Cleveland Indians acquire OF Kenny Lofton from Texas Rangers  —  Outfielder Kenny Lofton is back where he always felt he belonged.  —  The Indians acquired Lofton from the Texas Rangers today for minor league catcher Max Ramirez.  To make room for Lofton on the 25-man roster …

Braves make tempting offer to Rangers  —  LIKE THIS STORY?  —  The game is now, "Can you top this?"  —  The Braves, major-league sources say, have made the Rangers a whopper of an offer for first baseman Mark Teixeira.  —  The Rangers evidently would receive three highly regarded young players …

Utley has surgery, placed on DL; Rowand out  —  Talk about adding insult to injury.  —  On the day the Phillies announced that Chase Utley, who broke his right hand Thursday, had successful surgery on the fourth metacarpal in his right hand, the team finds out that centerfielder Aaron Rowand …

A-Rod might already have hit No. 500  —  Stats twist with suspended game could come into play  —  KANSAS CITY — How's this for a twist?  For record-keeping purposes, Alex Rodriguez may have already hit his 500th home run.  —  The statistical confusion stems from the June 28 suspended game at Baltimore …

Mets voices off base & on babble  —  For a variety of reasons, baseball continues to become harder to watch on television.  This is no revelation.  The mission of those shaping the coverage is more about distracting than informing.  —  The decision makers believe the audience is tuning in for something other than the game.

Schill on track for Aug. 5 return  —  CLEVELAND - Pencil in Aug. 5 as the tentative return date for Curt Schilling [stats] to the Red Sox [team stats]' starting rotation.  —  Manager Terry Francona said prior to last night's game at Jacobs Field that Schilling, who made his second rehab appearance …

Smith's Pitches Are Up, So the Mets Send Him Down  —  Joe Smith's career has followed the opposite trajectory of his best pitch, the sinker.  A blindingly quick ascent from a college closer to a minor league stopper to a spring training phenom earned him a job in the Mets' bullpen without facing the downs to balance the ups.

Notes: Jones to sit in finale vs. Giants  —  Hot-hitting third baseman tweaked groin in Wednesday's loss  —  SAN FRANCISCO — When Chipper Jones was experiencing minor right groin discomfort a month ago, he suddenly found himself in a verbal spat with John Smoltz.

IT'S TY FOR TRADE  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Yankees fans may be tired of watching Scott Proctor and Kyle Farnsworth pitch ineffectively for their team, but that hasn't stopped other major league clubs from being interested in the erratic right-handers.  —  According to talent evaluators from AL …

Piniella: Team likely to stand pat  —  ST. LOUIS — Forget the overblown rumors of the Cubs going after Tampa Bay's Ty Wigginton before Tuesday's trade deadline — or maybe even anybody, for that matter.  —  General manager Jim Hendry scoffed specifically at the idea that the Cubs were sending …

Judge Set To Rule On Grimsley Affidavit  —  The baseball season has heated up, and there are plenty of news items going on.  Barry Bonds is going to break Hank Aaron's home run record any day, the Milwaukee Brewers are in first place, and the trade deadline is just days away.

Loretta trade rumors swirling  —  HOUSTON - The Padres were without a second baseman last winter when Mark Loretta made a personal pitch for himself.  —  The two-time Padres Most Valuable Player offered his services for less than $2 million plus incentives.