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 …

L.A. vs. N.Y. for top free-agents … ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Baseball executives envision this country's horrific economic meltdown adversely affecting this free-agent class, though it might not cost three superstars who baseball people believe are too good to be affected.

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.

MacPhail: Loewen appears ready to sign with Blue Jays  —  Pitcher-turned-hitter on verge of deal with Toronto, O's president says  —  Orioles president Andy MacPhail acknowledged today that he anticipates former first-round pick Adam Loewen signing with the Toronto Blue Jays.

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 …

Manny not a priority for Jays — Burnett is  —  Manny Ramirez?  —  Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi uttered that name to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports on Wednesday night saying that the feared slugger with heavy baggage was on the club's radar — the wishful thinking list.  —  Okay, we'll bite.

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.

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.

Cashing in on hope  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Meet Dave Marger and the long odds spring to life.  Spend a few minutes with this 46-year-old local businessman and the entire Tampa Bay Rays' worst-to-first thing becomes a gleam and a grin, a phone that won't stop ringing …

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.

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.

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 …

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 …