A-Rod's suddenly an afterthought  —  Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since Aug. 2005.  He appears weekly on MLB on FOX.  Follow him on Twitter.  —  Alex Rodriguez is two home runs shy of 600.  —  Does anyone care?  —  The Yankees do — A-Rod …

Yankees Blog  —  With 12 days to go before the trade deadline, Brian Cashman is sticking to his plan even with Andy Pettitte on the shelf for 4-5 weeks.  —  That plan involves trying to bolster the Yankees' bench and possibly their bullpen, but it does not include the pursuit of a starting pitcher.

Venters suspended for throwing at Prince Fielder  —  NEW YORK (AP)  —  Atlanta Braves pitcher Jonny Venters was suspended for four games and fined by Major League Baseball on Monday for throwing consecutive pitches at Milwaukee's Prince Fielder last weekend.

Baldelli set to return to minors tonight  —  Rocco Baldelli is set to make his return to the field as a player tonight for Class A Charlotte, the first step in what could lead him back to the Rays later this season.  —  Baldelli, 28, has spent this season working as a special assistant coach …

Rockies lose as Marlins walk off with two-run home run  —  MIAMI — Pinch-hitter Donnie Murphy hit a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning Monday night, and the Florida Marlins beat the Colorado Rockies 9-8.  —  It was the fifth lead change in the game.

Cardinals blast Kendrick with homers, pound Phillies 8-4  —  ST. LOUIS (AP) — Albert Pujols' (FSY) two-run home run in the fifth inning began a barrage of four long balls in a span of six at-bats and Blake Hawksworth (FSY) survived a rocky start in the St. Louis Cardinals' 8-4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Quantity, not quality, hallmark of market for position players … Last Friday, I took a look at the best pitchers available in a trading market that has thinned now that the biggest prize — Cliff Lee, who was dealt from Seattle to Texas on July 9 — is off the board.

MLB likely to speak to Phil Cuzzi, discipline possible  —  Phil Cuzzi missed a game-altering call Sunday, and that was just one of several strange ninth-inning moments for the home plate umpire in the 4-3 Mets win over San Francisco.  —  Afterward, Mets catcher Henry Blanco called for baseball …

Cueto leads Reds over Nationals 7-2  —  CINCINNATI—Johnny Cueto pitched six innings around a rain delay and drove home two runs Monday night, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 7-2 victory over the Washington Nationals in a matchup of teams that hadn't been able to score lately.

Longoria, Davis lead Rays over Orioles 8-1  —  BALTIMORE—Rookie Wade Davis allowed one run over eight innings in another sparkling performance against the Baltimore Orioles, Evan Longoria had two hits during a seven-run third inning and the Tampa Bay Rays rolled to an 8-1 victory Monday night.

Keeping Uggla might help Florida Marlins' payroll promise  —  The Boston Red Sox have phoned.  So have the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Colorado Rockies, Philadelphia Phillies and others as the July 31 trading deadline draws near.  But as the interest level remains high …

Padres to give Black three-year extension  —  SAN DIEGO — It's not his capacity to handle a double-switch, command a clubhouse or simply his experience as a player, coach and now manager that make Bud Black the best person to manage the Padres, second baseman David Eckstein said Sunday.

Power often the last thing to come  —  Bautista, Byrd, Bay, Ludwick, Cruz, Ibanez were all late bloomers  —  Some figure it out early.  When Jeff Bagwell was in his early years in Houston, Dave Magadan asked him how he could go from hitting four homers in New Britain in his second professional season …

Injury update: Pettitte diagnosed with Grade 1 strain (UPDATED)  —  Andy Pettitte is already back from his MRI.  He was diagnosed with a Grade 1 strain of his groin.  Grade 1 is the least severe diagnosis.  —  The Yankees will continue to evaluate Pettitte over the next couple days.