Top News:
Marc Topkin / St. Petersburg Times:
Tampa Bay Rays' B.J. Upton surprised, disappointed to be benched for matchup reasons — ST. PETERSBURG — Manager Joe Maddon had his reasons for not starting CF B.J. Upton on Monday, primarily Upton's 1-for-13 career mark against Boston's Daisuke Matsuzaka compared with four other Rays who Maddon felt needed to play.
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Associated Press:
Rays erase four-run deficit to put away Red Sox — ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Timely hitting and another stellar job by the bullpen. After a rough June, the Tampa Bay Rays seem to be getting their act together again. — “ I like the way we're playing,” manager Joe Maddon …
Fox Sports:
Twins may go all out to land Lee — 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. — In the past, the Twins never would have traded a prospect as good as Single-A outfielder Aaron Hicks …
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Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
Cliff Lee Rumors: Monday
Cliff Lee Rumors: Monday
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com, Twins Insider, HardballTalk, U.S.S. Mariner, MLB Daily Dish, Cincinnati Reds and River Avenue Blues
Bryan Hoch / MLB.com:
Swisher has early AL Final Vote lead — Outfielder trying to win last roster spot for All-Star Game — OAKLAND — Nick Swisher heard the buzz spilling from his Bleacher Creatures in right field at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, shortly after Major League Baseball announced nearly all of the participants …
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Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
All-Star attitude has Zimmerman in Final Vote
T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com:
Stats affirm why Young should win Final Vote
Nick Cafardo / Boston Globe:
Catcher Martinez hasn't received call from team — ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It's a familiar scene before Red Sox games. Victor Martinez shagging flies in the outfield, and watching his son, Victor Jose Martinez, and Little Papi (D'Angelo Ortiz), chasing each other around.
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Andrew Baggarly / Extra Baggs:
POSTGAME NOTES: Sabean has an eye on Brewers, Posey wrist update, notes on Huff, Renteria, Ishikawa, etc. — There's a lot of stealth activity at the July 31 trade deadline, and for us beat reporters, that means a whole Chinese province full of tea leaves to read.
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Mark Feinsand / NY Daily News:
Former Alex Rodriguez foe Dallas Braden appalled by Oakland's ‘Get Off My Mound’ T-shirts — OAKLAND - Robinson Cano broke out a “Get Off My Mound” T-shirt in the visiting trainer's room before Monday night's game, causing an eruption of laughter inside the Yankees' clubhouse.
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Andrew Marchand / ESPN:
Oakland A's are selling T-shirts to keep up Dallas Braden-Alex Rodriguez feud
Oakland A's are selling T-shirts to keep up Dallas Braden-Alex Rodriguez feud
Discussion:
NESN.com
Pantagraph:
Ex-Cardinal Dmitri Young jailed in Bloomington — BLOOMINGTON — Former major league baseball player Dmitri Young was arrested by McLean County Sheriff's Department police early Monday on preliminary charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana.
Discussion:
Fanhouse MLB Blog
NY Daily News:
Madden: Ace stuff not there for Pelfrey — For the Mets, it's been kind of a season of mini-seasons, beginning with that 4-8 start that didn't include Ike Davis and certainly didn't bode well for the summer of opportunity it's become. — After that, there was the 9-1 first long home stand …
Associated Press:
Halladay fires five-hitter as Phils gain on Braves — PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Nearly an hour after going the distance again, Roy Halladay walked over to reporters with ice on his arm and sweat dripping from his forehead. — Maybe it's his postgame workouts that make Halladay such a workhorse on the mound.
Discussion:
Blogging Baseball, The Good Phight, Talking Chop, Phillies Nation, Yahoo! Sports and Associated Press
Woody Paige / Denver Post:
Dealin' Dan flipped over Rox's future — Dealin' Dan has made 106 trades in 11 years. — Daniel J. O'Dowd's office at Coors Field should be called Bartertown. On Jan. 14, 2000, the Rockies' new general manager pulled off his first deal — sending pitchers Lariel Gonzalez and Bobby Jones to the Mets for pitcher Masato Yoshii.
Andrew Pentis / MLB.com:
Ramirez returns as Soriano, Lee rest — PHOENIX — Cubs skipper Lou Piniella's Monday lineup featured the return of one slugger but the absence of two others. — Third baseman Aramis Ramirez, who did not play Saturday or Sunday after aggravating his sprained left thumb …