Crawford slides up to leadoff spot vs. Yankees  —  BOSTON — Carl Crawford has sure made his way around the batting order during his first week with the Red Sox.  The left fielder moved up to the leadoff spot for Friday's home opener against the Yankees.  —  Jacoby Ellsbury …

Nishioka breaks leg on Swisher's hard slide  —  Twins second baseman, Yanks outfielder exhibit professionalism  —  NEW YORK — The differences between the big league baseball played in this country and the professional ball in Japan are not always subtle.  Some are merely pleasant nuances …

Wang, Rodriguez ready to throw  —  MIAMI — Nationals pitcher Chien-Ming Wang is expected to pitch in an extended spring training game in a week, according to general manager Mike Rizzo.  —  Wang hasn't pitched in the Major Leagues in almost two years because of shoulder problems.

Phillies Notes: Phillies' Halladay will settle for a grounder over a strikeout  —  The situation called for a strikeout, but Roy Halladay said he doesn't think that way.  Bases loaded, one out, David Wright at the plate in a third inning that was on the verge of turning ugly.

Jim Palmer — The Most Overrated Pitcher of All Time?  —  Everyone here knows who Jim Palmer is.  One of the all-time greats, a legend.  —  Palmer spent his entire career with the Baltimore Orioles, where he won the Cy Young Award three times, finished second twice, third once, and fifth two more times.

Mets ownership group narrows investor search to eight as Wilpons try to sell piece of team: source  —  The Mets have narrowed their search for an investor to eight groups, according to a source familiar with the negotiations.  —  The team's owners, Fred and Jeff Wilpon and Saul Katz …

Baseball program will continue at UC Berkeley  —  BERKELEY —  The University of California, Berkeley, baseball program will continue to represent the campus as an Intercollegiate Athletics sport, now and into the future, as the result of a successful and ongoing fundraising effort on the part of alumni …

Albers to DL; Aceves to be recalled  —  The Red Sox will make their first roster move of the season tomorrow when they call up RHP Alfredo Aceves according to a major league source.  —  RHP Matt Albers, who pitched well in two outings, has a sore lat muscle behind his shoulder and will be placed on the disabled list.

Mets knuckleball specialist R.A. Dickey prepares emotionally to start 2011 home opener at Citi Field  —  PHILADELPHIA - When R.A. Dickey is throwing his pregame pitches in the bullpen Friday, there will be noise, both external and internal.  There will be lineup introductions, buzzing fans, a thumping heart.

Orioles get homers from Jones and Guerrero to down Tigers  —  BALTIMORE — Adam Jones homered and drove in three runs, Mark Reynolds also had three RBIs, and the Baltimore Orioles used a five-run seventh inning to beat the Detroit Tigers 9-5 Thursday night.  —  Vladimir Guerrero hit …

Greinke makes it back to a mound  —  MILWAUKEE — Zack Greinke took a big step toward returning to the Brewers' rotation on Thursday by throwing off a bullpen mound at Miller Park.  It was his first mound work since he was shut down in mid-March to let a cracked left rib heal.