Rangers' Matthews has golden dreams  —  BALTIMORE - Outfielder Gary Matthews acknowledged Friday that he has given thought to winning the Gold Glove.  —  "Only since I was about 5 years old," Matthews said.  "I walked into Bobby Bonds' house and saw his trophy case full of them.

Braves-Padres Preview  —  The San Diego Padres are looking to win two straight division titles for the first time in their history.  The Atlanta Braves , meanwhile, are a long shot to extend one of the longest division-title streaks in any major sport.  —  Holding onto a slim lead …

D-Backs call up Drew  —  Shortstop set to make debut in place of injured Counsell  —  PHOENIX — The future is now for at least one Diamondbacks prospect.  —  After veteran shortstop Craig Counsell broke a rib in the seventh inning of Friday night's win over the Brewers …

Chisox can't bail out Jose  —  As he batted with two outs in the ninth inning last night, pinch-hitter A.J. Pierzynski was thinking about more pressing matters than White Sox teammate Jose Contreras' streak of 17 straight decisions without a loss.  —  Pierzynski was trying to find …

Prior could return on Thursday  —  Cubs pitcher Mark Prior is sick and tired of being a bench-warmer with the summer heating up and the situation at Wrigley Field sticky as ever.  So the competitor in him argued against going on the 15-day disabled list Friday, believing he could come …

Second Half Begins With Quiet Debuts  —  PITTSBURGH, July 14 — The acquisition of Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez was touted, by all parties involved, as a move for the long-term success of the Washington Nationals, certainly not a quick solution for this season's woes.

Making their cases  —  Trachsel wins 7th straight, Floyd gets big hit as Minaya looks on  —  CHICAGO - When the Mets opened the second half of the season Friday at Wrigley Field, general manager Omar Minaya was in attendance, cell phone to his ear, tireless in his quest to find a No. 3 starter and another offensive weapon for October.

Pavano, Beltre haven't lived up to contracts … Every year major league teams spend millions of dollars on players who are almost always injured, who don't take their clubs to the next level or who simply don't live up to expectations.  —  The majority of these "busts" were either free-agent signings …

Traders Take Aim at Top Pitchers  —  As the Angels pursue a slugger in trade talks, they have discovered that their highly touted prospects are not necessarily the players most coveted by opposing teams.  With young, affordable pitching at a premium, potential trade partners tend …

Trade was risky, but at least Reds are going for it  —  Lefty reliever Bill Bray boarded the plane wearing a suit, and Majewski and 36-year-old shortstop Royce Clayton couldn't help but razz him about it.  —  "You could tell he was a rookie who had never been traded before," Clayton said.

Midseason flip is more of a big flop … Cincinnati - It's beginning to look as if mediocrity was disguised as prosperity.  —  The Rockies opened the second half as a contender.  The standings said as much.  But the way they have played for the past week screams something else, something troubling.

Notes: DL a possibility for Chavez  —  Swisher sees more time at first; Bradley back in action  —  BOSTON — The A's have been saying for some time that they'd very much like to avoid placing third baseman Eric Chavez on the disabled list, but manager Ken Macha's answer …

Over and way out for Beckett  —  He is the Bridgemaster, the Bombino, the man most likely to send you home with a souvenir if you are sitting in the Monster Seats.  Big league hitters, most of them American Leaguers, are takin' it to the streets at a record pace against Red Sox righty Josh Beckett in 2006.