Civil Mariano garners respect like no other  —  Closer has left indelible stamp on game with kindness, class  —  We were on the back fields at the old Yankees facility in Fort Lauderdale watching pitchers' fielding practice.  I commented to Buck Showalter that it seemed strange to me that The Phenom …

Morrow 3-Hits Angels to Lead Blue Jays to 5-0 Win  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Brandon Morrow pitched a three-hitter for his second career shutout and J.P. Arencibia hit a three-run homer to lead the Toronto Blue Jays to a 5-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday night.

Carlos Marmol out as Cubs closer; now it's by closer by committee  —  The Cubs will use a “closer by committee” formula to replace struggling closer Carlos Marmol, who was told Friday morning he had lost the role.  —  Lefty James Russell, the only lefthander in manager Dale Sveum's bullpen …

WAR Upgraded on Baseball-Reference.com  —  Baseball-Reference.com WAR Explained - Baseball-Reference.com  —  As many have noticed, we have not been updating the 2012 WAR data in-season.  The reason for this is that we have been working on a major upgrade to our WAR framework.

NY Mets GM Sandy Alderson says team won't rush Matt Harvey into pitching rotation  —  Even with need in rotation, GM Sandy Alderson wants prized prospect to develop more in minors  —  Touted pitching prospect Matt Harvey won't be arriving at Citi Field anytime soon, even with Mets seemingly having need for rotation help.

Adam Yauch 1964-2012  —  I don't care that this isn't about baseball.  If you need it to be, be content with the “And I've got mad hits like I was Rod Carew ” line in “Sure Shot.” … The Beasties made the Hall of Fame based on both peak and longevity.  And now they're done and as a kid whose …

Rios takes issue with Tribe closer Perez  —  CHICAGO — No strong bonds of friendship exist between White Sox right fielder Alex Rios and Cleveland closer Chris Perez.  —  In fact, the two are not even casual acquaintances.  —  And don't look for any pleasantries to be exchanged between …

Tigers activate Young, designate Eldred  —  Delmon Young's suspension from Major League Baseball is officially over.  So is the Tigers' experiment with Triple-A slugging sensation Brad Eldred.  —  As the Tigers say they would, the team activated Young on Friday from MLB's restricted list …

Sources: Dodgers pick up Abreu  —  The Dodgers and outfielder Bobby Abreu have reached agreement on a one-year contract, major-league sources confirmed to FOXSports.com.  —  The Angels released Abreu last week, after he batted .208 with no home runs and five RBIs in eight games.