Yanks bench slumping A-Rod for two days  —  MIAMI - The Yankees had trouble beating the Nationals with Alex Rodriguez in the lineup.  How will they fare against the Marlins without A-Rod's bat?  —  Rodriguez was yanked from the lineup this afternoon as Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman decided …

Madden: Yanks still can't overcome their fear of unknown  —  They waited 5-1/2 hours in the rain to play a baseball game at Yankee Stadium Thursday night, and if you didn't know better, it could have been because the Yankees wanted no part of Craig Stammen.  —  It mattered not that the …

Yankees are in area, so they'll watch Pedro  —  The Yankees will watch Pedro Martinez throw a bullpen session Friday in the Dominican Republic, a person familiar with the situation confirmed.  But the club would be interested in signing the three-time Cy Young Award winner only to a minor-league contract …

Sources: Evans promoted to the Mets  —  Sources tell the Daily News that Nick Evans will be promoted to the Mets.  It wasn't immediately clear whose place Evans would take, but perhaps the Mets have decided to demote Fernando Martinez with Gary Sheffield returning to the outfield.

Bugging Harold Reynolds  —  I like Harold Reynolds.  I mean, I don't really know the guy, but he seems to be a likable guy on television.  And friends who do know him tell me he's a very likable guy.  And one of my favorite baseball images is that of Harold Reynolds in the moments …

Glavine won't pitch in '09 or announce retirement  —  ATLANTA (AP) — Tom Glavine says he plans to “hang out” for the rest of the summer but is not announcing his retirement.  —  The Atlanta Braves released the 43-year-old Glavine on June 3 after he finished a rehabilitation from offseason surgery on his left elbow and shoulder.

Shawn Estes retires  —  Shawn Estes, a former 19-game winner with the Giants, has apparently retired after 13 major league seasons.  Estes, 36, went 3-4 with a 3.07 ERA pitching for Triple-A Albuquerque in his attempt to continue his career with the Dodgers.

Brotherly love: Weavers set to match up  —  Sibling rivalry won't play into pitching story of Halos-Dodgers  —  ANAHEIM — Gail Weaver would like to make one point perfectly clear as her sons prepare to share the pitching mound at Angel Stadium on Saturday evening.  —  This is not Jered Weaver vs. Jeff Weaver.

Papelbon: Of course I want to stay in Boston  —  In a wide-ranging interview with SiriusXM Radio on Thursday afternoon, Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon said he wants to stay in Boston long term but needs to look out for his own best interests.  —  Papelbon was asked if he would ever consider playing …

Let the Pedro bidding begin; is change coming to Washington?  —  No Nationals disgrace ... not this week, anyway  —  Just when folks were starting to draw comparisons between the 1962 Mets and the current Washington Nationals, the Nationals jumped up and put on an excellent three-day display in the Bronx …

Dusty Ryan Called Up  —  Sources close to Dusty Ryan are reporting that The Tigers have called up the young backstop from Toledo to presumably replace Dane Sardinha as the backup catcher.  This is a welcome move as the Tigers have been starting Gerald Laird too much and I believe it has been affecting his offense.

Prospect Hot Sheet: June 19  —  Coming into the season, we ranked the Athletics as the No. 3 organization in our yearly talent rankings, largely because of their pitching depth.  But I don't know if we or anyone would have imagined that they would make the impact we've seen this year …

Miller Park flooded  —  MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers' ballpark sustained significant flood damage during a strong storm early Friday morning, but team officials expect cleanup to be completed in time for the team's homestand next week.  —  Brewers spokesman Tyler Barnes …

Clemens might write book about McNamee dispute  —  HOUSTON (AP) - Roger Clemens might write a book to get his side of the story out in his nasty dispute with Brian McNamee, his former trainer.  —  McNamee has accused Clemens of using steroids and human growth hormone, charges the seven …

Quote of the Day: 'I suck.  For real.  I'm getting old.'  —  sports, athletics, quote-of-the-day, orlando-cabrera  —  Orlando Cabrera, after making two defensive mistakes yesterday: … Normally I'd say that Cabrera is being overly hard on himself, but that's a tough argument …