Barrett: Brewers' Lee belongs at Wrigley  —  Michael Barrett is a catcher, but he made a strong pitch Wednesday for Cubs general manager Jim Hendry to pursue Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Carlos Lee.  —  Lee's power explosions at Wrigley Field remind Barrett of how his former Montreal Expos …

Swept, but hardly cleaned out  —  If a team struggles alone, in the forest of ineptitude that is the National League, does anyone hear it?  —  The Mets, after all, saw their National League East lead drop to 11 games last night, as a 4-2 loss to the Red Sox sent them to the Subway Series as victims of a Fenway Park sweep.

Deaf to Boos, Rodriguez Finally Hears the Cheers  —  Alex Rodriguez must have heard the boos when he failed to reach base in the 1st and 10th innings, and again in the 11th when he made an error.  Or did he?  After yesterday's game, Rodriguez said his hearing was going bad, likening himself to a swimmer with clogged ears.

Anderson's heroics can't stop sweep  —  Second baseman homers twice as Nats fall to Jays  —  TORONTO — First, the good news.  The Nationals scored four runs on Thursday, their second-largest offensive output in the last 10 games.  —  The bad news: Nationals ace John Patterson was again forced from the mound with arm problems.

You Can't Go Home Again  —  BOSTON, June 28 — At 7:14 p.m. Wednesday, Pedro Martínez marched out of the visiting dugout to bask in yet another familiar standing ovation at Fenway Park.  When the sellout crowd offered its next one, at 7:31, Martínez wanted no part of it.

Hamels unable to halt Phils' slide  —  BALTIMORE - Cole Hamels uttered three words yesterday at Camden Yards, three words that almost certainly had never left his lips for as long as he has been able to throw a baseball:  —  "Seriously, I [stink]."  —  He certainly has struggled …

Pirates demote Perez to minors  —  Pirates demote Perez to minors  —  PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Pirates opening-day starter Oliver Perez was demoted to Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday, the club's latest move to try to turn around the hard-throwing pitcher once viewed as their staff ace.

Canseco back in baseball — with independent Surf Dawgs  —  Canseco back in baseball — with independent Surf Dawgs  —  SAN DIEGO (AP) — Jose Canseco returned to baseball Thursday when he agreed to a contract with the independent San Diego Surf Dawgs, planning to be their designated hitter and — get this — pitch.

Go 2 Guy: Mariners destined to win AL West  —  The 2006 American League West champions should forget the preseason predictions written here, those that said the Mariners would finish 73-89 and Ichiro Suzuki would not hit .300.  —  Steve Pool gets to revise his forecast, so I will too …

Palmeiro speaks … The man whose finger-wagging image may forever be the lasting snapshot of baseball's so-called steroid era hasn't paid much attention to the sport's most recent drug scandal.  —  Rafael Palmeiro spends his mornings working out, his days playing baseball with his two sons …

They've Rebuilt the Farm  —  Dodgers' minor league system has gone from one of baseball's worst to among the best  —  In the batting cages at Dodgertown, wrapped in catcher's gear, staring through horizontal bars, pelted by hard and undeveloped sliders, Russell Martin still knew.

Rock the game clock  —  As game times are ticking back from three-plus hours, the Rockies are displaying better defense; players hope staying fresher will help them contend  —  Seattle - To understand the Rockies' standing in the NL, think DSL.  —  For years, Colorado was a dial-up franchise in a high-speed world.

Analysis: Pirates' failure far-reaching at season's midpoint  —  Maybe this explains why members of the Pirates' upper management never cite specific goals for the team going into a season.  —  Even the most modest objectives can come back to bite them.  —  In the spring, owner Kevin …

Weight trainer refuses to testify in Bonds perjury investigation  —  (06-29) 16:37 PDT — Greg Anderson, the Peninsula steroid dealer who was Barry Bonds' personal weight trainer, refused to testify Thursday before a federal grand jury investigating the baseball star for perjury.

Notes: Rangers waiting on contract talks  —  GM Daniels doesn't want distractions during the season  —  SAN FRANCISCO — The Rangers have at least six players who can become free agents after the season, but general manager Jon Daniels said this week he is reluctant to begin any talks on contract extensions.