A's acquire Jackson from D-backs  —  Arizona gets reliever Demel in return for 28-year-old outfielder  —  BOSTON — The D-backs and A's completed a trade Tuesday that sent outfielder Conor Jackson to Oakland and Minor League pitcher Sam Demel to Arizona.  —  Jackson, 28, was hitting .238 …

Buck's homers, Hill's doubles carry Blue Jays  —  SAN DIEGO—John Buck homered twice and Aaron Hill had three doubles and three RBIs to lead the Toronto Blue Jays to a 6-3 win over the San Diego Padres on Monday night as Jon Garland struggled on three days' rest.

Yankees' Long-Forgotten Mascot  —  The biggest bust in Yankees history was 7 feet tall, made $40 every home game and spent most of his brief career in the upper deck.  —  From 1979 to 1981, the Yankees employed a mascot named Dandy.  He was big and blue and a spectacular failure …

See you soon: Pedro Alvarez  —  I missed some big call ups last week while moving from Minnesota to Washington D.C. I did stop by my ancestral home near Philadelphia long enough to drop by Citizen's Bank Park and watch Roy Halladay dominate the Marlins (and lose, kudos Josh Johnson).

The Trade Market For Kosuke Fukudome And Ryan Theriot  —  10:28pm: Morosi and Ken Rosenthal provided a Fukudome update on the FOX Sports MLB Buzz page.  They note that the Nationals are on Fukudome's no-trade list, but the Yankees and Red Sox aren't.  New York and Boston aren't known …

Pujols absorbs throw to head as Cards whip M's  —  ST. LOUIS (AP) — Albert Pujols has a souvenir from the St. Louis Cardinals' latest victory: a good-sized welt on the left side of his neck.  —  The three-time NL MVP took one off the noggin on a perfect day at the plate …

Jones to announce he's likely leaning to retirement after 2010  —  Chipper Jones is meeting today with Braves manager Bobby Cox and general manager Frank Wren to discuss his future with the organization and plans to address the media afterward, likely to announce his retirement at the end of the 2010 season …

Buzz: M's & Mets talk Lee, Seattle likes Jon Niese  —  ...from what i can gather, the Mets and Mariners have talked quite a lot about LHP Cliff Lee, however the M's continue to press for Jon Niese, who the Mets have little interest in trading... in fact, i've heard from people who know the M's …

Burrell homers again in Giants win over Orioles  —  SAN FRANCISCO—Pat Burrell homered for the second time in four days, Freddy Sanchez drove in four runs and the San Francisco Giants beat the Baltimore Orioles 10-2 on Monday night.  —  Jonathan Sanchez pitched 7 2-3 innings for the Giants, allowing two runs and eight hits.

Alex Gordon is apparently too good for the Royals  —  Alex Gordon has been destroying Triple-A pitching since his demotion last month, hitting .359 with 10 homers and a 1.128 OPS in 38 games.  He ranks second among Pacific Coast League hitters in batting average (.359), on-base percentage …

MANNY AND PAPI: THE MYTHS AND MAGIC OF A ONCE DYNAMIC DUO  —  Manny Ramirez is coming back to Boston and the process will start all over again for David Ortiz.  —  Manny often times wouldn't talk about Manny.  So many times it was expected that Ortiz would do the talking for him.

Jackson hits for cycle and game-winner too  —  DAYTONA BEACH — Brett Jackson had the type of game Monday night that most players can only dream about.  —  The Daytona Cubs' all-star center fielder hit for the cycle, finishing in dramatic fashion with a two-run walk-off homer in the 11th inning …

Angels have different options at first base  —  Team has plenty of players to fill in for the injured Kendry Morales, but it's the quality and not the quantity that might be a concern.  —  Utility player Robb Quinlan takes the throw at first base on a pickoff attempt of Dodgers catcher Russell Martin …

Once a treasured commodity of teams, baseballs become an everyday giveaway for fans at ballparks  —  It was a surreal scene: the burly father in a Mets T-shirt, accompanying his 3-year-old, being booed by the Citi Field faithful.  His transgression?  Reaching in front of a 10-year-old fan …

Yankees' Brett Gardner will use protective ring on thumb for rest of season  —  NEW YORK — Every time he's swung the bat since spraining his left thumb last week in Baltimore, Yankees left fielder Brett Gardner has used a protective plastic ring that fits around his thumb.

BOX SCORE  —  Much can change between now and the July 31 non-waiver trading deadline, but manager Jerry Manuel indicated he isn't campaigning for the Mets to add a starting pitcher.  —  Manuel pointed to the fact Nos. 4 and 5 starters, R.A. Dickey and Hisanori Takahashi, are a combined 9-2.