Guillen names Rogers AL starter, NL taps Penny  —  PITTSBURGH — Kenny Rogers has gone from all-star scourge to All-Star Game starter.  —  The Tigers' left-hander, the top winner for the team with the best record in the majors, will be on the mound for the AL on Tuesday night against Brad Penny of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Liriano fills in for Contreras as All-Star  —  Twins southpaw finished second in AL Final Vote  —  PITTSBURGH — For Francisco Liriano, it was a case of "better late than never."  —  Liriano, the Twins' rookie sensation who was edged out by White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski in the 2006 Monster …

Time to hand out some midseason hardware  —  The coolest thing about this year's awards races is that Twins left-hander Francisco Liriano might lose the American League Rookie of the Year award but win the Cy Young.  —  Red Sox closer Jonathon Papelbon, who didn't allow a run on the road until …

One Phillies owner speaks out on team's struggles  —  PITTSBURGH - The Phillies have been bloodied and beaten on the field, and intensely criticized off it.  —  The starting pitching and hitting have been awful.  Manager Charlie Manuel is feeling the heat.

Wood wonders if 2005 surgery was wrong move  —  MILWAUKEE — Manager Dusty Baker said Sunday that Kerry Wood told him he is second-guessing whether it was the right decision for him to undergo labrum surgery last August.  —  Wood is out for the season after an MRI arthrogram Friday discovered a partial tear in his right rotator cuff.

Soriano a star likely on the move  —  PITTSBURGH — When Alfonso Soriano leads off for the National League in tonight's All-Star Game, he will wear his third uniform in the Midsummer Classic; before his current Nationals employ, he represented the Yankees and Rangers.

Big Papi is baseball's new face  —  Red Sox slugger is no longer a diamond in the rough  —  PITTSBURGH — It was quite a scene Monday afternoon at All-Star media day, with flash bulbs clicking and bright lights hovering above and around the best baseball players in the world.

PNC Park a winner, but Pirates . . .  Pittsburgh gets its ballpark right, but team is all wrong  —  PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh's steel-and-glass skyline is so close, it appears to hover over the right fielder's shoulder.  There are three major rivers located about the length of a Jason Bay home run from the ballpark's boundaries.

Nats announce 'Grand Reopening' for old RFK … WASHINGTON // The lines are too long, the concourses are dirty, the food service is lacking, the music isn't fun, the prices are too high, the marketing is virtually nonexistent, and the team stinks.  —  While there's no quick fix for that last item …

Abreu has experienced a power outage … PITTSBURGH — Here in this modern sports world, where we'd much rather believe in supernatural forces than reality, we love our curses.  So it's time to ask a question we know you've all been wondering about pretty much 24/7:  —  Is there any such thing as a Home Run Derby Curse?

Melvin, D-Backs agree to extension  —  PITTSBURGH — The Diamondbacks have reached an agreement with manager Bob Melvin on a two-year contract extension with an option for the 2009 season, multiple baseball sources told MLB.com.  —  Negotiations began in early June, a source said …

Future Shock  —  Jay Bruce, of, Low Class A Dayton (Reds)  —  With the 10th, 11th and 12th picks of the 2005 draft, the Tigers, Pirates and Reds all took high school outfielders.  Both Detroit's Cameron Maybin and Pittsburgh's Andrew McCutchen have been impressive in their full-season debuts, but Bruce has been the best of the trio.

WAGS WOULD MORTGAGE FUTURE, BUT WILL OMAR?  —  July 10, 2006 — BILLY WAGNER turns 35 in two weeks and the Mets have a 12-game lead in the NL East.  These are the pertinent numbers in the closer's baseball life.  The short time he has left in the game and the wide lead his club has in its division.

Memories and stories connect generations … The place: Camden Yards in Baltimore.  The date: Sept. 6, 1995.  —  There are moments in baseball that couldn't possibly happen in any other sport.  This was one of them.  —  Most baseball history is made with no notice, with no warning.