Top News:
David Lefort / Boston Red Sox:
Johnson to Sox — The Red Sox added another arm today, trading for struggling Indians righthander Jason Johnson, who has eight losses and an ERA around 6.00 for the season. The Sox get Johnson and cash consideration in the deal in exchange for a player to be named later and cash.
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Michael Silverman / Boston Herald:
Pedro fires 'home': Ex-Sox ace expects warm Fenway welcome — NEW YORK — Pedro Martinez still calls Boston home. — Technically, he's right, since he still, for now, owns a house here and certainly visits often enough, more frequently than people think.
Jeff Horrigan / Boston Herald:Sox march on — Lester finishes sweep of NL squad
Discussion:
Boston Globe
Jeff Passan / Yahoo! Sports:
Guillen doesn't get it — CHICAGO - It's a little past 7 p.m., about time for the first pitch between the Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals, and the crowd at Crew, a gay sports bar, barely notices. — As Mark Buehrle pumps in a strike, patrons chat about their day's work …
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Joe Cowley / Chicago Sun Times:
Ozzie vs. Mariotti: Guillen apologetic, defiant — White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen apologized for his choice of words during a tirade Tuesday directed at Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti. — But Guillen insisted Wednesday that the ongoing war of words between the two is now ''personal,'' and he has no intention of backing down.
Jay Mariotti / Chicago Sun Times:
Sensitivity the issue, Guillen the problem — Try as I do, it's hard to view sports as some sort of guiding light for humankind. You want to believe in this stuff after sitting in a Dallas arena and watching Dwyane Wade, a credit to his hometown and as humble as he is spectacular …
ESPN:
Guillen fined, ordered to take sensitivity training for slur — Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen on Thursday was fined an undisclosed amount of money and ordered to undergo sensitivity training for his use of a derogatory term aimed at Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti.
Discussion:
The Catbird …
Patrick Saunders / Denver Post:
Carroll bandwagon gaining passengers — Greg Reynolds, a pitcher from Stanford who was the Rockies first-round pick in this month s draft, met the media Wednesday at Coors Field. Reynolds plans to sign a contract Friday and then make a brief appearance with the Single-A short-season Tri-City Dust Devils …
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Susan Slusser / San Francisco Chronicle:
MLB exec not amused by Macha's humidor remark — (06-22) 04:00 PDT Denver — Ken Macha's statement Tuesday that there should be "an investigation'' into the humidor-stored baseballs at Coors Field didn't go over well with Major League Baseball's executive vice president for baseball operations.
Matthew Leach / MLB.com:
Cards look to Reyes to avoid sweep — St. Louis (42-28) at White Sox (46-25), 7:05 p.m. CT — The Cardinals will try to stave off a sweep on Wednesday night when they send rookie right-hander Anthony Reyes to the mound against the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field.
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Matthew Leach / MLB.com:
Reyes earns another look — Right-hander to start Thursday, could stick in starting rotation — CHICAGO — Asked in spring to add a sinking fastball to his repertoire, Anthony Reyes gave it a good faith effort. But it didn't always work all that well, so Reyes compromised.
Associated Press:
Padres-Rangers Preview — The Texas Rangers ' current stretch of interleague games started off promising, but now the team is hoping to stave off a slump. — The Rangers look to avoid being swept for the second time overall this season when they wrap up their three-game series …
Discussion:
Ducksnorts
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Boston Globe:
Former Sox starter admits steroid use — Crawford says it was 'everywhere' in baseball — Paxton Crawford, reached by phone last night, offered no more than a minute to explain himself, despite the fact that in the ESPN The Magazine issue that hit newsstands yesterday he detailed …
Discussion:
The Joy of Sox
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John Tomase / Boston Herald:
Crawford hits home - Sox react to ex-pitcher's drug claims — Paxton Crawford's Red Sox career can best be described as forgettable, his claim to fame a sketchy back injury supposedly caused by falling out of bed onto a glass. — That story made Crawford a punch line …
MLB.com:
Melvin optimistic about second half — General manager chats with fans online … Doug Melvin: It's great to see that even on an off-day Brewers fans want to talk Brewers baseball! I am looking forward to spending the next hour with you all. Let's get started. — bdsoccer: Doug, what will you do with Carlos Lee?
Discussion:
Brew Crew Ball
Rich Lederer / The Baseball Analysts:
Numerous Castles Among This Year's Rooks — As the season approaches the halfway point, I thought it would be instructive to check out how the rookies have performed in both the American and National Leagues. What I found of most interest is the fact that the AL seems to have the upper hand …
Mike DiGiovanna / Los Angeles Times:
Brain Trust Will Have Meeting of Minds Today — SAN FRANCISCO — Angels owner Arte Moreno, General Manager Bill Stoneman and Manager Mike Scioscia will hold a summit meeting of sorts today in Mesa, Ariz., with an objective of exchanging ideas to improve an underachieving team that is mired …
Scott Miller / CBS SportsLine.com:
Rookie Liriano may blow away even the Rocket — HOUSTON — For now, he's the other news. As in, "And in other news ..." — By the time Thursday's game finishes, however, don't be surprised if the kid opposing Roger Clemens walks with his share of the national spotlight.
Discussion:
The Griddle
Mark Bowman / MLB.com:
Notes: Sosa heads to bullpen — Braves hope righty's new role will fix the team's bullpen woes — ATLANTA — When Jorge Sosa was moved into the starting rotation around this time last year, he found a role that allowed him to enjoy his finest big-league season.
