New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter says he was unaware of scheduling of Bob Sheppard's funeral  —  The Yankees included a tribute to Bob Sheppard in their pregame homage to George Steinbrenner before Friday night's game, but also confirmed that no players attended any part of the funeral …

Rangers C Bengie Molina hits for cycle  —  BOSTON—Bengie Molina of the Texas Rangers hit for the cycle against the Boston Red Sox on Friday night.  —  His feat included a grand slam in the fifth inning.  He completed the cycle with a drive over the head of center fielder Eric Patterson for a triple in the eighth.

Billingsley rocked but undaunted  —  Despite giving up seven runs in four innings, righty doesn't feel he pitched badly … ST. LOUIS — In the city where Yogi Berra was born and raised, it initially sounded like a case of deja vu all over again.  But upon further review …

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.

Strasburg pitches Nationals past Marlins 4-0  —  MIAMI—Stephen Strasburg struggled through a 34-pitch first inning but escaped early jams to lead the Washington Nationals past the Florida Marlins 4-0 Friday night.  —  Strasburg (4-2) allowed two baserunners in each of the first three innings …

Angels' Weaver beats Mariners, Hernandez 3-2  —  ANAHEIM, Calif.—Jered Weaver outpitched Felix Hernandez for the third time this season in a matchup of the AL's strikeout leaders and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Seattle Mariners 3-2 on Friday night.  —  Weaver (9-5) allowed two runs …

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.

Can we objectively evaluate advanced fielding data?  —  Colin has an article at Baseball Prospectus today that is required Sabermetrics 101 reading.  It's been linked already in the THTLinks Twitter feed this morning, but it deserves more prominence and more discussion.

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 …

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 …

Great start for Dickey but....  Mets - Giants AT&T Park SF -  —  With Beltran back, everything was supposed to work like a charm.  —  Dickey was on the mound and only gave up 5 hits in 7 innings with one earned run .  —  Beltran got his first hit on his 2nd AB.  Unfortunately, there were only 5 more Mets hits off