A defiant Alex Rodriguez lets loose: ‘I refuse to quit’  —  CHARLESTON, S.C. — New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez tilts his head, starts to speak and breaks into a clumsy smile.  —  He deliberates whether to share his feelings, and when he finally speaks, it's almost in a whisper …

Mike Scioscia says Yasiel Puig hasn't earned All-Star berth yet  —  Angels Manager Mike Scioscia says the Yasiel Puig, the Dodgers' rookie phenom, will be an All-Star ‘for years to come.’  —  Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said Thursday he would not include Dodgers outfield phenom Yasiel Puig on the National League All-Star team.

Ruben Amaro, Jr. calls out Ryan Howard for own mistakes  —  STAY CONNECTED WITH SB NATION FOLLOW @SBNATION  —  Sometimes a general manager makes a mistake, and with Ryan Howard, Amaro, Jr. made a doozy when he extended a very limited player.  —   SHARE -

Rockies' Carlos Gonzalez injured in 9-5 win over Dodgers, but expects to play Friday  —  The baseball gods giveth and the baseball gods taketh away.  —  Although the Rockies got a much-needed 9-5 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night at Coors Field, they lost …

Mets Designate Brandon Lyon For Assignment  —  The Mets have designated right-handed reliever Brandon Lyon for assignment, according to the team's official Twitter feed.  New York will recall fellow righty Greg Burke to take Lyon's roster spot, the team further tweets.

Sports and patriotism  —  President George W. Bush stood on the pitcher's mound at Yankee Stadium to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 3 of the World Series.  An American flag waved in the background.  The President wore a jacket with the New York Fire Department logo on it and a bulletproof vest underneath.

Yankees hit Gibson hard in win over Twins  —  MINNEAPOLIS — Vernon Wells drove in three runs, and the New York Yankees pounded rookie Kyle Gibson and the Minnesota Twins 9-5 on Thursday to finish a four-game sweep.  —  Travis Hafner had three hits and scored twice, and Ichiro Suzuki …

Nolasco among pitchers who could move this month  —  As usual, much of the Trade Deadline focus will be on several available hurlers  —  Before the July 31 Trade Deadline even peeked over the horizon, good chunks of a couple of rotations already were up for grabs and there were a few pitchers …

Dan Straily allows 1 hit over 7 innings as Athletics edge Cubs  —  OAKLAND, Calif. — Derek Norris scored on a passed ball with two outs in the seventh inning and the Oakland Athletics beat the Chicago Cubs 1-0 on Thursday.  —  Dan Straily (5-2) gave up a hit over seven innings after being recalled …

Adam Dunn's HR in 9th propels White Sox past Orioles  —  CHICAGO — Adam Dunn hit a one-out home run in the bottom of the ninth inning off Tommy Hunter to give the Chicago White Sox a 3-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday.  —  Chicago starter Jose Quintana had a career-high 11 strikeouts …

Spillin' The Beans: Ryan Spilborghs weighs in on the complex issues of PEDs  —  Ryan Spilborghs.  (John Leyba, The Denver Post). … So this my newest blog.  I'm gonna stick my neck out a bit and weigh in on an issue that I think is about to get massive media coverage.