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 Cardinals, 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.

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.

Halladay not interested in extension  —  Blue Jays ace plans to test open market after 2010 season  —  TORONTO — Before this season began, general manager J.P. Ricciardi made it known that the Blue Jays had no plans to trade Roy Halladay.  If anything, the team was going to try to work …

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.

Wang's right shoulder not improving  —  Yanks to discuss results of righty's visit with doctor  —  NEW YORK — Chien-Ming Wang is concerned that his 2009 season may be over, having sought a second opinion as he continues to feel discomfort in his right shoulder.

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.

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.

If Yanks do make a deal, it's for a hurler  —  Rotation thinned out by emergence of Aceves, Hughes  —  NEW YORK — The Yankees made a calculated gamble in poaching starting pitchers Alfredo Aceves and Phil Hughes for their bullpen, one that has helped them become a first-place club while also leaving a lack of depth.

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.

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.

Chicago Cubs still looking to shake-and-stir the team  —  But don't expect any big deals before trading deadline  —  When Lou Piniella practically pleaded for a “couple more hitters at this trading deadline” Tuesday, it was probably more the irritability of an impatient manager than anything based in reality.

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.

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.

Calf injury sends Astros' Berkman to disabled list  —  It wasn't his idea, but Astros slugger Lance Berkman understood Thursday when general manager Ed Wade told him he was going to be placed on the 15-day disabled list with a Grade-2 strain in his left calf.

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.