Astros Ask Oswalt to OK Trade to Phils  —  Houston - Major League baseball sources told FOX 26 Sports the Houston Astros have a deal in place to trade pitcher Roy Oswalt to the Philadelphia Phillies if Oswalt agrees to waive his no-trade clause.  —  Sources told FOX 26 the Astros have approached Oswalt.

Source: Dodgers to get Podsednik  —  The Dodgers have agreed to a deal that will bring Kansas City Royals outfielder Scott Podsednik to Los Angeles, a baseball source told ESPN.com's Jayson Stark on Wednesday.  —  The Royals would receive two minor leaguers.

Jeff Blair  —  Hitting .290 and going to the All-Star Game or hiccupping his way through a year-long slump, Aaron Hill is a team player.  —  So it is no surprise that Hill said Tuesday he is open to a shift to third base in 2011 if general manager Alex Anthopoulos decides trading …

Time is gaining, Red Sox are not  —  + Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. - No pain, no gain for the Red Sox [team stats].  —  The fact that nobody cracked a rib, tore a muscle - J.D. Drew [stats]'s mild hamstring issue does not count …

Top prospect Domonic Brown shines in debut for surging Phillies  —  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Roy Halladay (FSY) threw a six-hitter and top prospect Domonic Brown (FSY) had two hits and two RBI in his major league debut to lead the streaking Philadelphia Phillies to a 7-1 victory over the slumping Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday night.

Derrek Lee to remain a Cub  —  CHICAGO — Chicago Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee has told the organization he prefers to remain a Cub rather than accept a trade, general manager Jim Hendry told ESPNChicago.com on Wednesday.  —  The Los Angeles Angels proposed a trade to the Cubs over the past 10 days …

The real concern for Stephen Strasburg  —  The long-term implications of what happened to Stephen Strasburg on Tuesday night night are more significant than the short-term damage.  The inside of Strasburg's shoulder, according to the MRI exam the Nationals gave him Tuesday night …

Staying clean may be costing Fred McGriff in his bid for Hall of Fame  —  On the weekend he might have been inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame, an extraordinary achievement, Fred McGriff had the most ordinary of weekends.  —  He visited his mother.  He watched his daughter, Ericka, play volleyball.

Tigers Acquire Jhonny Peralta  —  The Tigers acquired Jhonny Peralta and cash from the Indians for minor league pitcher Giovanni Soto, according to the team.  MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince reports on Twitter that the Tigers are getting cash to cover all but the pro-rated portion of the major league minimum salary.

Miss Iowa USA would like to see Washington's Miguel Batista try walking the runway in a swimsuit … Miss Iowa USA has a word for Washington Nationals pitcher Miguel Batista.  —  Actually, she has several.  —  “I know I can throw a pitch or two!”  Katherine Connors, the 20-year-old Bettendorf native said in a statement today.

Looking Farther Afield  —  I have been making something of a ruckus recently about where I feel the state of current defensive analysis is.  I have been long on listing problems, and short on proposing solutions.  —  Well, allow me to make amends there.  I don't pretend to have the problem solved.

Could Wally Backman be Mets' savior?  —  Wally Backman is paying close attention to the Mets, careful of what he can and can't say about manager Jerry Manuel's performance.  That represents progress for Backman, whose impulsivity has derailed what should've been a fine managerial career in the big leagues by now.