Walker eager to begin professional career  —  ARLINGTON — A text message from his high school coach on Monday evening was music to the ears of 17-year-old Taijuan Walker, so he danced the night away.  —  That's how the right-handed pitcher from Yucaipa (Calif.) High School celebrated …

MLB Draft Analysis: Red Sox Big Winners  —  The Boston Red Sox do a lot of things well as an organization.  Drafting is one of those things, and they had a stellar day to kick off the 2010 MLB Draft.  As for the rest of the proceedings, it was an unusual day to say the least, with plenty of shockers among the early picks.

Harper happy to move to outfield … WASHINGTON (AP) — Bryce Harper is more than fine with the Washington Nationals making him a full-time right fielder.  —  “I'm pretty stoked about that,” Harper said on a conference call Tuesday.  “Whatever the team wants, whatever it needs, it's up to the team.”

Discussion: Jeff Suppan  —  Jeff Suppan is a free agent now, after being released by the Brewers with over $10MM remaining on his contract.  Suppan's new team would be on the hook for only the pro-rated league minimum.  The righty is projected by ZiPS to post a 5.40 ERA from here on out.

This Is Pete Rose's Corked Bat  —  You're looking at an X-ray of a Mizuno PR4192 bat, commissioned by Pete Rose specifically for his 1985 chase of baseball's all-time hits record.  Inside, clear as day, is a piece of foreign material, about 6 inches long, and the diameter of a nickel.

CAIN PITCHES SHUTOUT AS GIANTS HANDLE REDS  —  The Sports Network  —  Cincinnati, OH (Sports Network) - Matt Cain pitched the fourth shutout of his career as the San Francisco Giants topped the Cincinnati Reds, 3-0, in the second installment of a four-game series.

PHILLY OFFENCE COMES ALIVE IN WIN OVER MARLINS  —  The Sports Network  —  Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Ben Francisco's two-run single in the eighth proved to be the game-winner as the Philadelphia bats finally awoke with a 10-8 win over Florida in the first of a three-game set.

Niemann mows down Jays  —  Toronto's bats fall silent in 9-0 drubbing  —  No need to worry about the bullpen this time around.  —  Tampa Bay Rays starter Jeff Niemann refused to let the contest get that far.  —  The towering 6-foot-9 hurler cut down the vaunted Toronto Blue Jays offence with ease …

Heyward surges toward lead in NL outfield  —  Braves rookie leaps to second place, close to Brewers' Braun  —  The hype that surrounded Jason Heyward as he approached his first year in the big leagues was massive, stunning, and at times unfair.  But the Braves' slugging right fielder is having a solid rookie season.

Pirates Notebook: Players shrug off Strasburg  —  If this is the day Major League Baseball has been anticipating all summer, the debut of Washington phenom Stephen Strasburg, then it also is the day the Pirates have been anticipating ... well, not much at all, actually.

Video clip from Philadelphia Phillies game appears to show young boy drinking from beer bottle  —  PHILADELPHIA — A video snippet from a Philadelphia Phillies broadcast appears to show a little boy in the stands taking a drink from a beer bottle, but the team thinks it was probably empty.

Weathers willing  —  The Reds haven't made the call, but I did.  David Weathers would be willing to try to make a come back.  —  “That's the one place I wanted to play,” he said.  “Once I got traded and I knew they probably weren't going to bring back, I thought that was it.  That's not a ploy.