Old bawl game  —  Rejuvenated Orioles wipe out nine-run deficit and wash away stunned Red Sox  —  BALTIMORE - By the time Jonathan Papelbon jogged in from the bullpen, the Red Sox celebratory mood had withered.  Where once they were mocking each other for leaving the field with just two outs …

Dukes Optioned to Class AAA  —  The Washington Nationals sent Elijah Dukes to AAA Syracuse on Wednesday morning, saying Dukes was not a “finished product” and needed to play every day rather than sit on the bench in the majors.  —  The move came in response to the team's acquisition …

Today's Top Picks … Best Of NYDN.com

Surgery likely for Kontos  —  George Kontos is going for a second opinion on Wednesday, but an MRI on Monday revealed a torn ulnar collateral ligament and it's likely that Kontos will undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery.  —  We have the story online, with a lot information and quotes from Kontos.

Hot hitters squeezed out of Reds' order  —  Cincinnati (37-38) vs. Arizona (31-46), 7:10 p.m. ET  —  CINCINNATI — Some of the hottest bats the Reds have right now never left the dugout during Tuesday's game vs. the D-backs.  —  Outfielders Jonny Gomes and Chris Dickerson weren't in the starting lineup …

Fair or not, Chicago Cubs' failures are Jim Hendry's fault  —  Fair or not, blame for failures squarely on Hendry's shoulders  —  If you think Milton Bradley is having a rough year so far, how about Jim Hendry?  —  The Cubs' general manager is responsible for signing the .238-hitting …

Webb will not have shoulder surgery  —  D-backs ace will rest, exercise, hope for September return  —  PHOENIX — Brandon Webb will not undergo right shoulder surgery and hopes to return to action in September, the D-backs ace told MLB.com on Wednesday.  —  On Tuesday, Webb completed …

New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman says Eric Hinske deal “made some sense” … Weather Update, 5:57p.m. — The tarp is covering the field as a steady rain is falling.  —  NEW YORK — Brian Cashman wasn't patting himself on the back for the Yankees acquisition of utility man Eric Hinske Tuesday …

Another snoozer for Joba  —  Because of the rain delay, there was less time to write for the newspaper, so I had to pick my spots for interviews after the game  —  A little Girardi, a little Matsui, a little Jeter, some Mo, some Bruney, some Hughes.  —  I passed on Joba because he wasn't going to be a very big part of the story.

All the gangstas on the bus - or else!  —  As part of Jerry Manuel's postgame message to stomp out “individualism,” the manager demanded that all of the Mets ride the 11 a.m. CDT bus from the team's hotel to Miller Park for Wednesday's matinee against the Brewers.  No cabs, limos or mopeds.

July 2 Projected Top 25 List  —  The players below from Latin America are ranked based on their expected signing bonuses, not their projected talent.  In fact, that is important enough that it bears repeating: The rankings are not an attempt to gauge the talent, but a way to forecast the market.

Clock to Trade Deadline begins to tick  —  Clubs have less than month to buy, sell or hold their chips  —  It's July, which means 30 days until the pivotal non-waiver Trade Deadline on the last day of the month.  —  Normally, one can expect blockbuster deals a la Mark Teixeira to the Angels and Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers in 2008.

Prospectus Roundtable: Fluke or No Fluke? by Baseball Prospectus  —  Matt Meyers, ESPN Insider: Welcome to the latest ESPN Insider Roundtable, and thanks in advance for participating.  This week's topic: “Is he for real?”  Or, as I like to call it, “how I learned to stop worrying and love Fernando Nieve.”

Orioles running Trembley out of a job?  —  Club's propensity for mistakes on base paths not helping manager's cause  —  Throughout his minor and major league coaching career, Dave Trembley has been known as a stickler for the little things.  He wants the game played right …

July 2 Team-By-Team Forecast  —  Ben Badler previews the international signing period with a breakdown of what to expect for all 30 teams when the international signing period begins tomorrow.

Texas judge affirms dismissal in Roger Clemens' suit  —  NEW YORK — A federal judge in Texas reaffirmed his original dismissal of most of the claims in Roger Clemens' defamation suit against former trainer Brian McNamee, the New York Daily News reported Wednesday.