Vegas Update - Day 1 - 1:15 EST

Jon Heyman of SI believes the Brewers are willing to offer CC Sabathia a 6-year, $120 million contract that offers an opt out option after 2 years.

Dave Lennon of Newsday says that Mets GM Omar Minaya has meetings set up for today with free agent closers Brian Fuentes and Trevor Hoffman. The Mets are believed to have already made an offer to K-Rod. Dan Graziano of the Ledger also reported that the Mets spoke to the Blue Jays about B.J. Ryan.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reports that the Astros are willing to listen to offers for shortstop Miguel Tejada. The Twins, Dodgers, Angels, and Giants would be interested. K-Ros also reports that Yankees and Dodgers are talking Robinson Cano-Matt Kemp as they have in the past. We're against dealing Cano right now.

The St. Pete Times says the two Florida teams may be working a deal. The Rays would send Andy Sonnanstine or Edwin Jackson and Jason Bartlett to the Marlins for Jeremy Hermida.

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Hump Day Rumors - 7/30

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports that the Tampa Rays are in serious talks with the Pirates for outfielder Jason Bay. So far the Rays, who are notoriously difficult to deal with, aren't willing to part with a top prospect or a cache of prospects.

Adam Dunn is available, but apparently there are no takers for the moment.

Miguel Tejada was assured by the Astros front office that he won't be traded.

Jon Heyman reports that the Phillies and Red Sox are in deep talks about Manny Ramirez, and that the Phillies are the most likely destination. Speculation is that Pat Burrell would be sent north. The Marlins are also trying to work a Jeremy Hermida based deal.

The Dodgers are also interest in Manny and are thought to be putting together a deal centering on Matt Kemp or Andre Ethier, though a deal doesn't seem likely.

Before sending Mark Teixeira to the Angels, the Braves turned down a package of Micah Owings and Chad Tracy from the Diamondbacks.

The talks with the Yankees have gone cold, but the Denver Post reports that the Rockies are interested in Jarrod Washburn. The Rockies are also taking a look at their former pitcher Josh Fogg, and Tim Redding. Of course they still don't know if they are buying, selling, or combining the two.

Blue Jays catcher Greg Zaun would like to be dealt, but GM J.P. Ricciardi said there's no interest.

Royals outfielder Jose Guillen is shooting down reports that he doesn't get along with manager Trey Hillman and wants out of Kansas City.

CBS Sportsline reports that Padres pitcher Greg Maddux said no to a trade to the Phillies.

According to the Detroit Free Press, the Tigers have joined the Twins in having an interest in LaTroy Hawkins.

UPDATE - 12:03 P.M. EDT

According to the Miami Herald, the Marlins are close to acquiring left-handed reliever Arthur Rhodes from the Mariners.

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Around the Horn - 5/15

C.C. Sabathia kept the Indians starting pitch streak alive - not a run allowed in 43 innings now after Sabathia blanked the A's 2-0 on 5 hits. The big lefty also struck out 11.

For the 2nd straight night the Red Sox blew a 3-0 lead to the Orioles. Luke Scott hit the big home run on Tuesday and last night it was Jay Payton belting a grand slam to give the Orioles a 6-3 win.

The Royals are now 5-0 against the Tigers after Luke Hochevar and company shut them down 2-0. Justin Verlander pitched very well, but dropped to 1-7.

The Seattle bullpen blew a 3-2 lead, but Miguel Cairo bailed them out with the go-ahead RBI single in the Mariners 12-inning 4-3 win. Jarrod Washburn recorded the final outs for his career save.

Carlos Quentin belted an 8th inning grand slam to snap a 1-1 tie as the White Sox beat the Angels 6-1. After a bad start Jose Contreras is 4-2, 2.57 in his last 6 starts.

Matt Stairs belted a grand slam to help Roy Halladay overcome a rough outing in the Blue Jays 6-5 win over the Twins. Justin Morneau hit his 7th home run for Minny.

Look out National League, Alfonso Soriano is red hot. Sori homered for the 3rd straight game and is 10-19 over the last 4 games. The Cubs beat Jake Peavy and the Padres 8-5.

That wasn't Eric Gagne closing for the Brewers yesterday, but Guillermo Mota did his best, or is it worst, imitation. Mota gave up 3 runs in the 9th including a go-ahead to run double by Juan Pierre as the Dodgers pulled out a 6-4 win.

Todd Wellemeyer threw 2-hit ball for 7 innings as the Cardinals prevented the Pirates from reaching .500, 5-1.

Ryan Zimmerman homered and Tim Redding threw 2-hit ball for 6 innings in the Nationals 6-3 win over the Mets. That Nats have taken 2 of the first 3 games of the 4 game set.

The Astros blew a 3-0, but beat the Giants 6-3. Miguel Tejada (.345) had 3 hits including the game winner. Lance Berkman belted his 14th home run.

The Braves nearly blew an 8 run lead, but held off the Phillies 8-6. Chipper Jones smacked his 397th career home run. Tom Glavine picked up his 304th career win.

Micah Owings went 0-4 to drop his average to .370, but more importantly he threw 6 shutout innings in the Diamondbacks 4-3 win over the Rockies.

The Reds blew a 6 run lead in the 9th inning, but then beat the Marlins in 10, 7-6. Paul Janish had been recalled earlier in the day to replace the injured Jeff Keppinger and singled in the game winner.

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Around the Horn - 4/22

Short schedule in the AL with just 2 games being played. The Red Sox completed a 4-game sweep of the Rangers with an 8-3 Patriots Day win. Former Red Sox Kason Gabbard threw 2 scoreless frames for the Rangers, but had to leave with back spasms and the Sox lineup jumped all over the Rangers pen. David Ortiz continued to come out of his slump with a pair of doubles and RBI. Clay Buchholz tossed 6 shutout innings for his first win of the year.

Armando Galaraga improved to 2-0 in the Tigers 5-1 win over the Blue Jays and Shaun Marcum. Hot hitting Edgar Renteria homered.

Big series at Wrigley in the NL, Mets vs. Cubs. It started out with a good pitching match up as well, John Maine against Carlos Zambrano. Z's Cubs lead 2-1 in the 8th when the North siders blew the game open against a struggling Aaron Heilmann. Felix Pie capped the inning off with his first major league home run off of Jorge Sosa. Harry Caray would have been yelling CUBS WIN...7-1.

The Marlins still sit atop the NL East after a 10-4 win over the Pirates. The fish banged out 16 hits, including 2 by light hitting pitcher (redundant?) Mark Hendrickson. Hanley Ramirez, Josh Willingham, and Dan Uggla each went deep.

The Dodgers pounded the Reds 9-3. Rafael Furcal lead the game off with a home run and LA rolled from there. Nomar Garciaparra and James Loney knocked in 3 runs each.

The Braves won again, their fifth straight, 7-3 over the struggling Nationals. Tim Hudson picked up the win and drove in 2 runs.

The Cardinals blew 2-0 and 3-2 leads, but Skip Shumaker's single in the 9th gave them a 4-3 win over the Brewers.

The Astros pounded the Padres 10-3. Miguel Tejada may be older, but he's also heating up. A 4-hit, 3 RBI, 3 run scored game put him at .342.

Micah Owings joined teammate Brandon Webb at 4-0 when the Diamondbacks topped the Giants 4-2. Orlando Hudson, Eric Byrnes, and Mark Reynolds each homered.

Chase Utley homered for the 5th straight game and also thwarted a Rockies rally with his glove in the Phillies 9-5 win. Pat Burrell and Jayson Werth also went deep for Philly.

News and Notes - UPDATED 2:05 p.m. EDT

ESPN the Magazine has an intriguing story on a big time family feud between Edgar Renteria and Orlando Cabrera. (Gracias to the The Big Lead for that one)

The Indians placed Jake Westbrook on the 15-day DL with a strained intercostal muscle (that has nothing to do with the Panama Canal) and called up outfielder Ben Francisco.

Mark Mulder's rehab process is getting slower than expected, pushing the Cards' left-hander timetable back further.

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Around the Horn - 4/17

6-hours, 16 minutes. That's how long it took the Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres to complete 22 innings of baseball. Troy Tulowitzki, in his 10th plate appearance, doubled in the game winner. The final out was recorded 1:21 a.m. PDT.

Jeff Francis (7 IP 0 R 7 K) and Jake Peavy (8 IP 0 R 11 K) started the pitchers duel off. No one scored until the 14th inning when both teams put a runner across home plate.

The Phillies belted 4 home runs in thrashing the Astros 10-2. Pat Burrell continued his hot start (.373-6-17) with a home run, single, and 2 RBI.

The Mets and Nationals went 14 innings before Joel Hanrahan wild pitched home the winning run.

The Brewers rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Cardinals 5-3 in 10 innings. Prince Fielder ended his month long home drought with a game winning 2-run blast.

Joey Votto homered and drove in 5 runs in the Reds 9-2 win over the Cubs. Ken Griffey Jr. slugged a 3-run shot, the 596th of his career.

Chipper Jones, Mark Teixeira, and Brian McCann hit consecutive home runs in the 5th inning to propel the Braves past the Marlins 8-0. Jones went 4-4 with a pair of home runs as John Smoltz picked up his 210th career win.

In an AL Central battle of heavyweights, Fausto Carmona and the Indians outpitched Justin Verlander and the Tigers. The Tribe won 11-1 with a 13 hit attack. The game also featured some hit batters (Verlander into Garko's back) and clear retaliation (Carmona and Sheffield), but no ejections.

Vincente Padilla outpitched Roy Halladay in the Rangers 4-1 win over the Blue Jays. Halladay pitched his 2nd straight complete game.

The Mariners used a 5-run 3rd inning to beat the A's 8-1. Raul Ibanez (.343) and Jose Lopez had 3 hits each. After Kurt Suzuki (.327), the highest average in the A's lineup was Ryan Sweeney at .267.

The Orioles rallied from 2 down in the 9th against White Sox closer Bobby Jenks, and Adam Jones stroked the game winning single in the 10th.

Eric Hinske homered and Jason Hammel picked up his first win in the Rays 7-3 victory over the Twins. Carlos Pena had to leave the game with a hamstring injury and has been listed as day-to-day.

Garrett Anderson drove in 3 runs and John Garland improved to 2-2 in the Angels 5-3 win against the Royals. David DeJesus already bothered by a bad ankle this year, had to leave the game with a jammed toe.

News and Notes

Evan Longoria has only played 6 major league games, but the Rays know what they've got. That's why they've signed him to a 9-year, $44 million deal.

Braves pitcher Peter Moylan may have to have season ending elbow surgery, but the Braves are still looking into all the options.

Miguel Tejada may or may not have lied about P.E.D. use, but he did lie about his age. Tejada admitted yesterday that he's 33 not 31.

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Around the Horn - 4/8

Astros closer Jose Valverde blew a 3-run lead to the Cards in the top of the 9th, but Miguel Tejada saved his bacon with a walk 2-run HR in the bottom of the 9th (Astros 5 Cards 3). It was the Astros 4th home run of the game. The loss snapped the Cardinals 5-game winning streak.

Pat Burrell hit a pair of home runs to power the Phillies past the Reds 5-3. Brad Lidge earned his first save in a Phils uniform to get a win for Cole Hamels.

Mark Reynolds homered twice and he and Orlando Hudson drove in 3 runs each as the Dbacks topped the Dodgers 9-3. Reynolds is off to a hot start - .333-4-9 and 7 runs scored. Dan Haren picked up his 1st NL win in the process.

Adrian Gonzalez had 4 hits, including a home run, and Greg Maddux won his 348th career game in the Padres 8-4 win over the Giants. The team by the bay has lost 6 of their first 7 games.

Tom Glavine threw 6 scoreless innings for the Braves, but Blaine Boyer surrendered a 2-run HR to Matt Holliday in the 8th to give the Rockies a 2-1 win. Boyer may not be long for the majors- his ERA is nearly 8.00 and he's been tagged with 2 of the Braves 4 losses.

The Cubs blew a 7-0 lead before beating the Pirates in 12 innings, 10-8. Cubs starter Ted Lilly is off to an awful start, having allowed 9 earned runs in 8.1 innings pitched.

Hanley Ramirez homered and drove in 3 in the Marlins 10-7 clubbing of the Nationals. Not a good game for phenom Andrew Miller though. The rookie allowed 6 runs in 3.1 innings. The Nats have lost 5 straight after winning their first 3.

Francisco Rodriguez blew the Angels 2-1 lead to the Indians in the 9th, and then had to leave the game with an injured ankle. But Torii Hunter got K-Rod off the hook, blasting a walk-off grand slam against Joe Borowski in the bottom of the 9th. Borowski and April, not perfect together.

Joe Crede grand slammed the White Sox to their 5th straight win, a 7-4 victory over the Twins. Javier Vazquez struck out 8 in 7 innings of work for his first win of the season.

Aubrey Huff's 8th inning home run snapped a 4-4 tie and gave the Orioles a 5-4 win over the Mariners. It was the O's improbable 5th straight win.

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Around the Horn - 4/5

The Tigers skid to start the season was extended to 4 games yesterday when the White Sox beat them 8-5. A.J. Pierzynski drove in 5 runs, including the game winning 3-run home run in the 8th. Starters Jose Contreras and Nate Robertson both stunk.

Ramon Hernandez, Kevin Millar, and Melvin Mora homered in the Orioles 7-4 win over the Mariners. Former Mariner set up man George Sherrill picked up his 2nd save as the O's closer.

Shaun Marcum limited the Red Sox to 3 hits over 7 innings in the Blue Jays home opening 6-3 win.

The Twins got a new centerfielder and lead off man, Carlos Gomez, in the Johan Santana deal. Last night he gave the Twins what they were hoping for-3 hits, 2 stolen bases, and a run scored. The Twins beat the Royals 4-3, handing KC their first loss.

Angels starter Dustin Moseley beat out highty touted prospect Nick Adenhardt for the 5th starter's spot. Moseley may be looking over his shoulder after allowing 5 runs in 5 innings while Adenhardt tossed 5 shutout innings inTriple-A. Ben Broussard took Moseley deep for a grand slam in the Rangers 11-6 win.

Justin Duscherer has been a reliable set up man in his brief career, but last night he limited the Indians to 1 run in 5 innings of work before leaving with bicep tightness. The A's beat the Tribe 6-3, but they have to be concerned about closer Huston Street. He's allowed at least 1 run in each of his 3 appearances and has given up a home run in each game.

Bill Hall homered twice and drove in 6 runs in the Brewers 13-4 drubbing of the Giants.

Miguel Tejada tripled in the go-ahead run in the Astros 4-3 win over the Cubs. Rookie of the year candidate J.R. Towles hit his 1st home run of the year.

Micah Owings got a hit as usual, but it was his pitching, 2 hits allowed, 9 Ks in 6.2 innings that dominated the Reds. The Diamondbacks got home runs from Justin Upton and Mark Reynolds in their 8-1 win.

The Dodgers scored 6 runs in the 7th to beat the Padres 7-1 making Hiroki Kuroda's MLB debut a successful one. The Japanese born right-hander limited the Pads to 3 hits in 7 innings.

The Cardinals improved to 3-1, beating the Nats 5-4 behind Rick Ankiel's HR and Braden Looper's pitching.

Chase Utley just keeps on hitting. The 2nd Baseman, off to a .357 start, homered twice in the Phillies 8-4 win over the Reds.

The Mets and Braves were rained out, delaying Tom Glavine's start against his last team.

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Around the Horn

The mouth that roared, Curt Schilling reported to Red Sox camp yesterday, and quickly threw management under the team bus. Schitbag is upset that the team is forcing him to choose rehab over surgery on his balky shoulder.

"I don't have any choice. If their course of action doesn't work I don't pitch this year, and I may never pitch again," Schilling said. "I have to mentally get behind it and do everything I can do to make it work."

Schilling had earlier sent this email to the AP.- "When you understand the depths of the different diagnosis, the incredible variations in potential treatments and timetables you should be able to understand to some degree why I might be upset at being forced to take this course of action," Schilling said. "That being said, that process is over and right now I am focused on trying to find out as quickly as possible whether or not this course of action will work."

Miguel Tejada reported to his new team, the Houston Astros today, but refused to comment on being named in the Mitchell Report. Tejada's attorneys advised him to keep a lid on things. The FBI has already launched an investigation to determine if Tejada lied during an interview in 2005.

Odalis Perez has reportedly joined the free-for-all to make the Nationals pitching staff, by inking a minor league deal.

The Angels can't find this to be good news. Vlad Guerrero is still bothered by elbow problems that forced him to DH down the stretch of last season.

Lou Piniella has made Bobby Howry the front-runner to be the Cubs new closer. Last year's closer, Ryan Dempster, was moved back to the starting rotation.



Ownership is now 5-0 in arbitration cases after defeating Mark Loretta.

Talk about a sophomore jinx. Hunter Pence has gotten off to a rough start in '08, suffering cuts to his hands and knees after walking into a sliding glass door.

Ian Kinsler has joined the recent group of young players to receive long-term contracts. The Rangers and Kinsler agreed to a 5-yr, $22 million deal.

Andy Pettitte wasn't the only one offering up apologies yesterday. Eric Gagne said his sorrys for being a distraction to his new Milwaukee Brewers club.

In what has to be a simple case of nepotism, the Nationals have inked Brett Boone to a minor league deal. The 39-yr old hasn't played in a major league game in over 2-1/2 years. His younger brother Aaron is also in Nats camp and his Dad, Bob, is an assistant to GM Jim Bowden.

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Tejada Under the Microscope

Miguel Tejada is coming under scrutiny as the congressional committee prepares to meet next month to discuss performance enhancing drugs in baseball. With investigators already checking into claims by Roger Clemens that he did not use steroids, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) has asked investigators to look into whether or not Tejada lied under oath when he testified before congress.

The Mitchell Report , Waxman noted, "directly contradicts key elements of Mr. Tejada's testimony."

Wasting no time, Waxman and Davis dispatched a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey urging a criminal probe of the one-time American League MVP.

You can bet the Houston Astros are sweating right now- in addition to Tejada.

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Clemens Clean...in '06

Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte came clean in one instance. Though they were named in a 2006 LA Times article, as being included in Jason Grimsley's affidavit, both Clemens and Pettitte were not included in the affidavit, which was made public yesterday. Brian Roberts and Jay Gibbons, also both in the Mitchell Report, were also erroneously mentioned by the paper. The newspaper is to run a retraction and apology in today's edition.

Sammy Sosa, Pete Incaviglia, Geronimo Berroa, and Allen Watson were not named in the Mitchell Report, but were included in Grimsley's tale of cheat.

In the case of Sosa, Miguel Tejada, and Rafael Palmeiro, their mention came from a conversation they had with Grimsley while all were with the Orioles in 2005. The four wondered how they were going to play the next season with the banning of amphetamines.

The affidavit also listed José Canseco, Lenny Dykstra, Glenallen Hill, and David Segui, all of whom were in the Mitchell Report.

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Friday Hot Stove

Update 3:25 - Well apparently even Peter Abraham can be wrong. It appears, Vizcaino is indeed signing with the Rockies for that 2 year deal.

Update 2:25 - Luis Vizcaino, rumored to be signing with the Rockies, agreed to a 2-year, $7 million deal with the Brewers.

So what's going on in the minds of the Houston Astros' front office and their fans? They may have suspected that Miguel Tejada would be named in a steroid report- his name had surfaced before- but did they expect it would happen one day after they traded for him? Surely if they had waited they could have gotten him for less than 5 players.

The Astros are also interested in Mark Prior, who happened to be named in the report as well.

Eric Gagne, not surprisingly, was on the list yesterday as well. Are the Brewers still happy they gave him $10 million?

Johan Santana will want a contract extension of at least 7 years and $140 million. According to a report from the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Santana's agent gave that info to the Yankees, Red Sox, and Mets.

The Blue Jays inked veteran David Eckstein to a 1-year, $4.5 million deal. Oh and in case you missed it, Howie Clark, the Blue Jays infielder that A-Rod yelled, "HAH" at, was named in the Mitchell Report yesterday. Maybe that's why A-Rod was yelling!

The Twins signed Adam Everett, the same day the shortstop was non-tendered by the Astros. Everett, signed to a 1-year, $2.8 million deal, certainly won't help the Twins' lineup.

The Nationals signed Rob Macowiak and Willie Harris, to help strengthen their bench.

The Phillies are looking at Akinori Otsuka to help out their bullpen. Otsuka was non-tendered by the Rangers.

The Rays are working on a deal to bring Cliff Floyd to the AL.

The Cubs are thinking of making a run at Twins' closer Joe Nathan.

The Rangers have signed pitcher Kazuo Fukumori (not to be confused with Fukudome) to a 2-year, $3 million deal, with an option for 2010.

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Breaking News: Tejada Dealt to Astros

We had a false alarm during the winter meetings, but this time it appears to be true. The Baltimore Sun is reporting the Astros have acquired Miguel Tejada from the Orioles for outfielder Luke Scott, pitchers Matt Albers, Troy Patton and Dennis Sarfate, and third baseman Michael Costanzo.

5 for 1 seems a lot considering that Tejada's skills have deteriorated a bit. We also think Tejada will probably switch to 3rd base unless the Astros decide to move Adam Everett.

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McPhail: Tejada Staying Put..for Now

Orioles GM Andy McPhail left Nashville without a deal done for Miguel Tejada, and says he isn't close to turning one.

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Breaking News: Tejada Headed to Houston?

790 AM in Houston is reporting that the Astros are close to acquiring Miguel Tejada from the Orioles for Adam Everett, Chris Burke and a pitcher. Kudos to the guys at Rotoworld.

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Monday Hot Stove

We Yankees fans are feeling better about 2008 with Andy Pettitte back in the fold, so lets see what's going on out there with other teams.

* * *

Paul Lo Duca was being interviewed on one of the local sports reports (we forget which) last night. He says there are 6 or 7 teams interested in. He also went on to say, in not so many words, that he can't wait to stick it to the Mets next season.

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Looks like reliever Ron Mahay, a one year wonder (happens a lot in Atlanta - see Jaret Wright) last season, will not likely be back with the Braves. Mahay's contract demands have gone past the point that the Braves are comfortable with. Source

* * *

Though there have been talks between the Indians and Pirates concerning Jason Bay, it's not likely Bay will be dealt. Xavier Nagy is another Pirates outfielder that is on the market, and there is speculation that the Bucs will non-tender him if they can't deal him. Source

* * *

The Cubbies, looking to strengthen their outfield hitting, have targeted the M's Raul Ibanez. Ibanez has average 24 HRs and 106 RBI the past 3 seasons in a pitcher's ball park. He's set to become a free agent after the 2008 season. Source

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The Mariners have reportedly made a 4-year, $44 million offer to Japanese pitcher Hiroki Kuroda. If true, it tops the Dbacks, 3-year, $27 million offer. Source

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The Dodgers are looking to strengthen centerfield and may look to Mike Cameron over high priced free agents Andruw Jones and Aaron Rowand. Source

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With the Marlins high demands, the Angels have reportedly turn their attention back to Miguel Tejada. The Orioles are said to want Jered Weaver and Brandon Wood in return. Source

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According to Ken Rosenthal, the Padres are considering bringing back Mike Piazza. Piazza would be a complete idiot to return to the NL or delusional that he can still catch a number of games. The Pads are better off talking to the Mets about Johnny Estrada.

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Wednesday Hot Stove

The Orioles continue to shop Erik Bedard, with the Dodgers and Mets showing a lot of interest, but the team hasn't decided if they really want to move their best pitcher. The O's have denied having any interest in free agent outfielder Jose Guillen.

Melvin Mora is working in the outfield while playing winter league ball. The O's may move Miguel Tejada to 3rd next season, if they decide to hold on to him. Source

The Rays are sending Rocco Baldelli for extensive tests to determine if is continual hamstring problems are being caused by an underlying problem. It's not the 1st time a team has had an issue like this. The Mets actually re-taught Jose Reyes how to run to help prevent hamstring injuries. Source

The Padres have had extensive talks with free agent outfielder Geoff Jenkins, who has indicated he would like play for them. Source

The Rockies have reached the conclusion that they will most likely not be able to re-sign left-hander Jeremy Affeldt. Amazing how much attention there is for mediocre lefties. Source

According to Newsday, the Mets have set their sites on the A's Danny Haren and Joe Blanton. It's not the 1st time the Mets have tried to acquire one of the right-handers. Source

It's not looking like Aaron Rowand will be returning to his original team. The White Sox and Rowand were on completely different pages in their contract discussions. Source

HA - the Twins have signed utility man Howie Clark to a minor league deal. Who cares? A-Rod has to know what town to yell "HA" in.

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Yankees Peruse Tejada

A baseball "insider" has contacted the Baltimore Orioles about the possibility of acquiring Miguel Tejada, who, like his predecessor would require a position change. As for dealing him to a division rival -

"We have to be open-minded to anything," Orioles president Andy MacPhail said, talking in general about the potential of moving Tejada. "If we think a deal at the end of the day makes sense for us, we're going to do it."

Source

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Pettitte Hard Luck Loser...Again

Andy Pettitte pitched his heart out, but came away with another loss, because of a lack of run support. Pettitte allowed 3 runs in the 3rd inning as part of a 7 inning stint. But the Yankees, who were shut out on 6 hits against the Royals on Thursday, managed only 2 runs and 6 hits off of starter Jeremy Guthrie and the Orioles bullpen.

The game started about a half-hour after the Yankees completed an 8-7 win the game suspended on June 28. The Yankees struck first when Andy Phillips drew a 2-out walk in the 2nd inning, and came home on Melky Cabrera's booming triple to left-center. But Cabrera was stranded when Johnny Damon's hard one hopper was snared by shortstop Miguel Tejada. Tejada was playing his first game since June 21st when he suffered a broken wrist. Of course in the odd recordkeeping for the suspended game, he is now credit as playing on June 28th since he had an at-bat in the resumed game.

Pettitte (6-7) escaped a bases loaded jam in the 2nd, but wouldn't be so lucky in the 3rd. With runners on the corners and 1 out, Pettitte struck out Tejada for the 2nd out, but then walked Aubrey Huff. Ramon Hernandez's single to left scored 2 and Jay Gibbons lined an RBI single to right for a 3-0 lead.

The Yankees mounted a rally in the 5th when Phillips and Damon singled. Jay Payton booted the ball, allowing runners to move up to 2nd and 3rd with just 1 out. But Guthrie (7-3) froze Derek Jeter with a wicked breaking ball for a called 3rd strike, and Bobby Abreu grounded out to 1st.

The Yankees cut the deficit to one in the 6th. Alex Rodriguez, celebrating his 32nd birthday, walked and came around on singles byHideki Matsui and Robinson Cano. But Phillips grounded into an inning ending double play. That would end the night for Guthrie, who the Yankees were glad to see go.

Scott Proctor, who lately has been serving up gopherballs like IHOP serves up pancakes, gave up a solo shot to Yankees-killer Kevin Millar for an insurance run. It would be more than enough as the Yankees could only manage 2 base runners against John Parrish, Paul Shuey, Jamie Walker, and Chad Bradford (1st save).

....

Phillips was 2-3 to extend his career high hitting streak to 9 games and is hitting .345 in July.

Pettitte has allowed 3 or fewer runs in 9 starts this season without getting a win. The Yankees have scored 2 or fewer runs in 6 of his last 15 starts.

The Tampa Yankees were rained out on Friday, pushing Jason Giambi's rehab back a day.

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