Commetary: For Griffey, Mariners, end is near  —  If life were as simple as fiction, the book on Ken Griffey Jr. and the Seattle Mariners would have closed late last summer, with him being carried around Safeco Field on the shoulders of his teammates.  —  Adored by fans, appreciated by one and all …

Nova gets the call  —  Thanks to my pal Tim Bontemps of the New York Post for the heads up on this, but it appears the Yankees are in the market for a starting pitcher again tonight.  —  Ivan Nova, whose regular turn in the rotation would have been yesterday, has been called to New York …

Red Sox salvage the finale  —  When David Ortiz stepped to the plate in the third inning last night, something was missing.  Ortiz had ditched his pink bat, used to promote breast cancer awareness on Mother's Day, picking up his usual lumber.  It seemed an interesting choice.

Perfect game takes GM by surprise  —  Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since Aug. 2005.  He appears weekly on MLB on FOX.  Follow him on Twitter.  —  As usual, Billy Beane was working out.  —  Beane, the A's general manager, always works out at McAfee Coliseum during home games.

TIGERS SWEET ON JACKSON  —  A story was circulating last week that the Yankees traded Austin Jackson to the Tigers for Curtis Granderson because they had soured on the minor league outfielder.  Mike Francessa, the WFAN all-everything expert, probably gave the story its widest circulation.

Rangers performing despite ownership fiasco  —  Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since Aug. 2005.  He appears weekly on MLB on FOX.  Follow him on Twitter.  —  The Angels should be embarrassed if the A's or Rangers win the AL West.  Frankly, the Mariners should be, too.

Sources: MLB to Seize Control of the Texas Rangers This Week  —  UPDATE: See additional information added to this report via the SportsBusiness Journal.  —  According to multiple sources, if the stalemate between Major League Baseball and a group of 40 creditors of Hicks Sports Group …

Which Pitcher is King?  —  OK, class.  While finals are still a week or two away for many colleges, we're going to hit you up with a pop quiz.  —  The stat lines for two active starting pitchers are presented below.  Which pitcher would you take?  Hint: One pitcher is an “innings eater” and the other is a “franchise player.”

Sox shift rotation, Wakefield gets start  —  Terry Francona just dropped some news on us.  Josh Beckett's next start will be on Friday in Detroit of instead of Wednesday against the Blue Jays.  —  Tim Wakefield will be inserted into the rotation to face the Blue Jays on Wednesday.

10 guys who could wind up on trade block  —  Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since Aug. 2005.  He appears weekly on MLB on FOX.  Follow him on Twitter.  —  A few days ago, I spoke with an executive who did not expect the trade market to offer attractive solutions to teams in need.

Hawpe activated, Cargo on bereavement list, no DL for Tulo  —  Carlos Gonzalez was given permission to go on the bereavement list today, allowing the Rockies to avoid a tough roster move.  Brad Hawpe has been activated and takes his spot.  Troy Tulowitzki underwent an MRI on his strained right quad, and it was clean.

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Latin Links: Alderson, Coa, Batista, Pirates  —  The latest from the Caribbean and beyond...  - Sandy Alderson has been doing the rounds stateside to describe his reform efforts in the Dominican Republic.  Aside from last week's lengthy interview with MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez …

Hillman's Last Stand.  —  I know I owe you some vaguely optimistic words about the callups of Mike Aviles and Kila Ka'aihue.  But that will have to wait.  There are times for childish fantasies like gingerbread houses and sugar plums and young Royals with upside, but this is not one of them.