Heart issue landed Papi in hospital  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. - Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz was held overnight at Mass. General Hospital last weekend to monitor an irregular heartbeat, but the matter ultimately proved nothing more than a scare for the player and team.

Mirabelli: One Game At A Time  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. — The last time the Red Sox were surrounded by this much negativity was in the 2004 ALCS after the Yankees pounded them 19-8 to take a 3-0 lead.  —  As one of the holdovers from the team that rallied to win the series …

Notes: Thome expected to miss Twins series; ex-Phils groundskeeper sues team  —  DETROIT —Jim Thome is expected to miss the Chicago White Sox's key weekend series with the Minnesota Twins because of a strained hamstring.  —  Thome was hurt during Wednesday night's win in Detroit …

Underachieving?  —  NEW YORK — Cardinals executives said the club's current roster, regardless of cost, should be performing better than it is.  But rather than pay for short-term fixes and complicate future finances, they have taken a long-term and in-house approach to improving.

Rebuilding the Reds (cont.)  —  2. Mike Arbuckle, Phillies assistant GM  —  The longtime executive is red-hot with recent drafts, having selected Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Cole Hamels.  —  3. Mike Radcliff, Twins scouting director  —  The feeling was he couldn't go wrong with Joe Mauer …

Notes: Cedeno reacquainted with short  —  Izturis' hamstring pain moves versatile infielder off second base  —  CHICAGO — Ronny Cedeno has had to dig his old shortstop glove out from the back of his locker.  He's re-learning the position.  —  "I can tell how much difference there is," …

Frank Thomas, once written off, enjoying renaissance in Oakland  —  OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -Frank Thomas can run from first to third with relative ease and is crushing home runs into the upper deck again.  That spat with his former general manager earlier this year is a thing of the past.

Padres get Branyan from Devil Rays  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The San Diego Padres obtained outfielder Russell Branyan from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for minor league pitcher Evan Meek and a player to be named or cash on Thursday night.  —  Branyan is hitting .201 with 12 homers and 27 RBIs in 64 games.

Stock Skips His Way To USC  —  Across America this month, millions of teenagers were preparing for their final year of high school, brushing up on their calculus and narrowing their list of colleges to attend a year from now.  —  Robert Stock is a year ahead of them.

Under The Knife  —  Sushi  —  I wish I could go the rest of my career without talking about steroids, amphetamines, groupies, divorces, cheaters, and jerks.  I can't, but I notice one thing, over and over: it's all fair game until it's your guy.  People ask how Giants fans can defend Barry Bonds …

Pluto sent down to Minors  —  Former planet hurt by lack of size, disgruntled fan base  —  Pluto has been sent down.  —  It was only a matter of time.  —  Small body, never got hot, kind of distant.  —  Astronomers made the decision at their version of the winter meetings, the International Astronomical Union in Prague.

Ohka delivers four RBIs batting lefty  —  Pitcher had batted right-handed in his previous 230 at-bats  —  MILWAUKEE — Tomo Ohka has a new nickname in the Brewers' clubhouse:  —  Ichi-mo!  —  That's what Brewers teammates were calling Ohka on Thursday, after watching …

Baez undergoes appendectomy  —  Braves reliever to be placed on 15-day disabled list  —  ATLANTA — It appears there was a legitimate reason why Braves reliever Danys Baez was sweating so profusely while struggling with his control in the eighth inning of Tuesday night's loss to the Pirates.

Miller exits with concussion symptoms  —  Catcher leaves game Thursday after taking a foul ball off his mask  —  MILWAUKEE — Brewers catcher Damian Miller left Thursday's game against the Rockies with symptoms of a concussion, and the team is unsure about his availability for a weekend series in Florida.

Dodgers Feeling Ejected  —  Lugo, Little and Penny are thrown out, but most of the damage is already done, as the Padres complete a sweep with 7-2 victory and cut lead to one game.  —  SAN DIEGO — All it lacked was music and a circle of chairs.  —  A scene as childish as it was surreal played …

Deadball era not dead  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Talk about turning back the clock.  —  Former major league pitcher Jim Bouton announced Thursday the launch of an organization that will play by 19th century rules: The Vintage Base Ball Federation.  Yup, back then baseball was two words.