A's get OF Hairston from Pads for minor leaguers  —  Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since Aug. 2005.  He appears weekly on the FSN Baseball Report and MLB on FOX.  —  add this  —  The Oakland A's are always unpredictable at this time of year.

Joba not as hard on himself as everybody else is  —  If you disliked Joba Chamberlain's performance during Sunday's Yankees game, OMG, would you have hated his performance afterward.  —  Yeah, yeah, it's all good here in the Bronx.  The Yankees won again, 10-8, over the Blue Jays …

Aaron Bates gets called up  —  It seems as though Paw Sox first baseman Aaron Bates has finally figured it out.  An all but forgotten Sox prospect, Bates busted onto the scene in Portland after a mediocre Double A season last year, got called up to Pawtucket two months into the season …

Tribune Co. reaches deal to sell Cubs, Wrigley  —  Tribune Co. intends to sell the Chicago Cubs to the Ricketts family, sources familiar with the matter said Monday, ending the company's flirtation with another buyer after negotiations with the Rickettses had stalled two months ago.

New York Mets' David Wright looks like he needs a staycation … PHILADELPHIA — David Wright comes from the Derek Jeter School of (None of Your) Business, so he wasn't about to tell a bunch of reporters how he'll spend his off day Monday.  But the Mets third baseman did reveal this much: He won't be anywhere near a batting cage.

Martin Prado of the Atlanta Braves named the National League Player of the Week presented by Bank of America  —  Atlanta Braves infielder Martin Prado, who led the National League with 15 hits and a 1.000 slugging percentage, has been named National League Player of the Week presented by Bank of America for the period ending July 5th.

A Mets-induced mirage, or money in the Bank?  —  The Mets left town yesterday afternoon the same way they arrived - very quietly - and it would be difficult to blame the Phillies for checking off their rival from the mental list of worries this season.  —  Maybe New York isn't totally dead in the water …

All-Star follies come with selections  —  A look at the AL and NL rosters reveals a host of mistakes  —  STAY AHEAD OF THE GAME Become an Insider Today  —  The All-Star Game is a wonderful opportunity for fans, players and managers alike to showcase their own prejudices and ignorance about the best players in the game.

Teixeira won't be in Home Run Derby  —  Slugger participated in 2005, hitting just two homers in Detroit  —  NEW YORK — Mark Teixeira's 20 home runs in a Yankees uniform may have him tied for second in the American League, but the switch-hitting slugger won't be bringing his stroke to the State Farm Home Run Derby.

Phils to scout Pedro in Domincan Republic  —  Club officials will travel to Caribbean to watch veteran hurler  —  PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies have changed their minds on free-agent right-hander Pedro Martinez.  —  The Phillies will watch Martinez throw Monday or Tuesday in the Dominican Republic.

INTERNET BASEBALL WRITERS  —  The Internet Baseball Writers Association of America reformed recently, and here's our first press release.  —  INTERNET BASEBALL WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA DEBUTS WITH ALL-STAR GAME AND MID-SEASON AWARD VOTES  —  Los Angeles - Opening for business today in Los Angeles …

Drew and Ellsbury, a comparison  —  The Red Sox have a once and future leadoff hitter and a current leadoff hitter, and their approaches at the plate and styles on the field could hardly be more different.  You have Jacoby Ellsbury, the jitterbug centerfielder who crashes into walls and steals home and …