Game 70: Yankees at Braves (now with Sabathia update)  —  YANKEES (38-31)  —  Pitching: RHP Chien-Ming Wang (0-5, 12.30).  —  BRAVES (33-36)  —  McLouth CF  —  Escobar SS  —  Jones 3B  —  McCann C  —  Anderson LF  —  Kotchman 1B  —  Francoeur RF  —  Johnson 2B  —  Hanson RHP

Teixeira, Youkilis jockeying for position  —  Yanks' first baseman takes back lead from Sox slugger  —  It seems as if the historic Red Sox-Yankees rivalry exists on ballots, too.  —  At least that's the situation among American League first basemen, as Boston's Kevin Youkilis …

Phillies need new face on the mound  —  AS THE PHILLIES jet off to their favorite place - that is, anyplace but here - so much is going wrong that you can pretty much pick on anything right now as a problem and be right.  Except that you'd be wrong.  —  Because nothing is wrong with the Phillies …

MLB denies Yankees protest  —  The Yankees protest of the Marlins 6-5 victory Sunday was denied Tuesday by major league baseball.  —  President Larry Beinfest informed Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez of the decision just before Gonzalez received a fax from the league office.

Melvin On Brewers' Pitching  —  Brewers GM Doug Melvin says the Brewers can't keep trading prospects away for pitching, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.  The Brewers pulled off a deal for C.C. Sabathia last year, giving up Matt LaPorta, but they are apparently unwilling …

Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg says Sammy Sosa doesn't belong in Hall  —  Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg said his former teammate Sammy Sosa does not belong in the Hall because of integrity issues associated with the steroids era.  —  The New York Times reported that Sosa …

Shorthanded Mets band together to beat Cardinals  —  Shortly after Carlos Beltran landed on the disabled list yesterday, the latest blow to his reeling Mets team, Jerry Manuel was asked how they would cope with another gaping hole in their roster.  “I think you have to believe that somebody's going to catch fire,” Manuel said.

It just doesn't add up  —  May we agree on one thing?  —  Daisuke Matsuzaka was not worth $102 million.  —  There's a lot of financial craziness out there in modern professional sport, but we have not yet reached the point where a third or fourth (and in this case, fifth) …

Obama to throw out first pitch at All-Star Game  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama plans to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Major League Baseball All-Star game at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on July 14.  —  The White House said on Tuesday that MLB's focus …

Reeling Indians get boost with Sizemore's return … PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Cleveland Indians have All-Star center fielder Grady Sizemore back.  —  Sizemore, out since May 31 with an inflamed left elbow, was activated from the disabled list Tuesday before the struggling Indians opened a three …

Rays Former #1 Pick In 2005, Wade Townsend Retires  —  Rays Prospects has the link from CBS Sports of the Rays #1 pick and #8 overall pick in the 2005 MLB draft, RHP Wade Townsend from Rice announcing his retirement.  Townsend has battled injuries since signing with the Rays, having Tommy John surgery in the fall of 05.

Giants G.M. Sabean talks about potential trades: ‘We know what we need’  —  The cavalry might come galloping to assist the Giants' offense, but don't expect to hear reveille any time soon.  —  Before watching his lineup struggle in road grays yet again Monday night in a 5-1 loss to the A's …

Giants remain a bat away from something special  —  Rotation, check.  Bullpen, check.  With everything else in place, Jon Paul Morosi says the Giants need to trade for the bat they lack.

Cubs agree to terms with outfielder Brett Jackson, Chicago's first selection from 2009 Draft  —  CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs have agreed to terms with outfielder Brett Jackson, the club's first-round selection (31st overall) in the 2009 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, pending a physical.

Baseball, explored infographically  —  Over the weekend, we witnessed a mini-viral baseball phenomenon.  Late on Friday night, David Pinto at Baseball Musings tossed up a post with a link to a site called Flip Flop Fly Ball.  The site, run by a baseball fan/graphic designer …

Giving Don Fehr His Due  —  There are jobs that demand of the person filling them that they be able to forgo popularity to do them well.  No one likes public defenders.  No one likes tax auditors.  And no one likes the men who have chosen to represent baseball players as if they were a group …