Reds reinforce bullpen, infield  —  Eight-player trade with Nationals bolsters Reds' weak spots  —  If you think Cincinnati general manager Wayne Krivsky overpaid for pitching in the eight-player swap the Reds made with the Washington Nationals on Thursday, save your pity or anger for the GMs out there still looking for pitching.

Notes: Cabrera may be on way out  —  Whispered trade with Pittsburgh includes Burnitz, Craig Wilson  —  NEW YORK — General manager Brian Cashman has made it clear that pitching prospect Philip Hughes is as close to untouchable as any player in the Yankees' farm system.  —  Melky Cabrera on the other hand, may not be.

Angels place pitcher Kelvim Escobar on 15-day disabled list; Club recalls infielder Howie Kendrick from Triple-A Salt Lake  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Angels Friday placed RHP Kelvim Escobar on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to July 7) with irritation of the right elbow.

Warning to Rangers: Beware of Benson  —  BALTIMORE - If the Rangers know what is best, and that has not always been the case, they will have selective memory about Friday's 2-1 win against Baltimore at Camden Yards.  —  Kevin Millwood was good.  After missing one turn because of a biceps strain …

Trade Winds: Gusts surround Philly  —  Variety of teams contacting GM Gillick about Abreu  —  When it comes to baseball's summer trading season, the All-Star break truly is the calm before the storm.  Indeed, the trade winds now are blowing fiercely.  —  The eye of this storm appears …

Bonds' rift with former friend could play into grand jury probe  —  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Barry Bonds and Steve Hoskins were boyhood friends who went into business together and made a lot of money selling the San Francisco slugger's autographs.  But the relationship collapsed when Bonds accused Hoskins …

Cubs put Prior on DL  —  The Cubs started the second half of the season by putting pitcher Mark Prior on the disabled list and calling up infielder Ryan Theriot from Triple-A Iowa.  —  Prior was a late scratch from last Sunday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers because of a strained muscle on his left side.

Prospectus Today  —  State of the Game  —  Hey, no wonder the AL teed off on Trevor Hoffman's splitter Tuesday night: he doesn't actually throw one.  My error; Hoffman is a fastball/change-up guy, something a number of readers pointed out to me, and I'm pretty sure the extra-base hits he allowed were on change-ups.

Losing turns ugly  —  Maddux 'good with' leaving Cubs; Jones confronts 2 fans  —  The All-Star evaluation period may have ended with no casualties, but the frustration continues to mount at Wrigley Field.  —  While returning to the dugout after grounding out in the ninth inning …

Ponson, Under Scrutiny, Stresses Keeping His Focus  —  It is generally a good thing to be a starting pitcher for the Yankees, as is now the case for Sidney Ponson.  But it is not so good to be with your third team in less than a year with your career and your behavior being evaluated game by game.

Orioles send Cabrera to minors, recall Loewen  —  The Baltimore Orioles optioned struggling right-hander Daniel Cabrera to Triple-A Ottawa on Friday, hopeful the move will enable him to regain a measure of confidence after going six straight starts without a victory.

Botched bobbleheads  —  O's return 20,000 dark-skinned Roberts replicas  —  BALTIMORE (AP) — Orioles players have joked in the past that they didn't look like their bobblehead dolls.  But when a recent shipment of Brian Roberts bobbleheads arrived, team officials knew something was wrong.

Malone's Liberty bid for Braves opposed by pro-family campaign  —  ATLANTA (AP) — Liberty Media's bid to buy the Atlanta Braves is facing new opposition from pro-family advocates because Liberty owns On Command, which sells adult movies in hotel rooms across the nation.

Teixeira's 3 HRs help Rangers win  —  INDIANS OVERPOWER LIRIANO, TWINS 6-4  —  BALTIMORE - Texas Rangers first baseman Mark Teixeira has been insisting for months that his swing is no different from a year ago, when he had 43 home runs and 144 RBIs.  —  He backed up that assertion Thursday …