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Mark Newman / MLB.com:
Votto, Swisher win tight Final Vote — The American and National Leagues have added a couple of booming bats to their bench Tuesday in Anaheim with the addition of Nick Swisher and Joey Votto, now that fans have spoken in the four-day All-Star Final Vote Sponsored by Sprint. — 2010 All-Stars
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Mark Newman / MLB.com:
Ultra-tight AL race rages on; Votto tops NL — Swisher barely ahead of Youkilis as Final Vote heads to finish — With fewer than seven hours remaining, Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher held the slimmest of leads over Kevin Youkilis of the rival Red Sox in a race that is shaping …
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Peter Abraham / Boston Globe:
Swisher in, Youkilis out — Nick Swisher of the Yankees won the Final Vote over Kevin Youkilis in what was the tightest margin in the nine-year history of the contest. — According to MLB, Swisher had 9.8 million votes to finish just ahead of Youkilis. Paul Konerko of the White Sox …
Jon Heyman / Sports Illustrated:
M's target big-time prospects for Lee — The Rays, Twins, Rangers, Phillies, Yankees, Reds and Mets are among the 12 to 15 teams that have inquired about star Mariners left-handed pitcher Cliff Lee, and Seattle is said to be targeting big-time prospects in return, such as Yankees' catching …
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Larry Stone / Seattle Times:
Don't be surprised if Zduriencik does something surprising …
Don't be surprised if Zduriencik does something surprising …
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Anthony McCarron / NY Daily News:
New York Mets catching prospect Josh Thole not bothered by trade …
New York Mets catching prospect Josh Thole not bothered by trade …
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Canadian Press:
CECIL, 5 HOMERS, CARRY JAYS TO CONSECUTIVE WINS OVER TWINS — TORONTO — Strong starting pitching, home runs aplenty, back-to-back wins and a series victory are all things the Toronto Blue Jays have been missing over the past 2 1-2 mostly putrid weeks. — So after blasting …
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Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
Jays To Sign Thon For $1.5MM, Cenas For $700K — The Blue Jays have agreed to sign fifth-round pick Dickie Thon for $1.5MM, according to ESPN.com's Keith Law. Now that the Blue Jays have pried Thon away from his commitment to Rice, they have agreed to sign six of their top ten selections …
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Sam Donnellon / Philly.com:
No panic yet from Phillies, but should there be? — LAST NIGHT, on “Daily News Live,” on Comcast SportsNet, Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. twice mentioned a lack of “urgency” in the DNA of this year's club, saying the healthy regulars who still inhabit the first five spots of the team's lineup need to find some, and fast.
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Associated Press:
Crawford homers twice, Rays beat Indians 5-2 — ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—Carl Crawford hit a pair of two-run homers, Wade Davis stopped his six-game winless streak and the surging Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Indians 5-2 on Thursday night. — Tampa Bay went ahead 2-1 on Crawford's two-run shot in the first inning.
Chicago Tribune:
Cubs preparing for trade market, sources say — Owners expected to address media soon to assess club's direction — Several baseball sources have confirmed to us that the Cubs are ramping up their efforts in the trade market to start clearing the books of cumbersome salaries.
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MLB Rumors
Steve Henson / Yahoo! Sports:
Same youth team produced Strasburg, Leake — During a national youth tournament a decade ago in suffocating August heat, hard-throwing 11-year-old Stephen Strasburg melted down. A couple of hits, an error and a wild pitch caused emotions to well up and explode.
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Thomas Boswell / Washington Post:
Nats' future rotation offers multiple choices, elusive answers — The Washington Nationals' pitching rotation of the future is about to arrive. It's coming in a hurry and in waves, one crashing on top of the other, over the next two to five weeks. In all, the Nats have 11 pitchers …
Joe Capozzi / Fish Tank:
Joe Torre impressed with Florida Marlins rookie Mike Stanton; Hanley Ramirez may take Home run Derby swings — The Marlins, who went from 70-degree temps in Los Angeles to triple-digits in Phoenix today, hope that Mike Stanton's bat stays hot. — Dodgers manager Joe Torre praised …
TSN.ca:
GIANTS TAKE BROOMS TO BREWERS FOR FIRST TIME — The Sports Network — Milwaukee, WI (Sports Network) - Aubrey Huff hit a two-run homer and knocked in four, as the San Francisco Giants finished off a four-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers with a 9-3 win at Miller Park.
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Scott Merkin / MLB.com:
Ozzie not big on Twitter anymore — CHICAGO — Remember the hoopla surrounding Ozzie Guillen's entrance into the world of Twitter? Well, the White Sox manager doesn't seem to have the same affection for the resource as he did in Spring Training. — “I'm tired of Twitter.
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