RHP Harden joins Cubs from Athletics  —  CHICAGO (AP)—Rich Harden's baseball career took a major detour, and when he arrived at Wrigley Field a bit sleep deprived Wednesday he felt several emotions.  —  He'd gone from the West Coast to the Midwest, from the American League to the National …

Bob Sheppard not able to be at All-Star Game  —  Bob Sheppard, whose deep and unmistakable voice has announced the action at Yankee Stadium for 57 years, said yesterday that he is not feeling well enough to announce the upcoming All-Star Game in the Bronx.  —  “I am not going to be physically able …

Quentin's HRs rally ChiSox from 5 down  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)—Carlos Quentin's towering home runs kept Chicago close, then the White Sox went ahead without so much as a pitch being thrown.  —  Fighting back from a 5- deficit Wednesday night, the White Sox scored the go-ahead run …

Near triple-play gets Gardenhire tossed  —  How often do you see a called triple play get turn into an RBI single?  —  The Twins nearly turned a triple play in the seventh inning, but after further review, the center fielder Denard Span didn't make a clean diving catch on a fly ball from Jason Varitek.

Byrnes may avoid hamstring surgery  —  Gonzalez also considering going with non-surgical approach  —  WASHINGTON — Outfielder Eric Byrnes is leaning towards taking a non-surgical approach to recovering from his torn left hamstring, but even if that were to be successful he would still likely miss the rest of the 2008 season.

K-Rod lets it slip away as Texas stuns Angels  —  Leading by two runs with one out to go, Angel relief ace gives up a run-scoring single to Young and a game-winning home run to Hamilton.  —  Josh Hamilton hit a two-run home run with two out in the ninth inning, lifting the Texas Rangers over the Angels, 5-4, Wednesday night.

Cardinals starter Mulder leaves game  —  Cardinals left-hander Mark Mulder left his comeback start against the Philadelphia Phillies after throwing only 16 pitches and recording one out in the first inning on Wednesday night.  Mulder, coming back from two shoulder operations …

M's need a bidding war  —  The one thing yesterday's trade of Rich Harden to the Chicago Cubs did was establish Erik Bedard as one of the top remaining options for contenders on the pitching front when it comes to trades.  In fact, I'd say Bedard is the best option right now.

Dodgers will change hitting coach again  —  Mike Easler will be replaced by Don Mattingly after the All-Star break.  —  With the Dodgers' offense ranking among the worst in the league, the club is expected to change hitting coaches at the All-Star break by replacing Mike Easler with Don Mattingly …

Rockies juggle their lineup to face new Brewer Sabathia  —  Old faces, new places.  A funky Rockies lineup greeted CC Sabathia in his Brewers debut.  Garrett Atkins shifted to first, Jayson Nix returned to second, Clint Barmes played third and Ryan Spilborghs moved to right.

Monster 2008 All-Star Game Final Vote on MLB.com reaches milestones as balloting enters its final 24 hours  —  Outcome of tight American and National League races in doubt heading into the home stretch  —  NEW YORK — Over the past 24 hours, as fans continue to cast their votes …

postGame: Mets 5 Giants 0  —  The Mets (47-44) defeated the Giants (39-52) by the score of 5 to 0 in Shea Stadium.  —  The Mets have won five games in a row, which matches their longest winning streak of the year.  —  For a recap, boxscore, stats, etc., go to SNY.tv.

Free Lottery Tickets?  —  Tuesdays are known around my apartment as “radio day.”  I talk regularly to Brad and Craig in Houston, Brad and Greg in Indianapolis, Bernie and Randy in St. Louis, and I usually have one or two non-regular hits that day, such as yesterday's with Jeff Erickson on XM.

O's can't hold lead, drop heartbreaker  —  Huff's 18th homer of season spoiled in loss to Jays  —  TORONTO — No music.  No conversation.  No sound at all, except for the hiss of a game gone wrong.  —  Daniel Cabrera stared straight ahead into his locker Tuesday night, oblivious to the gathering crowd around him.