replaced by Francisco Cervelli on the active roster.

Boston Red Sox CF Jacoby Ellsbury left Tuesday's game in the fourth inning with tightness in his right hamstring.

Tigers Clete Thomas, in his first game this year, and Miguel Cabrera were each one hit shy of the cycle yesterday. Thomas needed a homer and Cabrera a triple.

The Dodgers tied the best home start ever with their 12th straight home win. The Tigers did it in 1911 as well.

Can Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay give the bullpen some rest tonight as they struggle a bit of late?

The Reds had five shutouts this season before last night's game. Now, they have six.

Phillies ace Cole Hamels, who says he's ready to pitch on Friday, puts his recent injuries in perspective. "I'd rather have these sort of injuries than, say, take one off the face, blowing your arm out, or blowing your knee out," he said. "I only missed one start, and I didn't have to go on the disabled list."

Giants reliever Merklin Valdez is now the primary set-up man (over Bobby Howry) per the San Francisco Chronicle.

Will Evan Longoria, last week's A.L. player of the week, struggle tonight against A.J. Burnett? As ESPN's Tristan H. Cockcroft points out, Longoria is 2-for-13 against Burnett with seven strikeouts.