Saltalamacchia on the way; Cash to DL  —  The Red Sox have called up catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia from Triple A Pawtucket.  Globe colleague Amalie Benjamin had the news first.  —  Catcher Kevin Cash is being placed on the disabled list with a hamstring injury.

Mets Jeff Francoeur, seeking playing time, open to trade  —  NEW YORK — Benched to make room for a 21-year-old rookie, marginalized as a platoon player, Mets outfielder Jeff Francoeur has told the club through his representatives that he is interested in being traded to a team that would play him more, both sides confirmed yesterday.

Take that: Cardinals sweep Reds, take over first  —  CINCINNATI (AP) — Colby Rasmus hit his first career grand slam, Adam Wainwright dazzled again and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-1 on Wednesday, completing a three-game sweep that changed the standings and made their point.

Felix overpowers A's with career-high 13 K's  —  Seattle ace escapes jam in first, tosses eight shutout frames  —  SEATTLE — The game was three batters old and Felix Hernandez was in big trouble.  Everywhere he looked, a runner was on base.  —  He talked to himself a couple of times …

Posada's shoulder is heart of the matter  —  There's plenty to fret about after tough loss, but situation with Yanks catcher tops list … ARLINGTON, Texas — First, the good news: A.J. Burnett's back is fine.  —  Now, the not-so-good news: Jorge Posada's throwing shoulder is not.

The problems with defensive stats … Let's suppose that you're a normal baseball fan with normal interests and an understanding that smart writers and operators think fancy defensive statistics are important.  —  Curious, you visit Fangraphs.com and see that Carl Crawford, Tony Gwynn Jr. …

Cecil's next start pushed back to Saturday  —  Blue Jays bump Mills to Thursday's outing vs. Red Sox  —  TORONTO — Blue Jays starting pitcher Brett Cecil will have his scheduled start on Thursday against the Red Sox pushed back to Saturday in Anaheim.  —  The left-hander injured his right knee …

Baseball's Praised Diversity Is Stranded at First Base  —  About 40 percent of the players in Major League Baseball are black, Hispanic or Asian, and the sport is seen as a leading example of diversity, yet a curious disparity has emerged in a corner of the game.

The outfield outlook for 2011  —  With Nyjer Morgan on the 15-day disabled list, we're getting a chance to see a different configuration of the Nationals' outfield.  On most nights, that means Josh Willingham in left, Roger Bernadina in center and Michael Morse in right.

The Athletics' 2011 Offense  —  The Athletics' pitching staff is second in the AL with a 3.65 ERA, but their offense ranks 11th with 4.08 runs scored per game.  It's time to find some bats!  —  A's assistant GM David Forst told ESPN's Jayson Stark on July 29th the team is considering “bringing back the same 25 guys next year.”

Yankees Sign Burawa For $300,000  —  The Yankees have signed 12th-round pick Daniel Burawa for a $300,000 bonus.  The sophomore-eligible righthander came out of nowhere to rack up 12 saves for St. John's this spring, thanks mostly to a 93-95 mph fastball with good armside run.