Rockies are years away from being contenders  —  In their first home game since The Big Deal, the Rockies blew a victory against the Phillies.  —  Big deal.  —  Phillies in 10.  Rockies inept.  —  The Rox and the Phils, who met in the playoffs in 2007 and 2009, won't be meeting in the postseason in 2011.

Red Sox not ruling out Buchholz return this year  —  BOSTON — The Red Sox have confirmed that pitcher Clay Buchholz has a stress fracture of the L2 vertebra in his lower back, but a return this season has not been ruled out and the injury is not career threatening.

No place to hide Dunn in Sox's loss to Yankees  —  Manager Ozzie Guillen rejected the thought of dropping struggling slugger Adam Dunn from the middle of the Chicago White Sox's batting order before Monday night's 3-2 loss to the New York Yankees.  —  Guillen's reasoning was that several …

Rangers Designate Arthur Rhodes For Assignment  —  The Rangers designated Arthur Rhodes for assignment, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter).  The move creates roster space for newly-acquired right-hander Mike Adams.  —  Rhodes, 41, has a 4.81 ERA with 5.5 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 24 1/3 innings this year.

Game 110: Marlins vs. Mets at 7:10 PM  —  Tonight in Citi Field, the Mets will continue their three game series with the Marlins at 7:10 pm.  —  Here are tonight's starting lineups:  —  Chris Capuano (9-10, 4.51 ERA) will toe the rubber for the Mets.  Despite allowing six runs in 5 1/3 innings …

Erik Bedard is ‘recipe for disaster’  —  The Red Sox [team stats]' long and arduous search for a starting pitcher is finished, Erik Bedard is on his way to Fenway Park [map], and now begins an even more daunting task: finding someone who believes Bedard is a good fit in Boston.

Yankees consider calling up Montero soon  —  CHICAGO — According to Yankees GM Brian Cashman, there is a chance Jesus Montero could be in pinstripes before the rosters expand Sept. 1.  —  Asked if the right-handed hitting catcher, who Cashman refused to part with for Ubaldo Jimenez at the trade deadline …

Brewers To Sign Randy Flores  —  The Brewers will sign left-hander Randy Flores to a minor league deal, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).  The Yankees agreed to release the reliever over the weekend, and the Brewers, who don't have a left-handed reliever on their 25-man roster, picked him up without any delay.

Baseball's Weight Problem  —  On-Deck Routines Hurt Hitters' Bat Speed; Giving Up Doughnuts  —  Just before game time, Detroit Tigers clubhouse manager Jim Schmakel makes sure a long, dirt-stained canvas bag is unloaded in the on-deck circle.  —  Among other things, it holds a 10-ounce …

Angels' Weaver suspended 6 games; Scioscia 1  —  NEW YORK—Los Angeles Angels right-hander Jered Weaver has been suspended six games for throwing a pitch near the head of Detroit's Alex Avila on Sunday, and his manager Mike Scioscia has been suspended for one game.

When The 40/60/80 Arbitration Rule Doesn't Work  —  If you're interested in contracts between teams and players, there's a good chance you've heard of the 40/60/80 rule (see below for explanation).  It's easy to remember and easy to use, but there's a problem.  It doesn't work - at least not to the extent that some suggest it does.

Overbay designated as Bucs clear roster space  —  Ciriaco also optioned to make 25-man spots for Lee, Ludwick  —  PITTSBURGH — Brought in this winter to be a big bat in the middle of the lineup, Lyle Overbay's tenure with the Pirates is over prematurely following four months of offensive struggles.

MLB Power Rankings: Orioles On Top, Giants At Bottom  —  This week's power rankings are based on conversations that each team's general manager had leading into the trade deadline.  These are actual transcriptions.  And though there's not really a good way to rank them …

Orioles Claim Jo-Jo Reyes  —  The Orioles claimed Jo-Jo Reyes, MLBTR has learned.  The Orioles have since confirmed the claim and announced that they transferred Luke Scott to the 60-day disabled list to create 40-man roster space for Reyes.  The Blue Jays had designated the left-hander for assignment last week.

One year later: What do you think of Showalter now?  —  Today marks the one year of anniversary of Buck Showalter's introductory news conference as the Orioles' 19th manager.  The club has played 162 games under him - the equivalent of a full season.  The Orioles' record during that time?  76-86.