The Toughness of Jorge Posada  —  A few weeks ago, I was asked a simple question: if you could have one Yankee at the plate in a big situation, who would it be?  —  I didn't look at any numbers.  I went on my gut.  I picked Jorge Posada.  —  Posada is just tough.  That's the easiest way to put it.

Rocket and the country star  —  Roger Clemens allegedly had a 10-year romance with ...  Roger Clemens carried on a decade-long affair with country star Mindy McCready, a romance that began when McCready was a 15-year-old aspiring singer performing in a karaoke bar and Clemens …

Smoltz complains of sore shoulder after shaky outing  —  New York — If 20 strikeouts in his previous two starts seduced some into thinking John Smoltz might go on like this forever, Sunday served as a reminder that it can't.  —  Even the bearded Braves icon can't ignore pain and keep mowing down hitters in perpetuity.

Beckett is fuming about 20 straight … ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — So much for not making any excuses.  —  It is certainly true that the Red Sox have had a tough schedule to start the season.  Boston had a shortened spring training due to its opening series in Japan.

Marlins Notebook: Olsen's next start could be pushed back  —  MILWAUKEE — Left-hander Scott Olsen said he felt fine Saturday, a day after he complained of general soreness after leaving Friday's game in the eighth inning.  But the Marlins are leaving open the chance of pushing back his next start.

Ramirez's consecutive steals streak ends at 9  —  MILWAUKEE - Hanley Ramirez's streak of nine consecutive steals without being caught ended at the plate Sunday.  —  With runners at the corners, two out and Jeremy Hermida hitting in the fifth, Ramirez broke for home.

Mets minor-league report  —  By popular request, the weekly Surfing the Mets minor-league report is back ... with a vengeance.  —  Mike Carp (pictured) wanted to get off to a hot start at Binghamton to prove he was a better player than his subpar 2007 numbers suggested.

Phillies concerned about pitcher Myers' lack of velocity  —  PITTSBURGH - From the sound of it, Brett Myers and Rich Dubee are on the same page.  They just can't agree on how to turn it.  —  After Myers allowed four runs on eight hits, including two home runs, in a 5-1 loss to the Pirates yesterday …

Eventful day for Rays' Bartlett leads to two runs  —  ST. PETERSBURG — Call it the Jason Bartlett hat trick: hard to replicate and maybe not completely desirable.  —  Score from first on a botched pickoff attempt, steal a base, get hit in the head with a fastball.

Leyland goes to bat for slumping Sheff  —  Manager cites injury, tough pitching in defense of veteran DH  —  DETROIT — Tigers manager Jim Leyland defended his slumping designated hitter before Sunday's primetime game against the Angels.  —  Gary Sheffield, at age 39, has not had an ideal start to the season.

Padilla, Texas Rangers shut out Twins, 10-0  —  egrant@dallasnews.com  —  ARLINGTON - The Texas Rangers punctuated a weekend full of questions with an exclamation point.  —  They spent 72 hours dissecting how April has gone horribly awry, how the season can be saved and the safety of manager Ron Washington's job.

Pirates Release Matt Morris  —  Unfortunately, there's no surprise here.  ESPN reports the Pirates have released Matt Morris.  As Tim noted last night, the Pirates had little choice and eating $10MM seems their best option.  According to ESPN, … There shouldn't be much interest for Morris.