AGRI Biz

The Philadelphia Phillies have made a mid-rotation starting pitcher their top trade deadline priority, according to a tweet by ESPN's Buster Olney . The two-time defending National League champions, who find themselves two and a half games back and in third place in the NL East division, will look to supplement a rotation that already includes the dominant Roy Halladay and a pair of strong left-handed hurlers, in the ageless Jamie ...

The ball jumped off the bat of Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun, a burning one-hopper a step to Aramis Ramirez's left. Aging outfielder Jim Edmonds began lumbering toward second base, but as Ramirez (whose reaction to the ball, hit nearly right at him, was characteristically slow) took a jab step toward the ball and reached out to collect it, an inning-ending double play seemed nearly certain. And then it wasn't. The ...

After a tough first week that saw them go 2-4 on a six-game road trip, the Chicago Cubs came home to the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field to face the Milwaukee Brewers in their 2010 home opener Monday. Behind starter Ryan Dempster, the Cubbies earned a 9-5 victory. New Cub Xavier Nady, getting a start in right field against Milwaukee's left-handed starter Doug Davis, broke a third-inning tie when he belted ...

In the first three games of the Chicago Cubs' 2010 season, both Sean Marshall and John Grabow have appeared in each game. Each man is a left-handed pitcher in manager Lou Piniella's bullpen. That is where all similarities end. Marshall has logged 4 1/3 innings, striking out seven batters and allowing no base-runners. Grabow, meanwhile, has thrown 1 1/3 innings, giving up two hits and a walk. One of the hits was a ...

Chicago White Sox left-handed pitcher Matt Thornton's pitching line for Thursday night's game against the Cleveland Indians looks messy: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 ER, 3 K Thornton pitched the eighth inning, surrendering Chicago's slim 3-2 lead and setting up the eventual 11-inning loss the White Sox would suffer. He earned a blown save for his efforts. But the numbers could not more starkly misrepresent the game Thornton had. After punching out ...

The Cleveland Indians took the rubber match of their three-game series with the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, winning 5-3 in 11 innings. In the game, Sox manager Ozzie Guillen sent Andruw Jones out for his first start in a Chicago uniform, penciling him in as the center fielder and moving regular center fielder Alex Rios to left. But while that move worked out fine (Jones reached base twice and stole second ...

Starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano endured the worst outing of his career Monday, surviving just 1 1/3 innings and surrendering eight runs, an inauspicious beginning to what became a downright ugly loss for the Chicago Cubs on Opening Day. The Atlanta Braves got nine RBI combined from shortstop Yunel Escobar and rookie sensation Jason Heyward en route to a 16-5 win. New center fielder Marlon Byrd hit a three-run home run in the ...

With the announcement Thursday that New York Yankees right-handed pitcher Phil Hughes will be the team's fifth starter, a firestorm has arisen over what many now call the misuse of fellow right-handed flamethrower Joba Chamberlain. Chamberlain, 24, was kept on strict pitch and innings limits last season as part of what Yankees brass claimed would be a permanent transition to a starting role. Chamberlain pitched on more than four days of ...

Young outfielder Tyler Colvin will make the Chicago Cubs' Opening Day roster if the team can find him sufficient playing time, according to manager Lou Piniella . Colvin, 24, would need to get somewhere in the neighborhood of two starts per week in order to justify keeping him on board, by Piniella's reckoning. Colvin was the team's 2006 first-round pick, and the team is intent upon getting him regular playing time. ...

Fantasy baseball time is upon us once again, and for Roto-nerds across the globe, it feels like holiday season. This year, in a wonderful gesture, CBS Sports is offering Bleacher Report members a half-price discount on their award-winning Commissioner leagues, which is like finding that brand-new bike next to the Christmas tree. With fully customizable rules and settings, live scoring, keeper league options, expert analysis, and league messenger and chat capabilities, these ...