Top News:
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.
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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 …
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.
Jeff Horrigan / Boston Herald:Sox march on — Lester finishes sweep of NL squad
Discussion:
Boston Globe
Richard Durrett / Dallas Morning News:
Danks promoted to Triple-A — ARLINGTON - Left-handed starter John Danks took what general manager Jon Daniels described as a "big step" Thursday. He was promoted to Oklahoma and will make his first career Triple-A start Saturday. — "John's commanding his three pitches well now …
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball
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T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com:
Notes: Daniels frustrated by calls — Rangers GM irked by decisions on close plays — ARLINGTON — Rangers general manager Jon Daniels admitted he is a bit frustrated that three close calls went against his team in two losses to the Padres on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Associated Press:
Cardinals activate Pujols, place Mulder on disabled list — CHICAGO (AP) — Albert Pujols came off the disabled list Thursday and returned to the St. Louis Cardinals' lineup for their series finale against the Chicago White Sox. — The 2005 NL MVP played first base and batted third.
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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.
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.
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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.
Associated Press:
Source revealed — Feds seize reporters' communications in BALCO probe — SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — E-mails seized by federal authorities identify the convicted founder of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative as a source in the San Francisco Chronicle's reporting on the steroids scandal …
Discussion:
Baseball Musings
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Ed Eagle / MLB.com:
Wells looks shaky in season debut — Bucs offense gets off to a hot start, but cools quickly — KANSAS CITY — After a long layoff, Pirates right-hander Kip Wells is going to have to find a way to become reacquainted with the strike zone. — Wells, making his first big league appearance …
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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
Steve Gilbert / MLB.com:
Notes: Green's work in progress — Daigle optioned to Triple-A; Gonzalez gets an off-day — ST. PETERSBURG — For Shawn Green, it's a constant battle to stay balanced and to keep his swing consistent. — After struggling for the first few weeks of the season and watching his average drop …
Discussion:
AZ Snakepit
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 …
