First Round Recap  —  Scouting reports and stats on everyone taken in the first round  —  1. Tampa Bay Rays  —  B-T: R-R. Ht.: 6-0.  Wt.: 188.  Age: 18.  —  Scouting Report  —  Beckham solidified his status as the nation's top high school position player last year when he produced …

Cubs beat LA on Fukudome's single in 9th  —  LOS ANGELES (AP)—It's always an intriguing showdown when one of the former stars of the Japanese League faces another in a major league game.  So far, Kosuke Fukudome is having more fun than Takashi Saito when the Chicago Cubs play the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Rays select SS Tim Beckham with top pick in draft  —  LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - The Tampa Bay Rays selected Tim Beckham with the No. 1 pick in the baseball draft Thursday, choosing the talented high school shortstop from Griffin, Ga., over Florida State catcher Buster Posey.

Tempers flare as Red Sox sweep Rays  —  Crisp ejected; Ellsbury and Ramirez exit early with injuries  —  BOSTON — Center fielder Coco Crisp started a heated exchange between Boston and Tampa Bay on Wednesday by intentionally sliding hard into Rays second baseman Akinori Iwamura.

Yankees draft fireballer in first round  —  Righty Cole goes No. 28; Stanford lefty first compensation pick  —  NEW YORK — The New York Yankees selected right-hander Gerrit Cole on Thursday with their first-round pick in the 2008 First Year Player Draft, using the 28th overall pick …

Mets snag college bats Davis, Havens  —  Team adds pop in first round with first baseman and shortstop  —  NEW YORK — Recent history has rarely seen the Mets have their way when it comes to the First-Year Player Draft.  Their picks snapped away through free-agent spending …

Contreras helps White Sox sweep Royals  —  CHICAGO (AP)—Jose Contreras didn't have his best pitch, the split-finger fastball, and against the woeful Royals he didn't need it.  —  Last year it might have been a different story.  —  Contreras won his fourth straight decision and Jim Thome homered …

Waiting for the Call  —  NORWICH, Conn. — The ballpark here sits at the end of a winding industrial road, surrounded by trees, with no sense of place.  It rained all day Wednesday, and most of the 1,353 paying fans stayed home.  Kids were disappointed if they left with only one foul ball.

Chipper hits No. 400 against Marlins  —  Third baseman goes deep in sixth inning off Nolasco  —  ATLANTA — Braves third baseman Chipper Jones hit his 400th home run in the sixth inning of Thursday's game against the Marlins.  —  Jones hit the homer, his 14th of the season …

June 5 — MANUEL BENCHES ROLLINS  —  So, this is how Charlie Manuel acts when he has a long-term contract.  —  Manuel did, in fact, bench Jimmy Rollins in the fifth inning today, two innings after he didn't run out a pop fly that wound up being dropped in shallow left field by Reds shortstop Paul Janish.

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.

Pelfrey Is Solid, but Mets Still Lose  —  SAN DIEGO — This was a pivotal moment, a pivotal moment in the game, in Mike Pelfrey's development, and the Mets pitching coach, Rick Peterson, sensed it.  He ran out to check on his struggling pitcher, putting his hands on Pelfrey's shoulders.

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 …