Angels Acquire Dan Haren  —  It took some time, but the Angels got even.  Two weeks after the Rangers acquired Cliff Lee, the Angels traded for a highly-coveted pitcher of their own, obtaining Dan Haren from the Diamondbacks, according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News.

The Greatest Trade Rumor In Baseball History  —  A rundown of the relevant parties:  — Oliver Perez, owed $24/2: Arguably the worst pitcher in baseball, Perez has Steve Blass Disease, minus the connotation of once having good control.  Perez allows more homeruns and walks at a per-nine-inning pace …

Tampa Bay Rays may use top pitching prospect Jeremy Hellickson as a reliever down the stretch  —  Top prospect Jeremy Hellickson has dominated as a starter at Durham but may help the Rays down the stretch as a reliever.  —  Times]  —  CLEVELAND — RHP prospect Jeremy Hellickson's future is as a starter …

Yanks, Dodgers, Giants among buyers … The Texas Rangers made the big score already by acquiring star left-hander Cliff Lee, and the Braves enhanced their chances, as well, with their addition of steady shortstop Alex Gonzalez but plenty of buyers remain with only five full days to go before the trade deadline.

Was It Easier To Be A Good Clutch Hitter In The “Old” Days?  —  I first reported on this issue in a post last year Did The Increased Use Of Relief Pitching Cause A Decline In Clutch Hitting?  Back in the 1950s and 1960s, as I show at this earlier post, hitting in non-close and late situations …

Source: Oswalt deal likely not in the Cards  —  The Cardinals don't feel confident in their ability to land Astros ace Roy Oswalt in a trade, one source said Sunday.  —  The Astros have believed for some time that it would be difficult to trade with the Cardinals.

Red Sox Season Statistical Anomaly Due to Poor Situational Play  —  The Red Sox are first in the league in OPS and second in runs scored.  Their pitchers throw at the highest average velocity in the majors, and their rotation, even given the injuries, ranks as having the second highest sabermetric value.

Cards look unlikely to get Oswalt  —  • It became official Sunday that Dan Haren will not be joining the Cardinals.  —  Unofficially, the same may be true regarding Roy Oswalt.  —  Shortly after the Los Angeles Angels announced their acquisition of Haren from the Arizona Diamondbacks …

New York Mets general manager Omar Minaya doesn't give coaches a vote of confidence … LOS ANGELES — New York Mets general manager Omar Minaya declared manager Jerry Manuel's job safe at the start of a four-game series at Dodger Stadium.  —  Minaya would offer no such assurances …

Hearts on display during induction speeches  —  COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — During a late July weekend in the summer of antiperspirant, the three H's descended on this spiritual home of baseball and made for a wonderfully comforting experience.  —  Harvey, Herzog and The Hawk triumphantly crossed …

How much of a mind game is playing for next contract?  —  Charlie Manuel, when asked on June 8 whether Jayson Werth's impending free agency could be contributing to his slump:  —  “In some ways, it has to.  I definitely think that.  In know in his mind he thinks about it.” Werth, responding to the Phillies manager's comments:

Yankees 12, Royals 6: Rodriguez Is Hit by Pitch, but Says He'll Be Fine  —  After the Yankees' 12-6 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday, Alex Rodriguez left Yankee Stadium with a purple mark on his left hand, a smile on his face and — for the third day — a total of 599 home runs in his eventful career.

Rollins, Phillies rally to down Rockies  —  The Sports Network  —  Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Jimmy Rollins drove in the tying run and scored the winning run on a wild pitch in the seventh inning as Philadelphia clipped Colorado, 4-3, in the third edition of a four-game set from Citizens Bank Park.

With stars hurt, Tigers get younger quickly  —  Larish, Rhymes add to Mud Hens total; Ordonez has CT scan  —  DETROIT — Well, at least Tigers manager Jim Leyland doesn't have to worry about players not hustling.  —  Detroit purchased the contracts of infielders Jeff Larish and Will Rhymes …