Yankees have tentative deal with first baseman Sexson … The New York Yankees have reached a tentative agreement with Richie Sexson, who was released by the Seattle Mariners a week ago.  —  Sexson fits in New York because the Yankees needed a right-handed slugger to match up against left-handed pitching …

John Henry fires back at slugger's comments  —  Manny Ramirez might get his meeting with John Henry, but the Red Sox [team stats]' principal owner will have a hard time giving his slugger any sympathy.  —  Henry responded via e-mail to Ramirez' statement in The Herald yesterday saying …

Diamondbacks, in need of bat, trade for Clark  —  First baseman Tony Clark has been traded from the San Diego Padres to the Arizona Diamondbacks, ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney reported.  —  Under his contract with the Padres, Clark would have received $500,000 from the Padres if traded …

Wright would have pitched for NL, if he had to  —  As Tuesday night's All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium became Wednesday morning's All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium, Major League Baseball officials made it clear to the two managers: This game would be played to its completion.  There would be no tie.

Japanese pitcher Hideo Nomo retires  —  TOKYO (AFP) — Japanese right-handed pitcher Hideo Nomo, who won National League Rookie of the Year honours in 1995, on Thursday announced his retirement from baseball.  —  The 39-year-old Nomo, who pitched two no-hitters in the US Major Leagues …

Utley would welcome some pitching help  —  Chase Utley says he's paying attention to trade rumors that could affect the Phillies.  —  “You want to know what the possibilities are out there,” Utley said Tuesday before playing in his third All-Star Game.  “I know our organization wants to win …

Baseball Today  —  San Diego at St. Louis (8:15 p.m. EDT).  Kyle Lohse (11-2, 3.39 ERA) looks to extend his unbeaten streak to 13 starts when the Cardinals return from the All-Star break and face the Padres.  Lohse, 8-0 with 2.52 ERA in his last 12 outings, will be opposed by Jake Peavy (7-5, 2.47).

Autographs and Mays  —  When I was still a kid in this crazy sportswriting racket, I drove several hours with a friend to see Mickey Mantle sign autographs at a baseball card show.  My friend actually wanted to buy Mantle's autograph — he was a photographer and as I recall he really wanted some photo he took signed.

Future Shock  —  NL East Notebook  —  Atlanta Braves  —  Meddling With Success: Coming off of a season in which he struck out 63 in 46 innings over three levels, right-hander Kris Medlen entered the year as a sleeper in the Braves system.  He struggled early, cobbling together a 4.70 ERA …

Beltran shows some class  —  While Bart Hubbuch is off gettting married, I'll be manning the Mets beat and blog for the next few days.  That duty led me to Newark Airport this morning where I was joined by Carlos Beltran for a 9:15 flight...  What was eye-opening was how gracious Beltran …

Trade Ichiro?  It's a bold but sensible proposition  —  During last month's news conference announcing the firing of general manager Bill Bavasi, Mariners CEO Howard Lincoln said he was open to trading anyone on the team.  —  If that's the case, the Mariners should deal Ichiro Suzuki by the July 31 deadline.