Top News:
Mark Newman / MLB.com:
Youk moves ahead of Swish; Votto still leads — Races remain close with two days left in Final Vote balloting — Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis caught and passed right fielder Nick Swisher of the rival Yankees for the American League lead, while Major League home run co-leader Joey Votto …
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Mark Sheldon / MLB.com:
Reds go all out in ‘Vote Votto’ campaign — Team mobilizes to help get first baseman on All-Star team — NEW YORK — Within moments of first baseman Joey Votto being named as a candidate in the 2010 All-Star Final Vote, the Reds mobilized faster than any political campaign for a government post could ever hope to do.
MLB:
Six players commit to the 2010 All-Star Home Run Derby — Six All-Star players have committed to participate in the 2010 State Farm Home Run Derby, Major League Baseball announced Tuesday. — Representing the American League are the Red Sox's David Ortiz, the Tigers' Miguel Cabrera …
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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.
Chad Jennings / The LoHud Yankees Blog:
Get off my mound, and my back — A t-shirt has caused quite the uproar here in Oakland, and believe it or not, Dallas Braden wants no part of it. I wasn't in the A's clubhouse when Braden talked to a few reporters last night, but apparently his message was simple.
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Mark Feinsand / Blogging The Bombers:
Braden T-shirt not popular with A's players
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New Jersey Online
Jerry Crasnick / ESPN:
Mariners keeping mum on Cliff Lee — But MLB insiders expect former Cy Young winner to be traded before deadline … If you're looking for hints on Seattle pitcher Cliff Lee's next destination, they won't be coming from the horse's mouth. Right around the time Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan …
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Marc Topkin / St. Petersburg Times:
Sternberg: “Money won't be an object” for in-season additions — Rays prinicipal owner Stuart Sternberg just said “money won't be an object” in making in-season additions to bolster the team's bid to make the playoffs. — Sternberg didn't quite fully open the team checkbook, saying money would …
Associated Press:
Colorado Rockies' Jhoulys Chacin sent to bullpen as Jorge De La Rosa readies to return — DENVER — Jorge De La Rosa is returning to the Colorado Rockies' rotation and that means Jhoulys Chacin is headed to the bullpen. — De La Rosa — De La Rosa — De La Rosa (3-1, 3.91 ERA) …
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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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Peter Abraham / Boston Globe:
Live-blogging the Beckett sim game — Josh Beckett is about to get to work here at Tropicana Field. He'll be facing five players from the GCL Red Sox and maybe Jeremy Hermida, too. — Stay tuned for reports here. — UPDATE, 2:20 p.m.: Hermida is hitting first.
Nick Cafardo / Boston Globe:
Sox looking for relief — Red Sox scouts have been scouring the big leagues looking for a possible match to add to their bullpen, according to major league sources, but don't be surprised if they now look within, with news they are moving Pawtucket starter Michael Bowden to the bullpen.
Duk / Yahoo! Sports:
The time a Nolan Ryan rookie card was mistakenly sold for $12 — It's one of the controversial stories I remember most from my childhood. — Back in 1990, in a baseball card shop just a few Chicago suburbs over from where I grew up, a 13-year-old named Bryan Wrzesinski bought …
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David Golebiewski / FanGraphs Baseball:
Curtis Granderson's BABIP — New York Yankees center fielder Curtis Granderson is in the midst of his fifth full season in the major leagues. After performing at roughly a league-average clip at the plate in 2006 (.333 wOBA), Granderson went on to crush the ball in 2007 and 2008.
Associated Press:
Rockies ace Ubaldo Jimenez hits some speed bumps — DENVER — Ubaldo has taken a U-turn. — Colorado ace Ubaldo Jimenez is off to the best start in this “Year of the Pitcher,” with a 14-1 record and a 2.27 ERA. He's the odds-on favorite to get the ball for the NL in the All-Star game …
Ian Begley / ESPN:
New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes returns to the lineup on Tuesday night — NEW YORK — Shortstop Jose Reyes will return to the New York Mets' lineup on Tuesday against the Cincinnati Reds, after missing the last six games with an injured right oblique. — Reyes tweaked his oblique …
