They have their work cut out now  —  Sitting in his box on Level 3 of Fenway Park, overlooking the field where his ball club got pounded, 7-2, by the Rangers last night, Red Sox owner John Henry pondered the immediate future of the local nine.  —  “We have to survive July and all these road games coming up,” said Henry.

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 …

Romero leads Blue Jays over Orioles 4-2  —  BALTIMORE—Ricky Romero allowed five hits in seven innings, Aaron Hill homered and the Toronto Blue Jays ended the Baltimore Orioles' four-game winning streak with a 4-2 victory Friday night.  —  Fred Lewis had two hits and scored twice for the Blue Jays …

With prize Lee gone, assessing the trade market for pitchers … With star left-hander Cliff Lee, the clear prize of this trading season, now off the board and a Texas Ranger, here are the best of the rest among the available, semi-available and perhaps available pitchers.

Ramirez's late solo shot rallies Cubs past Phillies  —  CHICAGO (AP) — Aramis Ramirez homered with two outs in the bottom of the eighth Friday for his third hit of the game and the Chicago Cubs rallied for a 4-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies .  —  Ramirez appears to be coming out of a season-long slump.

Phillips has 3 hits, Reds beat Rockies 3-2  —  CINCINNATI—Brandon Phillips followed his first All-Star appearance with a three-hit game and Arthur Rhodes pitched out of a bases-loaded, none-out threat in the eighth inning Friday night, preserving the Cincinnati Reds' 3-2 win over the Colorado Rockies.

Reyes: I haven't heard about a DL trip  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Jose Reyes indicated Friday that he has not been told anything about a trip to the disabled list, but the New York Mets appear to be making alternative plans in case their All-Star shortstop's injury lingers.

Prospect Hot Sheet: July 16  —  Team: high Class A Wilmington (Carolina)  —  Age: 20.  —  Why He's Here: 2-0, 0.00, 11 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 12 SO  —  The Scoop: John Lamb is no longer the most impressive teenage pitcher in the Carolina League.  Thanks to his July 10th birthday …

Sherrill considering his next move  —  ST. LOUIS — Los Angeles Dodgers reliever George Sherrill said Thursday he will wait until he has a chance to talk to his agent, his wife and his parents before making a decision on whether he will accept an outright assignment to Triple-A Albuquerque …

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 …

Yankees Covet Dunn, Soria  —  The Yankees would love to have Adam Dunn and Joakim Soria, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter).  But the Yankees' interest in the two stars doesn't mean those players will be in pinstripes any time soon.  After all, many teams would love …

Woman reveals lifelong secret that Yankee owner George Steinbrenner donated $13K to save her life  —  George Steinbrenner's death immediately brought Lorraine Blakely back to the year when The Boss helped save her life.  —  The Long Island mother of three was just a second-grader …

New York Yankees say reports of a player bus being delayed en route to Bob Sheppard's funeral are false … NEW YORK — The Yankees weren't at Bob Sheppard's funeral, and according to team captain Derek Jeter some didn't even know when the event was taking place.

The Grandy man can?  —  Unlike some players who have noticeable trends towards being a first-half or second-half player, Curtis Granderson is almost dead even over his career.  His first-half OBP? .  342. Second-half? .  340. His first-half slugging? .  475. Second-half? .  480. His first-half batting average? .

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 …