Buehrle labors, but Crede saves day  —  For a pitcher who prides himself on fuel efficiency, Mark Buehrle sure is acting like a gas guzzler lately.  —  Buehrle threw so many pitches Sunday against the lowly Kansas City Royals that his tank was empty after six innings and he was unable …

Theriot promoted, will get shot at 2nd  —  SAN DIEGO — Infielder Ryan Theriot was called up from Triple-A Iowa on Monday to try to infuse some life in a flat-lining offense.  —  The 26-year-old second baseman, one of the final roster cuts this spring, was hitting .309 at Iowa with five stolen bases.

Under The Knife  —  Charity  —  Baseball does a good job of balancing altruism with the knowledge that too much is annoying.  The most recent charitable campaign, the Strikeout Challenge, is a nice pairing with the CapCure fundraising.  Add in Barry Zito's new foundation and hundreds …

Notes: Rangers cut ties with Shouse  —  Tejeda optioned to Triple-A; Feldman returns to Majors  —  ARLINGTON — The Texas Rangers restocked their depleted bullpen as expected on Monday, calling up right-hander Scott Feldman and optioning Robinson Tejeda to Triple-A Oklahoma.

As time runs out  —  When Kansas City Royals general manager Allard Baird gets fired this week, he probably will hop a plane to Miami and head to his house in South Beach.  His wife, Julie, lives there.  They see each other about 30 days a year, and on those special nights, they enjoy nothing more than a good meal.

Notes: Fuentes, wife adopt a newborn  —  Rockies closer excited to be a father for the first time  —  ST. LOUIS — The Astros' Craig Biggio didn't stand a chance against Rockies closer Brian Fuentes on Sunday.  The third-strike pitch that ended Colorado's 5-3 victory at Coors Field had a higher purpose.

Giants designate Fassero for assignment and he might call it quits  —  Giants designate Fassero for assignment and he might call it quits  —  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Jeff Fassero might have thrown his final pitch in a major league career spanning 15 seasons.

Utley named NL Player of the Week  —  Second baseman hit .483, helped Phillies to seven wins  —  Chase Utley's numbers were a big part of the reason the Phillies second baseman was named Bank of America Presents the National League Player of the Week.  —  Fourteen hits in 29 at-bats …

'Hammer' sets pounding pace  —  Josh Willingham would have been perfectly content being called "Willie," the nickname he grew up with in Alabama.  —  But when he got to the minor leagues in 2000, "Willie" was taken by teammate Josh Wilson.  —  "They had to think of something else,'' Willingham said. "

Mailbag: Will Laird replace Barajas?  —  Beat writer T.R. Sullivan answers the fans' questions … It seems the team responds well and has better scoring chances with Gerald Laird in the lineup.  Why does Barajas continue to get the nod over Laird?  Is Laird merely being showcased as trade-bait?

Nets roll over Heat again, take Game 1  —  MIAMI (AP) - Sitting on his lap after the game, Vince Carter's daughter crumpled a stat sheet in her tiny hands.  —  FOX Bite  —  Videos  —  Nets steal one in Miami  —  New Jersey jumped out to a comfortable lead and held off a late comeback attempt …

Torre Passes Yanks' Milestone With 1,000th Victory  —  ARLINGTON, Tex., May 7 — When the Yankees' coaches congratulated him after Sunday's 8-5 victory against the Texas Rangers, Manager Joe Torre tried to play down what he had just done.  —  "How about another 1,000?" one of the coaches said.