Rays complete sweep of stumbling Red Sox  —  B.J. Upton and the Tampa Bay Rays played the bumbling Boston Red Sox [team stats] at the perfect time.  —  Upton capped a five-run third inning with a three-run homer and Tampa Bay completed a four-game sweep of the Red Sox with an 8-2 victory today …

REPORT: ERIC GAGNE DECIDES TO RETIRE FROM BASEBALL  —  Reports indicate former Cy Young winner Eric Gagne has decided to retire from professional baseball.  —  According to ruefrontenac.com, the 34-year-old says he no longer has the competitive drive for the game.

Pie could miss next three months  —  Orioles outfielder Felix Pie underwent an MRI this morning and learned that he could miss up to three months with an injury to his latissimus dorsi muscle.  —  Pie went on the disabled list April 16 with an injury classified as a strained muscle in his upper back …

On Puma, Kaz and Kepp.  —  The only hope the Astros had on Sunday regarding Lance Berkman was that their star first baseman make it through his final rehab game at Round Rock without his knee giving him problems, such as the swelling that has caused at least two setbacks in the past.

Dominican Prospects Protest Reform  —  Last Wednesday, over 800 prospects, coaches, and scouts gathered outside of the hotel of recently appointed MLB Dominican baseball czar Sandy Alderson in the Dominican Republic capital of Santo Domingo.  Alderson joked to local reporters …

Inbox: Too soon to fret over pitching?  —  Brewers beat reporter Adam McCalvy fields fans' questions  —  Is it too early to worry about the Brewers' pitching staff?  —  Too early to panic and start making drastic changes?  Definitely.  But too early to worry?  I don't think so.

Forbes and Yankees  —  Forbes has its awesome new Business of Baseball rankings up.  I love these numbers for several reasons, one being that, year after year, within hours of them being released, people all over baseball will gripe that the numbers are WAY off. … And so on.  This ALWAYS happens.

Odds & Ends: Ike Davis, Strasburg, Penn  —  Links for Monday...  - The MLBTR Forums are rocking with over 3,600 members.  Join the discussion today!  Just added a prospects section; we've also got areas to discuss trade rumors, free agents, the draft, general baseball, fantasy baseball, and every team.

Pablo Sandoval can't keep his cup in his pants  —  Well, I'm guessing the last thing Giants fans want is a complete dissection of Manny Ramirez's two-run home run and the Dodgers' 2-1 victory.  Anyway, you'll get plenty of that in the game story.  Check the notebook, too, for the latest on Aaron Rowand.

Three Strikes: April 19  —  Strike One: Quack Attack  —  The biggest story in college baseball right now is the incredible rise of Oregon, which is on track to reach regionals in just the second season since the program was started from scratch after a 28-year hiatus.

There's Very Little to Complain About in Yankees' Start  —  In the first year of the new Yankee Stadium, every team in the majors had a flag atop the upper deck: a green one for the Oakland Athletics, a blue one for the Los Angeles Dodgers and so on, a subtle sign of welcome for the visitors.

Royals and Peanuts Baseball Eerily Similar  —  A look at how close the Peanuts baseball team mimics the Royals.  Enjoy.  —  Hillman's wife forcing him to go to Spring Training  —  Preseason discussion about where David DeJesus should play.  —  Initial conversation when pitchers and catchers report