Top News:
Michael S. Schmidt / New York Times:
Ortiz and Ramirez Said to Be on 2003 Doping List — Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz, the sluggers who propelled the Boston Red Sox to end an 86-year World Series championship drought and to capture another title three years later, were among the roughly 100 Major League Baseball players …
Discussion:
Boston Globe, Associated Press, Jeff Schultz, Hardball Times, American Legends, It's About The Money, Can't Stop The Bleeding, Native Intelligence, Fack Youk, Yahoo! Sports, Lady At The Bat, Zell's Pinstripe Blog, Baseball & The Boogie Down, Beyond the Box Score, THE BASEBALL SAVANT, New York Times, Fox Sports, Fire Brand of the …, Philly.com, Projo Sox Blog, Bugs & Cranks, New York Yankees Fan Blog, bronxbanterblog.com, SOX & Dawgs, NESN.com, SPORTSbyBROOKS, Pinstripe Alley, The House That Dewey Built, SawxBlog, sox1fan.com, Twinkie Town, Over the Monster, The Big Lead, Plain Dealer, Oriole Magic, Deadspin, The Fowl Balls, ESPN, Scott Proctor's Arm, The Mighty Quinn Media Machine, Inside the Dodgers, iYankees, THE BOOK, Red Sox Monster, YFSF and Keep Your Sox On
RELATED:
MLB:
Report: Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003 … Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz were among the 104 major league players listed as having tested positive for performance-enhancing substances in 2003, lawyers with knowledge of the results told The New York Times.
Newsday:
Very quick hits: David Ortiz, Omar Minaya and some trade rumblings — Well, this isn't exactly a shocker, right? What are the ramifications? I don't know. Are there any at this point, really? I don't think Ortiz was a serious candidate to be in the Hall of Fame, anyway.
Discussion:
iYankees
Fox Sports:
MLB trade deadline buzz: Thursday's edition — With the July 31 MLB non-waiver trade deadline fast approaching, FOXSports.com baseball reporters Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi have all the latest buzz. All times below are ET. — Rockies prepping for another move?
RELATED:
Bob Elliott / Toronto Sun:
Looking less likely Jays will trade Doc — So if Roy Halladay isn't going to the Philadelphia Phillies, where is he headed? — “How about the Boston Red Sox?” said a disgruntled ex-Blue Jays scout yesterday afternoon. “Toronto could get Clay Buchholz, some prospects and ...
Projo Sox Blog:
Updated: Dodgers now front runners for Halladay — BOSTON _ Late Wednesday night there were two teams in the mix for Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay — the Sox and the Rangers. — Now it appears the Dodgers are in the lead for the right-handed ace. Talks with the Red Sox have calmed down — for now.
Discussion:
The Knobler Blog, Detroit News, MLB Rumors, Bluebird Banter, MLB Daily Dish, Drunk Jays Fans and Redleg Nation
Sean McAdam / Boston Herald:
Red Sox talks go quiet — Source: No contact with Jays — As the non-waiver trade deadline inches closer, the Red Sox [team stats] options are becoming more clear, but last night they were no closer to pulling off the impact deal they were hoping to make.
Ken Davidoff / Newsday:
Yankees cool, but Red Sox desperate for trade — While the Yankees scan the — market for potential bargains, their rivals are looking to make a high-impact trade. — The Red Sox, who have fallen 31/2 games behind the Yankees in the American League East, have tried to revitalize …
Tony Massarotti / Boston Globe:
Analysis: How Halladay, Gonzalez, and Martinez would help the Red Sox
Analysis: How Halladay, Gonzalez, and Martinez would help the Red Sox
Associated Press:
Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Matt Garza plunked Mark Teixeira on purpose — ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Tampa Bay's Matt Garza hit New York Yankees slugger Mark Teixeira with a fifth-inning pitch Wednesday night, then said he did it because he's tired of opposing pitchers throwing at Rays All-Star Evan Longoria.
Discussion:
A Die Hard Yankees Fan, It's About The Money, NY Super Blog, Sliding Into Home, Bronx Baseball Daily and iYankees
RELATED:
Mark Feinsand / NY Daily News:
Garza admits hitting Teixeira on purpose — ST. PETERSBURG - There were no warnings, no bench-clearing incidents and relatively little chatter between the Yankees and Rays Wednesday night, but Rays pitcher Matt Garza made it clear after the game that his fifth-inning pitch that hit Mark Teixeira was not an accident.
Discussion:
My Pinstripes
Marc Hulet / FanGraphs Baseball:
Freddy Sanchez for... Who?! Seriously? — One of the most enjoyable parts of writing for a site like Fangraphs is “hearing” the banter between writers behind the scenes. After news broke of the Pittsburgh-San Francisco deal that saw second baseman Freddy Sanchez head from the Pirates to the Giants …
Discussion:
FJB, Oleanders and Morning Glories, Walkoff Walk, Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness, MLB Daily Dish and True Blue LA
RELATED:
Steve Kornacki / MLive.com:
DETROIT TIGERS BASEBALL — Yankees interested in Josh Anderson trade with Tigers — ARLINGTON, Texas — Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland confirmed today that the New York Yankees have interest in outfielder Josh Anderson, whom Detroit has 10 days since Friday to assign to another team via trade …
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports, Bless You Boys, The Knobler Blog, Trade Talk, Yankees N More, iYankees and Sliding Into Home
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Santana, Mets jolt Rockies, notch fifth straight win — NEW YORK (AP) — Johan Santana (FSY) threw seven sharp innings Thursday and the streaking New York Mets won their fifth straight game, beating the Colorado Rockies 7-0 in the opener of a day-night doubleheader.
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports
RELATED:
Troy E. Renck / Denver Post:
Mets blank Rockies in first game of doubleheader
Mets blank Rockies in first game of doubleheader
Discussion:
Faith and Fear in Flushing
Joel Sherman / Hardball:
3 UP: WANG, JOBA AND PATTERSON — Yes, I am on Twitter. — 1. There were a lot of things that Chien-Ming Wang was not such as effective in the postseason or the kind of strikeout artist who engenders awe or healthy for the past year. Because of that his loss for the rest of the year has not caused much of a stir.
Discussion:
River Avenue Blues, MLB Rumors, The Fowl Balls, The Yankee Universe, Sliding Into Home and MetsBlog.com
Peter Botte / NY Daily News:
Carlos Beltran's return to mets still 2-to-3 weeks away — Carlos Beltran suddenly is optimistic he can return to the Mets within 2-to-3 weeks after taking another round of batting practice Wednesday. But the star center fielder admitted he won't know for sure until he is able …
Discussion:
24 Hours From Suicide
RELATED:
Joel Sherman / Hardball:
THE YANKS AND WASHBURN — Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik sounds like an executive stuck in the middle. His brain tells him that his club is just not good enough to make the playoffs this year while his heart keeps creating scenarios in which somehow they sneak in.
Associated Press:
Johnson's broken foot adds to Cubs' injury woes — CHICAGO (AP) — It's been a painful month for the Chicago Cubs, and outfielder Reed Johnson (FSY) only added to the hurt. — Johnson, who's been platooning in center field with Kosuke Fukudome, (FSY) could be out for at least a month after fracturing his left foot Wednesday.