Fifth-place Cubs fire general manager Hendry  —  With one of the highest payrolls but the second worst record in the National League, the Chicago Cubs fired general manager and vice president Jim Hendry on Friday.  —  Assistant general manager Randy Bush was named Interim general manager, the team announced.

Pirates to extend Tabata, Walker  —  The Pirates are putting the finishing touches on a long-term contract with outfielder Jose Tabata and also are deep into talks with second baseman Neil Walker about a similar deal, several team and league sources told the Tribune-Review today.

NL MVP race just one big mess  —  Selecting the winner right now is, well, not easy ... and it might not get easier  —  Here comes a question we've been tossing at people all over baseball for the past two weeks.  And it has reduced every one of them into doing more bumbling and stumbling than rumbling and grumbling.

Draft maneuvers by Nationals, Pirates drawing the ire of Selig … While the Nationals and Pirates were patting themselves on the back for jobs well done after their amateur draft signings, baseball commissioner Bud Selig wasn't nearly as impressed.  According to people in attendance …

Reality host Lopez convinces home-run legend to face ‘H8R’  —  Barry Bonds will try to rehabilitate his tarnished image by confronting a fan who hates him on the upcoming reality show “H8R.”  —  On the show, the MLB home-run king will watch a tape of one of his biggest detractors chewing him out …

Masterson goes six strong; Indians top White Sox to win series  —  CHICAGO — Justin Masterson pitched six effective innings, Kosuke Fukudome had a tiebreaking RBI triple and the Cleveland Indians inched closer to the top of the AL Central with a 4-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday night.

Six* reasons the Angels are still in it  —  If the Rangers win the AL West this year, you'll live with that fact for the rest of your lives.  So there's no harm living the next couple weeks thinking that the Angels still have a shot.  Maybe that's delusional, but you know who else was delusional?

Prosecutors in Clemens case say mistake was inadvertent  —  WASHINGTON — Prosecutors in the Roger Clemens perjury case said Friday they had made an honest mistake in showing jurors inadmissible evidence and that shouldn't save the baseball star from facing a new trial.

Blue Jays try to continue run barrage vs. Athletics  —  The Sports Network  —  (Sports Network) - The Toronto Blue Jays haven't been shy about scoring runs this season and lately it's becoming the norm.  —  Averaging over seven runs per game in their last 11 contests (46 total) …

Tired-but-true excuse by Red Sox  —  Exhausted bats easy to explain  —  + Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email + Bio  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Red Sox [team stats] feel victimized by their schedule, and they're not happy about it.  —  As the team deals with injuries to David Ortiz …

Minor throws six scoreless, Jones homers as Braves top Giants  —  ATLANTA — Mike Minor pitched six crisp innings to outduel Tim Lincecum, and Chipper Jones homered for the only run as the Atlanta Braves defeated the San Francisco Giants 1-0 Thursday night.  —  The Braves appeared …