Ballbug: Yankees Are Latest to See Bautista Bash (Dave Caldwell/New York Times)

Joe DiGiovanni / MLB.com:

MLB disciplines Rizzo, fines Rodriguez — MILWAUKEE — Nationals' general manager Mike Rizzo was disciplined and catcher Ivan Rodriguez was fined for their roles in a dispute with umpires last week in New York, a Major League Baseball source said on Monday.

Discussion: Yahoo! Sports

Strasburg takes first step toward return — MILWAUKEE — Stephen Strasburg threw his first bullpen session on Monday since undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow on Sept. 3. — “First bullpen in the books,” Strasburg wrote on his Twitter account after throwing off a mound …

Discussion: MLB Daily Dish

Joe DiGiovanni / MLB.com:

Cardinals take back reliever Broderick — MILWAUKEE — The St. Louis Cardinals on Monday took back reliever Brian Broderick, who had been selected by the Nationals in the Rule 5 Draft. — The Cardinals paid the Nationals $25,000 and assigned Broderick to Triple-A Memphis.

Jeffrey Toobin / New Yorker:

MADOFF'S CURVEBALL … - POLITICS - PROFILES - THE TALK OF THE TOWN - COMMENT - THIS WEEK'S ISSUE - THE FINANCIAL PAGE - NEWS DESK - THE POLITICAL SCENE

Mets Players Respond to Wilpon's Comments — CHICAGO — The embattled co-owner Fred Wilpon's criticisms of his Mets players and the team published in the latest issue of The New Yorker were received with a mixture of surprise and disappointment Monday. — Scott Boras, the agent for Carlos Beltran …

Discussion: HardballTalk, MetsBlog.com, Amazin' Avenue, Mets Merized Online and CBS New York

Matthew Cerrone / MetsBlog.com:
Wilpon's candid comments (and Toobin's insight)

Discussion: Amazin' Avenue, Subway Squawkers, Kranepool Society and ESPN

Associated Press:

Phillies Break Out vs. Reds as Utley Returns — PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jimmy Rollins, Placido Polanco and Raul Ibanez homered to back Cole Hamels, and the Philadelphia Phillies handed the Cincinnati Reds their sixth straight loss, 10-3 on Monday night. — Chase Utley returned to Philadelphia's lineup …

Discussion: Crashburn Alley, Blogging Baseball and ESPN

Dave Caldwell / New York Times:

Yankees Are Latest to See Bautista Bash — Yankees center fielder Curtis Granderson broke into a sprint to catch the latest handiwork of Toronto's Jose Bautista, the only major league player with more home runs. Granderson made it only as far as the fence, where he watched Bautista's blast sail into the bullpen.

Discussion: Yahoo! Sports and Pinstripe Alley

Associated Press:

AL MVP Hamilton, Cruz Return to Rangers Lineup — ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — When the Texas Rangers were struggling to score runs, there was always the anticipation that AL MVP Josh Hamilton and slugger Nelson Cruz were close to coming back. — Finally on Monday, both big boppers were activated …

Discussion: Yahoo! Sports and baseballmusings.com

MLB.com:

Nationals place ailing LaRoche on DL — First baseman gets second opinion on shoulder injury — MILWAUKEE — First baseman Adam LaRoche on Monday was placed on the 15-day disabled list by the Washington Nationals to rest a torn labrum in his left shoulder. — The move is retroactive to Saturday.

Steven Goldman / Baseball Prospectus:

The Annotated WARP Leaders — Our collection of BP-flavored single-season WARP scores currently goes back to 1950. Now that we've added fielding runs to the sortable choices, you can easily see the combination of offense and defense that made the top players during this period so valuable …

Discussion: THE BOOK and Pinstriped Bible …

Fox Sports:

Why all the parity in baseball? — Your eyes do not deceive you. The standings do not deceive you. There is indeed greater parity in baseball this season — so far. — Entering Sunday's play, 20 of the 30 clubs were within four games of .500 — the most ever on May 21, according to STATS LLC.

Scott Powers / ESPN:

Switch-pitcher? Ambidextrous HS star on rise … ELGIN, Ill. — Professional scouts are paying increasing attention to a right-handed pitcher and a left-handed pitcher from a tiny school in Elgin, Ill., and it happens to be the same player. — Ryan Perez has become a spectacle for fans …

Discussion: HardballTalk