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 …

Alvarez could be joining Bucs this week  —  PITTSBURGH — Pedro Alvarez hit cleanup for the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians on Tuesday night in what some are speculating could be the third baseman's final Minor League appearance.  And if it's not Alvarez's last, it is one of the remaining few.

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 …

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 …

Braun-Heyward race for votes razor-thin  —  Brewers slugger leads by fewer than 3,000; Pujols leads overall  —  Perhaps the National League starting lineup for the 81st All-Star Game is beginning to solidify itself, but while the leaders did not change in Tuesday's update of fan balloting, some races remain up for grabs.

Quake shakes Jays, Padres at PETCO  —  Player reaction ranges from ‘freaky’ to ‘fun’ on 5.7 temblor  —  SAN DIEGO — Depending on where you stood or sat on Monday at PETCO Park, the 5.7-magnitude earthquake that sent a ripple through the downtown stadium was either a big deal …

Tulo back in the lineup  —  MINNEAPOLIS — Troy Tulowitzki is back in the Rockies' lineup after missing two games over the weekend with a strained right groin.  —  Tulowitzki could have played Sunday, but manager Jim Tracy didn't want to risk Tulowitzki aggravating the injury on the wet turf at Coors Field.

Atlanta Braves' Chipper Jones to meet with team officials, then make announcement  —  ATLANTA — Struggling through another disappointing season, Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones told The Associated Press that he was meeting with team officials Tuesday to discuss his future and acknowledged that he's considering retirement.

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 …

Stark: New exciting chapter beginning for Washington Nationals  —  Strasburg's arrival, other changes breathing new life into once-moribund franchise  —  WASHINGTON — It was barely more than a week ago.  It seems like about a century.  —  It seems like it because the Washington Nationals …

Braves armed for a fight in NL East  —  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.  —  If pitching depth is the determining factor in the National League East, the Braves will be awfully difficult to beat.

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.

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.