Top News:
Ken Rosenthal / Fox Sports:
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 …
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com, MLB Trade Rumors, Purple Row, Los Angeles Times, Lone Star Ball, Viva El Birdos, Talking Chop and Chop-n-Change
RELATED:
Evan Grant / Dallas Morning News:
Doubts on Otsuka's return to Rangers — Reliever going to LA for second opinion on arm; trade status up in air — egrant@dallasnews.com — Reliever Akinori Otsuka won't be back on the mound before Tuesday's trading deadline. Now the question is exactly when he will be back at all.
T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com:Teixeira trade watch continues in Texas
Discussion:
Baseball Time in Arlington
Todd Zolecki / philly.com:
Utley breaks right hand — Chase Utley sounded like a confident man this afternoon at Citizens Bank Park, but his optimism could not ease the troubled look on Charlie Manuel's face or the evident feeling in Philadelphia that this injury could cost the Phillies another shot at the postseason.
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Ben Shpigel / New York Times:
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.
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Anthony Rieber / Newsday:
Pedro Martinez taking next step on road to Mets — Pedro Martinez is scheduled to throw what the Mets hope will be his final simulated game today in Port St. Lucie, Fla. — If all goes well, the Mets' ace could make his first minor-league rehab start Wednesday, which would start the 30-day clock on his return to the big leagues.
Alan Schwarz / New York Times:
Rodriguez Home Runs: Count Them Backward — Alex Rodriguez could become the first major league player ever to hit his 500th home run twice. — In a scene more M. C. Escher than Norman Rockwell, Rodriguez, who has 499 career home runs, could become tangled in an esoteric baseball scoring rule applied …
Discussion:
Yanksfan vs Soxfan
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George King / New York Post:
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 …
Nick Cafardo / Boston Globe:
The price isn't right for GMs — They're unwilling to overpay on deal — CLEVELAND — The trade deadline goes through many ebbs and flows. — There's the "feeler" stage. There's the "kicking the tires" stage. And now the "show me the money" stage.
Discussion:
Boston Sports Media Watch
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Gordon Wittenmyer / Chicago Sun Times:
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 …
Michael Ventre / MSNBC:
Red Sox on verge of Mickelson-like collapse? — NL East leaders hitting summer swoon as rival Yankees lurk — The Boston Red Sox have been doing business a lot longer than Phil Mickelson has been alive. — Yet I can't help but think of the Red Sox as the Phil Mickelson of baseball.
Bob Dutton / www.kansascity.com:
Dotel wants to negotiate contract extension to remain with Royals — One of the hottest commodities on baseball's trade market would just as soon stay where he is — with the Royals. — Veteran closer Octavio Dotel understands the business reality that links him in trade rumors …
Chuck King / Palm Beach Post:
Reliever gets brief taste of AAA baseball — JUPITER — Jupiter reliever Jeff Gogal's first trip to the Class AAA level wasn't quite how he imagined it. — Gogal found out Sunday night he was heading to Albuquerque, N.M. — "They told me, 'I've got good news and bad news,' " said Gogal …
Discussion:
FishStripes
Joe Capozzi / Palm Beach Post:
Benitez blows game — PHOENIX — Armando Benitez gave up a three-run homer to Eric Byrnes with two outs in the ninth inning as the Diamondbacks rallied to a 7-4 victory and four-game series sweep of the Marlins. — Benitez was one strike from sending the game into extra innings when Byrnes lined …
Alex Gyr / MLB.com:
Notes: Depleted 'pen feeling effects — Rodney heads to Triple-A, Tigers unsure of his return to club — CHICAGO — Sometimes it takes a blown six-run lead to put things in perspective. — The Tigers squandered a 7-1 lead in Tuesday's, 8-7, loss to the White Sox, with six of the runs coming …
Dejan Kovacevic / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Pirates Notebook: Torres' grievance could affect trade — NEW YORK — A trade of reliever Salomon Torres might be a messy proposition. — The grievance he filed against the Pirates in March, one in which he complained that the team deceived him when negotiating his contract in the spring of 2006 …
Discussion:
Bucs Dugout
