Seething Hillenbrand sent packing  —  Refuses to sit in dugout with teammates Gibbons blasts DH in front of club  —  A furious Shea Hillenbrand lashed out at Blue Jays manager John Gibbons on Wednesday night after the team designated him for assignment.  —  Hillenbrand packed his bags during …

Rangers stop off in Boston  —  Texas (49-46) at Boston (57-36), 1:05 p.m. CT  —  John Rheinecker pitches in Boston today and he didn't do badly in his first trip to Fenway Park, holding the Red Sox to three runs on nine hits over 5 2/3 innings in a game the Rangers eventually won, 7-4.

Mets acquire minor leaguer infielder Ruben Gotay from Kansas City  —  The New York Mets today acquired minor league infielder Ruben Gotay from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for minor league infielder Jeff Keppinger.  Gotay will be assigned to Norfolk (AAA) of the International League …

THT Book Review: Feeding the Monster  —  Seth Mnookin, a lifelong Red Sox fan and former senior writer at Newsweek, has written a definitive account of the Red Sox from the moment John Henry, Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino bought the team in 2002 through the beginning of the 2006 season.

Nats Left Wishing on a Star  —  Frustration Mounts as Kearns Struggles, Florida Wins Series: Marlins 1, Nationals 0  —  MIAMI, July 19 — For a moment, there was some hope, albeit in the most marginal of forms.  Florida Marlins center fielder Alfredo Amezaga drifted back …

Yanks do trick, not trade  —  Until yesterday, and the wasted vintage pitching effort by Randy Johnson, there had been nothing but good tidings for Joe Torre's Yankees this second half of the season.  And, more and more, there has been reason to believe the "scrub squadders" of Melky Cabrera …

Wakefield out with stress fracture in rib cage  —  The Red Sox will have to make do without pitcher Tim Wakefield for at least three weeks, after extensive tests revealed he has a stress fracture in his rib cage, a source with direct knowledge of the injury confirmed.

Cubs coach Speier on leave after DUI  —  The Cubs put third-base coach Chris Speier on a leave of absence for several days after he was charged early Wednesday with drunken driving.  —  Shortly after leaving the Cubs-Astros game Tuesday, Speier was stopped several miles from Wrigley Field …

MLB: D.C. Government in Default of Lease Agreement  —  Major League Baseball has declared the District government in default of the lease agreement for the new stadium, charging that the city has failed to meet several deadlines for turning over critical documents.

FOR THE LOVE OF MIKE  —  REDS IMPRESSED BY 1ST LOOK AT PELFREY  —  July 20, 2006 — CINCINNATI - There are other pitchers who are going to fire big-time heat to the plate, according to Adam Dunn.  But the Reds slugger said Mike Pelfrey's fastball is different.  —  "He's big and tall, and he's got a good fastball.

Mets could trade top prospect for Zito  —  The Mets have insisted for months that they won't trade their top position prospect, Class AAA outfielder Lastings Milledge.  But a growing number of major-league executives believe that the Mets will indeed part with Milledge, 21, if they can get the right starting pitcher in return.

Cabrera start called 'a step'  —  The Orioles are eager for Daniel Cabrera to pitch his way back to Baltimore.  But the young right-hander continued to battle command problems in his first start for Triple-A Ottawa on Tuesday.  —  "His velocity was good, but he still didn't have command …

Pedro makes pitch to hit 10-day target  —  CINCINNATI - Pedro Martinez has moved closer to returning from the disabled list.  The ace had a 60-pitch bullpen session yesterday, with a five-minute rest midway through the workout.  Martinez, whose 45-pitch session Sunday was his first since landing …

Bullpen Looks Good to Tomko  —  PHOENIX — The Dodgers can only hope Brett Tomko's enthusiasm about moving from the starting rotation to the bullpen rubs off on Odalis Perez.  —  Tomko, who has made 143 starts in 145 appearances the last five years, will become a reliever when he rejoins …

Monroe slams White Sox  —  Vazquez allows grand slam as Tigers tie series  —  DETROIT — The symptoms resurfaced quickly Wednesday night and were too acute to cure.  —  Javier Vazquez's sixth-inning blues suddenly transformed a crafty effort into a tough 5-2 loss at Detroit that puts …