Red Sox Pay Tribute to Steinbrenner at Fenway  —  BOSTON — Baseball's schedule-makers create any number of twists in the course of a season.  But on Thursday, they unintentionally outdid themselves.  The Red Sox returned to action after the All-Star break one day before the Yankees …

Ramirez, Cubs clobber Phillies  —  The Sports Network  —  Chicago, IL (Sports Network) - Aramis Ramirez wiped the slate clean from a dreadful first half, driving in four to set the tone of Chicago's 12-6 victory over Philadelphia in the first of four games at Wrigley Field.

Carpenter sharp, Cardinals beat Dodgers 7-1  —  ST. LOUIS—Chris Carpenter allowed four hits in eight innings to improve to 6-0 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the St. Louis Cardinals chased an off-kilter Clayton Kershaw in the fifth inning of a 7-1 victory Thursday night.

Giants ink Willis to Minor League deal  —  SAN FRANCISCO — In the midst of a year in which he had already been designated for assignment by two teams before the All-Star break, Dontrelle Willis was ready to sit out the remainder of the 2010 season.  —  Then, the Giants came calling …

Words don't hurt Ozzie  —  Guillen takes no offense to Williams' dig about fighting  —  MINNEAPOLIS — Leave it to White Sox general manager Ken Williams to turn a mundane pregame clubhouse into a Jerry Springer audience.  —  Appearing on ESPN's “Pardon the Interruption” on Thursday afternoon …

Raissman: Waldman won Boss over  —  Yankees radio announcer Suzyn Waldman cultivated unique relationship with owner George Steinbrenner  —  Prior to her time with John Sterling in the Yankees' radio booth, Suzyn Waldman worked for WFAN, which is where her relationship with George Steinbrenner (b.) got its start.

White Sox win ninth straight, edge Twins  —  The Sports Network  —  Minneapolis, MN (Sports Network) - Gordon Beckham hit a solo home run and drove in two as the Chicago White Sox took an 8-7 win over the Minnesota Twins to begin the second half of the season.

Lincecum, Giants shut down Mets 2-0  —  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Tim Lincecum pitched a six-hitter for his fourth career shutout and Pablo Sandoval hit an RBI double to help the San Francisco Giants open the second half of the season with a 2-0 victory over the New York Mets on Thursday night.

What Do We Really Know About Defense?  —  Occasionally, I get asked—what's going on with my attempts to make a defensive metric?  I started off working on a Loess-based defensive metric, and then efforts just stalled.  —  It's a fair question, and one that's harder to answer …

Sneeze lands Latos on disabled list  —  SAN DIEGO — Mat Latos said Thursday that he has learned a valuable lesson — the next time he has to sneeze, he'll go ahead and let it fly.  —  Latos, who is tied for third in the National League with 10 victories, will be placed on the 15-day disabled list …

Orioles' dismal 1st half: ‘A giant step backward’  —  BALTIMORE (AP) -A wretched first half has taken much of the mystery out of the 2010 season for the Baltimore Orioles.  —  The possibility of securing a winning record for the first time in 13 years ended with a 2-16 start …

Phillies Notes: Amaro is hard-pressed to find an arm  —  Ruben Amaro Jr. said he would continue to search for pitching help during the final two weeks before the July 31 trade deadline, but the Phillies' general manager admitted he is not that optimistic about getting a deal done.

Why You Can Go for the Gold Ball and the Silver Trophy  —  Home Run Derbies have been around in some form for many years, but it officially became part of the All-Star Game festivities in 1985.  Since then, hitters have frequently blamed the Derby for messing up their swings.