Prince reigns supreme in Derby  —  Brewers star tops Cruz in Finals; Pujols thrills home crowd  —  ST. LOUIS — Prince Albert, meet Prince Fielder.  —  With a sellout red-clad Busch Stadium crowd chanting for the hometown royalty, Albert Pujols, to claim the State Farm Home Run Derby hardware …

Angels hot to trot for Halladay  —  The second installment of summer book odds on the running of the first Roy Halladay sweepstakes leading to the July 31 trade deadline:  —  ANGELS 5-2  —  Infielder Brandon Wood, a pitching prospect like Trevor Reckling or Jordan Walden.  Will Halladay go to the coast?

Mets hope Johan stays out … ST. LOUIS - Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen offered this bit of parting advice to Johan Santana before the ace joined Francisco Rodriguez and David Wright on a private plane bound for the All-Star Game: Be careful.  —  In fact, the Mets prefer that Santana goes unused in Tuesday's Midsummer Classic.

Experts say A-Rod no longer No. 1  —  Shortly after the Yankees tweaked his playing schedule in June to give him regular rest, Alex Rodriguez felt full of vigor.  No longer, he says, did he feel like he “needed a bed to crash in by the fourth inning” and his confidence was soaring as he emerged from a slump.

A tale of two new ballparks  —  Citi Field in Queens / Yankee Stadium in the Bronx (Newsday Photo by John Keating, April 13, 2009 / Newsday Photo by Audrey Tiernan, April 16, 2009)  —  This just proves that all rookies need a while to settle in, even a pair that came in together …

New York Yankees form new fan club called Yankees Universe  —  Members of Yankees Universe to receive exclusive benefits, excellent access and special merchandise discounts with a portion of proceeds supporting the Department of Pediatrics at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

Glove story for Tim Wakefield  —  ST. LOUIS - Having labored through 17 major league seasons to finally reach his first All-Star Game, Tim Wakefield [stats] is leaving nothing to chance.  —  He has brought along a catcher's mitt, one that is suited to handle his tricky knuckleball.

A letter to Nationals fans  —  No one is more dissatisfied in the first half of the 2009 Washington Nationals season than we are.  Like you, we had hoped that some of our younger players would have matured faster, and that the addition of some of our new veterans would have significantly improved our record from a season ago.

Sources say Phillies to sign Martinez if he passes physical  —  THE SUREST sign that Pedro Martinez will soon wear Phillies red came yesterday when the pitcher himself was scheduled to touch down in Philadelphia in advance of a physical that team sources suggest will take place today.

Lucky Teams  —  At the break and with the official news finally coming in that Manny Acta has been let go in Washington, I decided to take a look at which at which teams have been lucky or unlucky the most so far this season.  Of course, the definition of lucky is going to be pretty subjective to people.

Latos likely to be called up by Padres  —  Club concerned about top pitching prospect's workload  —  SAN DIEGO — On Sunday, Padres manager Bud Black alluded to impending player movement for the second half of the season, saying “... in the next week to 10 days, you're going to see a few new faces.”