Rickey, Rice take rightful places in Hall  —  Pair joins baseball's elite on grand stage at Cooperstown  —  COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice stood on the same stage as baseball's all-time greats on Sunday, taking their rightful place among them as the newest inductees into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Dodgers, Indians Deny Reports About Lee, Martinez Talks  —  4:31pm: Kevin Baxter of the LA Times quotes a Dodgers executive saying there is “less than zero truth” to the rumors regarding the trade.  —  4:26pm: Rosenthal now says that both clubs have “strongly denied” the previous reports …

July 26: Pirates (43-54) @ D-backs (42-56); Yanks scouting Snell  —  First some new news on the trade front...  There may not be any biggest discussion/dilemma in the Pirates' front office right now than about what to do with Ian Snell.  One month ago, the right-hander asked for a demotion to Triple-A …

Game 98: Athletics at Yankees (updates with Gardner going on disabled list)  —  YANKEES (59-38)  —  Pitching: RHP Sergio Mitre (1-0, 4.76).  —  NOTES: Thanks to Ernie Palladino for calling in the lineup. ...  The 1:05 p.m. game is on YES. ...  Oakland is starting LHP Dallas Braden (7-8, 3.40). ...

Vultures are circling to pick up the veteran Mariners pieces of this ruined weekend  —  OK, so maybe that photo above does show a bunch of seagulls.  But they might as well be vultures.  This Mariners team just left its 2009 season dead and buried where the 2009 playoffs are concerned.

MLB trade: Blue Jays reject latest offer for Roy Halladay  —  The Blue Jays have rejected the Phillies' latest offer for Roy Halladay, a source familiar with the two teams' discussions told ESPN.com.  —  On Saturday — after the Phillies informed Toronto they would not agree to a proposal …

Sources: Hurdles to Boston Red Sox deal for Adrian Gonzalez  —  Rival teams continue to call the San Diego Padres about the availability of All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez with a little less than 120 hours remaining before the trade deadline, and the Red Sox are among those clubs …

White Sox 5, Tigers 1  —  DETROIT (AP) — Paul Konerko hit a two-run homer in Chicago's four-run first, Gordon Beckham added a solo home run the next inning and the White Sox coasted to a 5-1 win Sunday night over the Detroit Tigers and avoided a sweep.  —  Clayton Richard (4-3) …

Royals' Pena Jr. being moved from shortstop to pitcher  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Tony Pena Jr. has hit like a pitcher for the past two years, so the Kansas City Royals plan to convert him to one.  —  Pena, who was the Royals' shortstop on opening day in 2007 and 2008 …

Angels' eight-game streak halted by Twins rookie Swarzak  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Justin Morneau (FSY) hit two homers, rookie Anthony Swarzak (FSY) shut down the Angels' potent lineup with 6 2-3 strong innings, and the Minnesota Twins ended Los Angeles' eight-game winning streak with a 10-1 victory Sunday.

Dmitri done for season (maybe forever)  —  It looks like Dmitri Young's career, which reached such inspiring heights two years ago with the Nationals, has come to an end under upsetting circumstances.  —  Young, who has been on rehab with Class AA Harrisburg all month …

BoSox involved in Halladay talks and more  —  When a team has deep coffers and a strong farm system, there are many alternatives from which to choose in late July.

A little more information on Wang  —  Here's an update on Chien-Ming Wang:  —  When he got the second MRI on Tuesday, it revealed a possible rotator-cuff tear.  The question is whether it's a new injury or scar tissue from the operation he had back in 2000.