Hurdle out as Rockies manager  —  The Rockies on Friday fired manager Clint Hurdle and replaced him with bench coach Jim Tracy.  Hurdle talked to the media about his dismissal at Coors Field.  (The Denver Post |  Karl Gehring)  —  When general manager Dan O'Dowd called Clint Hurdle early Friday morning …

Exclusive: Mets looking to deal Castro  —  Here's a Daily News exclusive: The Mets are working the phones, trying to trade Ramon Castro before Saturday's 1:10 p.m. game, according to sources.  If Castro can't be traded by Saturday's game when Brian Schneider is activated …

Kuroda to return to rotation Monday  —  LA righty throws final bullpen; Stults or Milton to be removed  —  CHICAGO — Hiroki Kuroda will return to the Dodgers' starting rotation Monday night for the opener of a nine-game homestand, manager Joe Torre announced before Friday's game with the Cubs.

GIRARDI MY BEST SKIPPER BY FAR, YANKEES' TEIXEIRA SAYS  —  CLEVELAND — Ten months ago, there were people wearing pinstriped uniforms who weren't sure Joe Girardi was the right man to manage the Yankees.  —  Two weeks ago, the Yankees were 16-17 and 5 ½ games out of first place …

Torre: Manny shouldn't be '09 All-Star  —  From baseball aspect, suspended OF hasn't done enough  —  CHICAGO — Dodgers manager Joe Torre said he doesn't think suspended outfielder Manny Ramirez should be an All-Star this year, even though fans have him fourth in voting at the position.

Looking at Wieters, O's fans have star in eyes  —  Heralded Wieters being counted on to lead revival of troubled organization  —  Matt Wieters might or might not be the greatest Orioles prospect in history, but there is little doubt that he will arrive today at Camden Yards to greater fanfare …

Q&A with Baseball America's Jim Callis Strasburg, Boras, and Everything Else You Wanted to Know About the 2009 Draft  —  When it comes to the First-Year Player Draft, nobody is as wired to what's going on as Jim Callis, the Executive Editor of Baseball America.

Dodgers lose, but they take it well  —  Four-game win streak ends as Ted Lilly outduels Chad Billingsley, but with the majors' best record, the Dodgers can afford to be sanguine about it.  —  Reporting from Chicago — Instead of pointing a finger of blame at the umpires, Juan Pierre pointed one back at himself and chuckled.

Lupica: Mets, Yankees enjoying the view  —  The opening of the fancy ballparks was supposed to be the start of the baseball season in New York.  But two months later, it feels as if the good parts are about to start now, as if April and May were just some out of town tryout.

White Sox's bullpen depth is encouraging  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The back end of the White Sox's bullpen has received most of the credit for the relievers' success.  —  But it has been a collective effort, as far as pitching coach Don Cooper is concerned.  Sox relievers have allowed 12 home runs …

Updates: Red Sox at Blue Jays  —  SOX LOSE (9:53, END 9, 6-3 JAYS)  —  The Red Sox suffered their third loss in four games.  Tim Wakefield suffered perhaps his worst inning of the season, the offense scored fewer than four runs for the fourth straight game.

Cleveland Indians drop David Dellucci; recall Rafael Perez  —  CLEVELAND — David Dellucci, the man Indians bloggers loved to hate, has been designated for assignment to make room for left-hander Rafael Perez.  —  Dellucci, for whatever reason, became a symbol for everything that has gone wrong …

MLB on Blackout Policy: “There's still more work to be done”  —  There was hope in August of last year, albeit thin, that Major League Baseball was finally ready to make good on their efforts to address the television territories in the league that was creating so much consumer outrage when coupled with MLB's blackout policy.

Prospect Hot Sheet: May 29  —  When the Yankees signed Jesus Montero to a seven-figure bonus in 2006 out of Venezuela, scouts were skeptical about his ability to remain at catcher.  But right now, it doesn't look like it matters whether he can catch—his bat is that good.