Sabathia deal is possible  —  Phoenix - The C.C. Sabathia rumors might turn out to be more than rumors.  —  As the Brewers continued to scout Sabathia in his outing for Cleveland against Chicago on Wednesday night, word came out of Brevard County that the Indians were looking at specific Milwaukee minor leaguers.

Gameday Live 85: Red Sox at Yankees  —  Hey everyone!  Katie here blogging tonight for game 1 of a four-game series against the Red Sox.  Andy Pettitte (9-5, 3.98) will be on the mound tonight for the pinstripes.  Jon Lester (6-3, 3.48) get the start for Boston.  Hope everyone is geared up for a great Fourth of July weekend!

Dodgers bringing up Nomar Garciaparra, Andruw Jones today  —  As L.A. starts a three-game series in San Francisco, Garciaparra will start at shortstop, a position he hasn't played regularly for four seasons.  Brad Penny's return is delayed for about a week.

O's interested in Toronto's Eckstein  —  Club engaged in talks with Blue Jays regarding veteran shortstop  —  Seeking to fill what has become the team's most glaring deficiency, the Orioles have engaged in talks with the Toronto Blue Jays regarding shortstop David Eckstein, according to industry sources.

Piniella on Marmol: Little bit of a concern  —  Edmonds worried he may take heat in St. Louis  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Cubs manager Lou Piniella spoke to Carlos Marmol Thursday morning about his location after Marmol served up a game-tying three-run homer to Ray Durham Wednesday night.

Scherzer 101  —  Max the Stathead … Eric Seidman (ES): For starters, can you tell me how you came to be interested in analyzing baseball statistics?  —  Max Scherzer (MS): Well, it really started out with my pitching coach at Mizzou, who brought it to our attention by examining the percentage of first strikes and A3P percentage.

Cabrera's back  —  So am I, but that's not really news so much as it's the work schedule.  —  The lineups should be interesting this weekend because of the game times this series — essentially alternating night games and day games for four days.  Jim Leyland knew he wanted …

A's snap White Sox's 7-game win streak behind Duchscherer  —  CHICAGO (AP) — Justin Duchscherer pitched seven solid innings, Jack Cust and Donnie Murphy homered and the Oakland Athletics beat Chicago 3-2 Thursday night to snap the White Sox's seven-game win streak.  —  GAME REPORT: Athletics 3, White Sox 2

Game 86: Red Sox at Yankees  —  YANKEES (45-40)  —  RED SOX (50-37)  —  Jon Lester (6-3, 3.48) vs. the Yankee hitters.  —  Andy Pettitte (9-5, 3.98) vs. the Red Sox hitters.  —  Notes: Boston has lost five straight, four by one run.  They have not lost six straight since Aug. 25-30, 2006. ...

Jays Shopping Burnett For Shortstop?  —  5:55pm: Robert MacLeod talked to Jays President Paul Godfrey, who said J.P. Ricciardi is not shopping Burnett but has received calls.  —  2:23pm: According to Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun, the Blue Jays are shopping starter A.J. Burnett for a shortstop.

Deadline deals don't match the hype  —  Well, the calendar says it's July.  And you know what that means.  —  No, not the long-awaited arrival of Agib Talib at Buccaneers camp.  No, not even the long-awaited arrival of your beach chair on a big white stretch of sand.  —  We mean, of course, it's trade-deadline month.

Nolasco turns in another solid outing  —  MIAMI GARDENS — Ricky Nolasco, the Marlins' newest ace, was watching Wednesday's game on a clubhouse TV when Alfredo Amezaga stepped to the plate after the 95-minute rain delay in the seventh.  —  “I'm just thinking, get a base hit, at least we can tie the game,” Nolasco said.

“Open Letter to the Tampa Bay Rays” or “The Thing About Karma”  —  Okay, you swept us.  And while I do question a few moves made by the Glorious Teets — such as not pinch hitting Casey for Tek in the ninth last night, when it is painfully apparent to all that the Captain has become the Craptain …

Raysmania taking hold at the Trop  —  Fans embracing Tampa Bay and shaking their cowbells  —  ST. PETERSBURG — When Rays manager Joe Maddon first spoke of turning Tropicana Field into “The Pit” this season, it was nearly laughable.  —  Years of being baseball's worst team had parlayed …