Rays jump to early lead, hold on to even series  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Big Game James.  That's quite a nickname for a pitcher with 32 major league wins.  —  James Shields definitely deserved it Thursday night.  —  Shields stymied the slumping Philadelphia Phillies …

How to Take American Health Care From Worst to First  —  IN the past decade, baseball has experienced a data-driven information revolution.  Numbers-crunchers now routinely use statistics to put better teams on the field for less money.  Our overpriced, underperforming health care system needs a similar revolution.

PHILS GRUMP OVER UMPS  —  ST. PETERSBURG - The Phillies weren't happy with home-plate umpire Kerwin Danley over two apparent blown calls that proved costly.  —  Brett Myers was upset with Danley for seeming to call a check-swing third strike on the Rays' Rocco Baldelli in the second inning …

METS TARGET LOWE, FUENTES  —  ST. PETERSBURG - The Mets plan on targeting Derek Lowe and Brian Fuentes in the free agent market, an NL executive who has talked to team officials told the Post.  —  The Mets are promising to be creative and explore many avenues.

Jays' J.P. Ricciardi keeping his options open  —  Prepared to trade ‘anybody on our club that would help us get better,’ Ricciardi says  —  Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi is willing to trade “anybody” on his team in an effort to improve ahead of the 2009 season.

World Series: A couple of updates on our local clubs, and a couple of suggested stories  —  Checking in, before we begin pre-game news conferences and batting practice here at The Trop...  - At this point, it would be a shocker if Mike Mussina did not retire.

Friars in no rush to deal ace Peavy  —  GM Towers will listen to offers, but won't trade righty hastily  —  SAN DIEGO — There won't be any movement on the Jake Peavy front in the next week or so, though that has nothing to do with the moratorium by the league office on teams making major announcements during the World Series.

Batted ball scouting reports  —  Editor's Note: This article is part of the statistical introduction to the Hardball Times Annual 2009.  It is just a glimpse into many of the articles and stats included in this year's volume.  More details about the Annual will be published in the next few weeks …

In Cape Cod League, It's Tradition vs. Trademark  —  The Chatham Athletics have always taken pride in their ties to Major League Baseball, while preserving their identity as a small-town team.  —  The franchise, one of 10 in the nonprofit Cape Cod League, has an annual budget of about $300,000.

Bombers bank on cash cow for Hank Steinbrenner's little piggy  —  It is 11:15 in the morning in a part of the city that is so busy with workers these days that it is as if they are building the sixth borough of New York and not the new Yankee Stadium.  It is busy and it is loud …

Demolition Takes Shea Stadium Piece by Piece  —  The carcass of Shea Stadium, still standing, awaits its final destruction.  —  The seats have been extracted, flattening three tiers into two colorless dimensions.  —  The bullpens are gone, leaving the rancid memory of last season's meltdown by the Mets' relievers.

The Yanks on Trial: Liveblogging the Kucinich Hearings  —  The story so far: Back in July, U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich demanded documents from the Bloomberg administration and the New York Yankees explaining how exactly they managed to tell the IRS that the land under the Yanks' new stadium …

The Second-Guess: Should Fox TV dump Buck & McCarver now?  —  When appropriate, we review key decisions to see if the right one was made.  This is the Second-Guess.  —  The Turning Point: In 1996, Fox bought broadcast rights to Major League Baseball games, including the World Series, and tapped Joe Buck and Tim McCarver to announce.

Things You See at a Venezuelan Baseball Game  —  Random things that you see at a Venezuelan Baseball Game that you never see at an American Game:  — Those same beers being thrown high into the air by fans when the wave comes around to their section.  — Those same beers being thrown …