Riske trade lands Lopez: Club adds left-hander to bullpen  —  MINNEAPOLIS - The Red Sox yesterday made a move in their attempt to bolster a thinning pitching staff by shipping right-handed reliever David Riske to the Chicago White Sox for minor league left-hander and former Sox property Javier Lopez.

Bullpen Coach Wetteland Is Given the Boot  —  The Washington Nationals fired bullpen coach John Wetteland yesterday, a move made at the behest of Manager Frank Robinson, who said he could no longer put up with what he considered to be a long line of transgressions and insubordination that was affecting the chemistry of his relief corps.

Milledge's clock is alarming  —  PHILADELPHIA - Lastings Milledge arrived in the clubhouse at 11:55 a.m., only 70 minutes before yesterday's first pitch, prompting a second straight day of tutorials on how to conduct oneself in the majors.  A day after Willie Randolph thought Milledge …

Not a 'Character Guy,' Bradley Still a Character  —  OAKLAND — Milton Bradley playing on the same field here as the Raiders, now tell me that isn't apropos, and the easy cheap shot.  —  But then I've always liked Bradley, find him engaging and competitive and still maintain he could have become …

Same old scenario: Cubs lose  —  With Zambrano gone, Astros rally to complete sweep  —  Carlos Zambrano's arm was feeling heavy Thursday afternoon at Wrigley Field, while a crowd of 40,236 was feeling somewhat nauseated.  —  In a scene that has been replayed over and over this season …

Big names not likely to get traded … Two weeks left until July.  And you know what that means.  —  Rumorfest 2006 is about to erupt, any minute now.  —  So we want you to be ready.  We want you to be educated.  We want you to know the truth about all those names you've been hearing and reading and fantasizing about.

Sign of the times  —  Video iPods helping Rockies prep for games  —  DENVER (AP) — Three hours before a start against Florida, Colorado Rockies pitcher Jason Jennings sits in front of his locker, puts on his headphones and stares at his video iPod.  —  He isn't watching the latest Coldplay video …

Shaky Angels Pull Out a Win  —  They come back to edge the Royals, 3-2, in 10 innings, but problems, especially on defense, continue to mount.  —  The impending rotation decision — should Jered Weaver stay or should he go? — has been the hot topic this week, but the Angels have far …

Padres fire Magadan as hitting coach, hire Rettenmund  —  SAN DIEGO - With the worst team batting average in the NL and the third-fewest homers in the majors, the San Diego Padres fired Dave Magadan as hitting coach on Thursday and replaced him with the popular Merv Rettenmund.

With rebuilt mechanics, Rogers rolling  —  Former first-round pick succeeding at Advanced Class A  —  MILWAUKEE — At some point in mid-May, the Brewers' top pitching prospect stepped onto the mound and finally felt like himself again.  —  "I feel really confident now every time I step out on that mound …

Gonzalez takes time to defend himself  —  Remarks from D-Backs partner elicit outfielder's response  —  PHOENIX — Ken Kendrick, the managing general partner of the Arizona Diamondbacks, inadvertently set off a firestorm Thursday with his comments about steroids and Luis Gonzalez to a columnist for the Arizona Republic.

Under The Knife  —  Two Questions  —  I constantly get asked if I want a job in baseball.  (Seldom does someone in baseball ask it, you'll note.)  I say I have the best job in the world and remind people that I'm the least qualified person I know.  Sure, I dream like every …

Mr. Robert Kip Wells  —  Kip Wells is due back in the rotation before the end of the month after missing most of the first three months of 2006 coming back from a blood clot that had formed in his pitching shoulder.  We know that Kip Wells was a rather promising young pitcher in his first two years …