Buehrle extension near  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Ken Williams' cell phone got a bit quieter Tuesday.  —  That's usually what happens when a team decides to pull its biggest bargaining chip off the trade table.  —  That's usually what happens when a team decides to pull its biggest bargaining chip off the trade table.

Gabbard gets the nod against Mariners  —  Boston (48-27) at Seattle (40-33), 10:05 p.m. ET  —  The last time Kason Gabbard started a game at Safeco Field, he was an anonymous figure, even to the most ardent Red Sox fans.  That was July 22, 2006, and Gabbard was making his Major League debut.

Prospective Cubs owner vetoes trade with Marlins  —  MIAMI GARDENS — Jacque Jones apparently won't be coming to the Marlins after all.  —  For most of Tuesday the Marlins thought they had worked out a deal with the Chicago Cubs for the veteran outfielder.

Hillenbrand is looking to play or go elsewhere  —  Shea Hillenbrand wants out.  Not because of the organization, the manager, the city, the stadium, the fans, the weather, his teammates — all are top notch, the Angels' deposed designated hitter said.  —  It's the situation.

Schoeneweis a Trivia Answer for Cards' Ryan  —  Whenever the Mets are playing at home and the number of innings creeps into double digits, Billy Wagner is overcome by an almost mystical feeling that they are going to win.  Something about the crowd and the energy, he says.

Mariners hit back against Boston  —  Seattle outslugs potent Red Sox, and bullpen makes it hold up  —  Maybe a month ago, the Mariners wouldn't have been ready to play this kind of game.  —  Now, the Seattle offense is in fine form, and the Mariners can step into the batter's box and slug it out with almost anyone.

The Big Picture  —  Competitive Sharing  —  It's a basic fact of life that teams require opponents.  In my mind, that fact represents the great rationale behind revenue sharing—since no one pays unless two teams are on the field, home teams should share income with their visitors.

Huizenga hoping UM will play at Dolphin Stadium  —  He won't say if he'll let Marlins stay beyond 2010  —  Dolphins owner H. Wayne Huizenga said Tuesday he is hopeful but unsure an agreement can be reached for the University of Miami to play football at Dolphin Stadium.  —  "Our guys are working on it.

LIO Interviews ESPN's Keith Law  —  LIO had the pleasure of interviewing Keith Law, Senior Baseball Writer for ESPN's Scouts Inc. Keith is one of ESPN's baseball gurus, and spearheaded the coverage of the recent MLB draft.  Prior to coming to ESPN, Law spent 4 1/2 years as a Special Assistant …

Notes: Fick back after taking leave  —  Nationals veteran activated; Watson optioned to Triple-A  —  ATLANTA — Robert Fick returned to the Nationals on Tuesday, and was activated from the Bereavement List when outfielder Brandon Watson was optioned to Triple-A Columbus after Tuesday night's game against the Braves.

Jon Heyman: Girardi bides his time for Yankees job  —  The Yankees' YES Network rejiggered its broadcast lineup to exclude Joe Girardi from Baltimore this week.  But if they're trying to keep Girardi from changing his mind and taking the Orioles managing job, that probably isn't necessary.

Best-of-9 Series?  Boras has Selig's ear  —  If you think Major League Baseball isn't sweating out the possibility of another Yankees-less World Series, you haven't been paying attention to the Fall Classic's TV ratings in the past two years.  Worse than bad, they're historically bad …

DELGADO DESERVES BOOS  —  DON'T use up all your boos on cursed reliever Scott Schoeneweis.  —  Carlos Delgado heard his share last night in the Mets' ugly 5-3, 11-inning loss to the Cardinals at steamy Shea Stadium.  Delgado came into the game batting .167 over the last seven days.

Is Youkilis beating Stuffy's 1921 record really fair game?  —  He's no Bill Buckner.  —  On Monday, Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis broke the Red Sox record of 119 consecutive games at first base without an error, set in 1921 by Gloucester's John "Stuffy" McInnis.  McInnis had one error that year.

SURPRISE!  PEDRO THROWS SOME BP  —  Pedro Martinez felt so good yesterday, the original plans for him were scrapped.  —  Martinez was slated to throw his sixth bullpen session yesterday in Port St. Lucie, but he had been progressing so well and feeling so lively, he tossed 45 pitches of batting practice instead.