Helms returns to Braves with minor league deal  —  ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves are bringing back infielder Wes Helms, signing him to a minor league deal less than a week after he was released by the Florida Marlins.  —  The Braves said Wednesday that Helms will report to Triple-A Gwinnett …

Sammy to Big Z: Hold off on retirement talk  —  Former slugger wants players to know life after baseball ‘not easy’  —  CHICAGO — Sammy Sosa knows all about life after baseball, and planned on reaching out to Carlos Zambrano to remind him that once you retire, “it's a whole different ballgame.”

Plenty of Time Left to Regret Rodriguez's Contract  —  The swollen ice wrap around Alex Rodriguez's right knee looked like it might burst and spray popcorn around the room in all directions.  He sat down and kept his leg erect, but couldn't keep a straight face when someone asked if he physically felt 100 percent.

Teams Spend $236 Million On '11 Draft  —  MLB teams combined to spend $227,969,050 on draft bonuses in 2011, and a total of $236,019,050 including additional guarantees in major league contracts for Danny Hultzen, Trevor Bauer, Dylan Bundy, Anthony Rendon and Matt Purke.

Who Owns “Evil Empire”?  The Yankees Launch A Proxy War For Control  —  Bridgehampton, N.Y., out on the East End of Long Island, is Red Sox territory.  The bars along Main Street are decked out in red and will only show Yankees games if there's nothing else on.  TVs receive the Hartford network affiliates.

Mariners Acquire Ruffin To Complete Tigers Deal  —  The Mariners announced that they have acquired Chance Ruffin from the Tigers to complete the trade that sent Doug Fister and David Pauley to Detroit for Casper Wells, Charlie Furbush, Francisco Martinez and a player to be named on July 30th.

Cards' top prospect Shelby Miller suspended indefinitely  —  PITTSBURGH  • Class AA Springfield righthander Shelby Miller, the crown jewel of the Cardinals' farm system as the team's top pick in the 2009 draft, has been suspended indefinitely by the organization, Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said Tuesday night.

Brian Wilson has sore elbow examined by Dr. James Andrews  —  San Francisco's injuries keep piling up.  —  Yesterday the Giants placed setup man Sergio Romo on the disabled list with elbow inflammation and now closer Brian Wilson is unavailable due to elbow problems of his own.

Torii Hunter Gets Trapped In An Oxygen Chamber, Pisses In a Bottle, Tweets  —  In need of a little rejuvenation after the Angels' 7-3 loss last night to the Rangers, Torii Hunter entered a clubhouse oxygen chamber, thinking that would do the trick.  It's not known what happened next …

Hamels to miss start with shoulder inflammation  —  PHILADELPHIA — Cole Hamels said he feels fine and expects to be back in the Phillies' rotation next week.  —  But the Phillies said Tuesday he will miss at least one start because of inflammation in the back of his left shoulder …

THOME HITS NO. 600  —  Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since August 2005.  He appears weekly on MLB on FOX.  Follow him on Twitter.  —  WNBA  —  Boxing  —  IRL  —  F1  —  NCAA WBK  —  Horse Racing Air Racing … Thome's mark should not be overlooked

Matt Downs helps Astros top Cubs 4-3  —  HOUSTON - Matt Downs hit a go-ahead two-run single, Mark Melancon wriggled out of a jam in the ninth inning and the Houston Astros beat the Chicago Cubs 4-3 on Wednesday to take the series between the worst teams in NL Central.

Hannahan's Indians teammates have his back  —  After a couple of days of talking about Carlos Zambrano, let's look at the other side of the good teammate spectrum — the tale of the Cleveland Indians and Jack Hannahan.  —  Hannahan is in his first year with the Indians …

Mariners Announce Two International Signings  —  Mariners Sign Two Players from Venezuela to First Pro Contracts  —  Seattle Mariners Vice President of International Operations Bob Engle today announced the signings of two international free agents.  The following players were signed to 2012 contracts.

Baseball sees a run of walk-off wins this season  —  Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley coined the phrase in 1993, but he couldn't have fathomed that nearly 20 years later the “walk-off” would become as common as overpriced ballpark beer.  —  Teams won on the last at-bat in 10% of games this season …

Boston's Bats Silent Again in Loss to Rays  —  BOSTON (AP) — David Ortiz sat at his locker, getting dressed for another road trip.  The final step was to put a protective boot on his aching right foot.  —  Take care of that foot, Big Papi.  The Red Sox need you back, real soon.