This sets the stage for something big  —  Admit it.  With the Red Sox interested in acquiring a hitter, you had visions of Victor Martinez, Adrian Gonzalez, or Nick Johnson.  General manager Theo Epstein probably did as well.  —  Adam LaRoche probably wasn't on your radar.

Madden: Minaya should investigate how fast he can fire Tony  —  I'm going to make this easy for Omar Minaya, who more and more is coming off looking oblivious to the punk that is his VP of player development, Tony Bernazard.  —  There's no need for any investigation here.  Fire the guy and fire him now.

Rockies acquire Betancourt for Class-A pitcher Graham  —  DENVER — The Rockies have acquired reliever Rafael Betancourt to the Rockies for Class-A pitcher Connor Graham, according to a major league source.  —  Graham had been pitching well for Modesto, but the Rockies need big-league relief help.

Former Sox pitcher Jim Parque confesses: Why I juiced  —  Former Sox pitcher Jim Parque says he's sorry he juiced, but he wants to ask you one question: What would you have done?  —  I'm Jim Parque, former major-league pitcher, and I took human growth hormone.

Buehrle completes perfect game to throttle Rays  —  CHICAGO — Mark Buehrle pitched the first perfect game in the major leagues in five years Thursday and Chicago White Sox center fielder DeWayne Wise got the assist.  —  Buehrle (11-3) got a great catch from center fielder Wise leading off …

MLB trade: St. Louis Cardinaks, Oakland Athletics talking Matt Holliday trade  —  The St. Louis Cardinals and Oakland Athletics have been talking about a possible swap of All-Star outfielder Matt Holliday and top prospect Brett Wallace, according to sources, and one person familiar with the talks places the odds of a deal at 50-50.

Doc: Waiting for Reds' plan  —  My Pittsburgh Pirates just traded their cleanup hitter to the Boston Red Sox, for a couple bus riders.  The Pirates are good at this, the best in the business.  Since last July, they've traded five everyday players, for lots of bus people known best by their mothers.

Marlins lineup erratic, especially at top  —  SAN DIEGO - Until Chris Coghlan's two-run homer in the ninth inning Wednesday it appeared the Marlins were headed for their third consecutive game of scoring three runs.  This after getting shut out in two of three against the Phillies last weekend.

10 Marketing Issues for Major League Baseball  —  Leave the television on long enough, and at some point, you'll see a star athlete plugging products.  Whether it's Dwayne Wade, Tiger Woods, the Williams sisters, Danica Patrick, or Brett Favre, you'll bump into them on the dial.

Yanks dispatch O's for sixth straight win  —  Four-run first inning enough for Burnett to close out sweep  —  NEW YORK — If the back-to-back home runs that Brian Bruney served up to Adam Jones and Nick Markakis in the ninth inning on Wednesday meant anything, it was this — the Yankees are not perfect.

Yankee Stadium may host bowl games … Could these Army games at the new Yankee Stadium be a prelude to a much bigger college football game at the House that George Built?  —  The Daily News has learned that there have been discussions between the NCAA and high-ranking Yankee officials …

Moore has no doubt that Royals are on the right track for long-term success  —  General manager Dayton Moore surveys the growing wreckage of a season gone wrong and remains undaunted in his belief — in his certainty — the Royals are poised for eventual long-term success as an organization.

Biggest myths about the trade deadline  —  Plus the latest on Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and other potential trade chips  —  If it's the third week of July, you know what that means:  —  Your air conditioner is about to break down in the next 30 seconds, of course.  —  But that's not all it means.

Harmon Killebrew, in rare display of anger, takes a swing at drug cheats  —  Manny Ramirez was back in the Los Angeles Dodgers' lineup on July 3 after a 50-game suspension for being a drug cheat.  On Monday night, he hit the fourth home run since his return.

Is the Craig Biggio the 35th Greatest Player Ever?  —  I have been doing some work on Negro League history and was looking at the all time rankings in the last Bill James's Historical Abstract.  I saw Craig Biggio ranked as the 35th greatest player of all time using his formula of peak years, total production and other intangibles.

Two runs in ninth have Astros one game out  —  Tejada's walk-off hit caps sweep of first-place Cardinals  —  HOUSTON — When the Astros went into the ninth inning Wednesday night trailing by a run and facing a closer who had blown only one save all season, they still had a belief …