In what should be his last rehabilitation appearance for triple-A Las Vegas, closer Eric Gagne retired the six Memphis batters he faced in two innings, striking out two. Gagne did not allow a baserunner in four innings over three appearances and could be activated today.
-- Los Angeles Times
The Red Sox should do whatever it'll take to bring Roger Clemens back home for the stretch run in 2005. The Astros deny they'll trade Clemens if they continue to stumble, and the Rocket (who has a no-trade clause) comes with a hefty price tag, but the Sox should keep an open dialogue with Houston and pounce in late July. It would not be cheap. Clemens gets an automatic $3 million bonus if he is traded. There's also the small matter of his salary, which is $18,000,022. And it might cost a young player or two. After he beat the Marlins Monday, Clemens was asked if he'd finish his career in Houston and answered, "I'm not even thinking about that . . . I can't think that far ahead." That certainly sounds like a guy who would approve a trade. Better here than in New York, right Theo?
-- Boston Globe
Clemens has begun talking casually to friends about a possible Bronx revival. One thing holding him back today is prospect/son Koby's May 28 graduation from Houston's Memorial High School. Presuming the Astros' futility continues and provided the hometown folks understand his lust for a third ring, after May 28, he's good to go. The Yankees are already salivating at this possibility.
-- New York Newsday
The long-haired one has made what seems an irrefutable case that he is as indispensable to the Sox' future as catcher Jason Varitek. Johnny Damon also says he wants to stay with the Sox, but is committed, in the absence of any compelling initiative from the Sox, to test the open market as a free agent this winter. Would the Red Sox let Damon walk? If there's another team willing to satisfy Damon's desire for a five-year deal (he said this spring he'd like six years), the answer is yes, barring a sea change in the club's philosophy of not going beyond what they calculate a player's worth to be. Roster flexibility is a principal tenet of the Theo Epstein way. Will he make an exception for Damon? And can anyone come up with a reason he shouldn't?
-- Boston Globe
There is no question GM Epstein's master plan calls for more turnover on the roster next season. It's conceivable Edgar Renteria will be the only returning member of the infield in 2006, with third baseman Bill Mueller and first baseman Kevin Millar both free agents, and second baseman Mark Bellhorn whiffing his way toward the exits. The Sox also have demonstrated in each of the last two winters they'd be willing to unload Manny Ramirez's contract.
-- Boston Globe
The Phillies are off to another slow start. They're wallowing in last place in the National League East. It's been more than a decade since the team last made the playoffs. The consumers are fed up. They want changes, and they have the right to. The wolves are at the front door of Citizens Bank Park, and they're howling for blood. First on the hit list is GM Ed Wade. Second is manager Charlie Manuel. Don't hold your breath. Club president David Montgomery isn't ready to pull the trigger on anyone, and Wade, who discussed his underachieving team in a lengthy meeting with Manuel yesterday, has no big shake-ups planned.
-- Philadelphia Inquirer
The Orioles' team physician says right fielder Sammy Sosa could be out for a month with a staph infection on the bottom of his left foot. Team doctor William Goldiner said the infection was "serious and significant." But he said the antibiotics Sosa is taking are working, and team doctors believe the problem is under control.
-- Washington Post
The Orioles would like to trade for Mike Cameron. Give up setup man Jorge Julio, maybe a little less if the Orioles are lucky, to bring in one of the best defensive outfielders in the game, especially a guy like Cameron, whose star has been dimmed a little by injuries, a streaky bat and a subordinate role with the star-crazy Mets? There is no right answer for any trade. Some of the best moves are the moves you don't make. Some of the dumbest mistakes are not doing enough to help the club.
-- Baltimore Sun
Mets aren't interested in trading Cameron because it would mean making rookie Victor Diaz their starting right fielder and the team is unwilling to remove a proven bat from the lineup.
-- Washington Post
It could have been here. It could have been the Pirates and Lloyd McClendon. This time, it was the Royals and Tony Peņa. Last year, the Royals traded Carlos Beltran because they couldn't afford to keep him, and the team lost a franchise-record 104 games as Peņa's motivational skills were rendered useless with the team's lack of talent. When things didn't improve this season, he had had enough. We could easily go through the same thing here this summer. Both teams are at the low end of the payroll scale. Both have resorted to touting their young players. Oh, with McClendon, the wording might be different. It might be a firing.
-- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The next Royals manager, GM Allard Baird said, will need to share in the organization's youth-movement vision. This time, though, Baird added a slight twist, saying he would like the next manager to have been a tactician at the major-league level. "But that's not an absolute," Baird said.
-- Kansas City Star
Over nearly the last two decades the Royals have hired managers with no previous major-league managing experience. It started with John Wathan in 1987, and he had moderate success, as did Hal McRae, who followed. But Bob Boone, Tony Muser and Peņa have failed with worsening results. And now the outlook for the Royals appears as bleak as ever in the history of the organization. Kansas City has the worst record in baseball and is on track to lose 100 games for the third time in four years. What manager would want to enter this gloomy picture?
-- Kansas City Star
Baird mentioned only one name as a candidate: current interim manager Bob Schaefer. "I will consider Bob for this position," Baird said. If the job is offered to Schaefer, he will take it.
-- Kansas City Star
There's talk that Cubs announcer Bob Brenly and roving instructor Grady Little might make the short list of candidates for the Kansas City managing job, but you wouldn't think it makes much sense for Brenly. He's a World Series-winning manager getting paid a big salary for a low-stress job and living in a city he loves. The Royals might offer more money, but there's no chance to win, and the only guarantee is gray hair and getting fired two or three years from now.
-- Arlington Heights Daily Herald
Dodger manager Jim Tracy has a few names the Royals can include in their search -- Glenn Hoffman, Terry Collins and Jim Riggleman.
-- Los Angeles Times
Why can't the Cubs trade for Oakland reliever Octavio Dotel? The simple answer is Athletics GM Billy Beane doesn't have to move him now.
-- Arlington Heights Daily Herald
The Pirates are expected to dangle closer Jose Mesa, but they won't get serious until right before the July 31 trade deadline.
-- Chicago Sun-Times
Released by the Yankees, Steve Karsay is now free to sign with any team (Florida, San Francisco, Texas and the Cubs all are possible destinations), and the team that signs him will have to pay only a prorated portion of the major-league minimum salary of $316,000 for the rest of this season.
-- Newark Star-Ledger
The Nationals continue to look for a righthanded bat and are said to be looking at Colorado's Preston Wilson. During spring training, they were scouting Cincinnati's Wily Mo Pena.
-- Philadelphia Daily News
Jarrod Washburn will be a free agent after this season and the Angels have yet to show interest in extending a multiyear offer. Florida's hard-throwing A.J. Burnett figures to be the top target on the open market. But Washburn, if he continues to throw well, might not be far behind monetarily. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...mlb/index.html