Rays will choose Beckham at No. 1  —  Tampa Bay opts for talented Georgia high school shortstop  —  BOSTON — Tim Beckham will be No. 1.  —  The Rays, holding the first overall selection in today's First-Year Player Draft, will select the talented high school shortstop from Griffin, Ga. …

BA's 2008 Final Mock First Round  —  Rays will take Tim Beckham No. 1 overall  —  Signability concerns made for a wild night before the draft.  Florida State catcher Buster Posey's asking price suddenly jumped to $12 million and Missouri righthander Aaron Crow's target became $10 million …

McLaren's words came too late for Mariners  —  The contrived tirade began with a warning.  —  “We're gonna do this a little different,” John McLaren said.  —  He sounded a little like Tina Turner at the beginning of “Proud Mary.”  Then the downtrodden Mariners manager unleashed …

Cashman, brass to talk contract  —  NOTEBOOK  —  NEW YORK — Brian Cashman's contract as Yankees general manager is up after the season, and Hank Steinbrenner intends to discuss an extension while Cashman is in Tampa, Fla., this week.  —  “We're going to be talking about it,” said Steinbrenner, the team's co-chairperson.

Gameday Live 60: Blue Jays at Yankees  —  And a hearty good afternoon.  Rod Boone here for the quick turnaround following last night's bounce back 5-1 win over the Blue Jays.  Can the Yankees win two straight and take their first series since sweeping Seattle at The Stadium May 23-25?

A Note From Your Editor  —  We started this site on September 8, 2005, with a simple headline: “Welcome to Deadspin.  We Come With a Pure Heart and Mirthful Disposition.”  We think that's still pretty much true; we try to keep our disposition mirthful at all times.

In-progress first-round draft analysis … Follow along as Keith Law provides pick-by-pick analysis of the first round in today's draft.  Teams have five minutes between first-round picks.  —  Watch the first round live on ESPN2 or on ESPN360 through the first round and the compensation round.

Dodgers' Matt Kemp suspended four games, fined for Tuesday's fight  —  Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp, left, has been suspended for four games and fined an undisclosed amount for his part in a shoving match that resulted in the clearing of both teams' benches.

Coco Shows Some Fire  —  During last night's game between the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays, Coco Crisp tried to steal second base in the 6th inning.  When he tried to slide into second, Rays shortstop Jason Bartlett put his knee down in front of the bag, which is a no-no since someone can get seriously hurt.

Harper: Joba moving, doubt rising  —  You can feel the concern creeping into the Yankee clubhouse.  By now the Yankees are practically the home office for slow starts, but the players are all too aware that improved pitching throughout the American League East means it won't be so easy to bludgeon their way to the top this year.

Draft 2008: Pirates set to pick Alvarez  —  Next step: Sign Vanderbilt star to contract by Aug. 15  —  When the Pirates' turn comes in Major League Baseball's draft this afternoon, according to multiple sources, they plan to use their No. 2 overall choice to take Vanderbilt University third baseman Pedro Alvarez.

Phillies beat Reds, Griffey stays at 599  —  PHILADELPHIA (AP)—Cole Hamels pitched a three-hitter for his second career shutout and the Philadelphia Phillies took advantage of two dropped balls to beat the Cincinnati Reds 5-0 Thursday.  —  Ken Griffey Jr. remained one shy of 600 home runs …

Late-Morning Buzz  —  Jim Callis is en route to an undisclosed location in Chicago to join ESPN's broadcast of the draft, and Matt Blood is live in Orlando, I'm just here blogging late-morning rumors in preparation for today's feast of Q Shack and draft goodness.  Here's some of what we're hearing: