House Of Blues  —  Papelbon Allows Two Runs In Ninth  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kauffman Stadium was a sweatbox Wednesday night as the temperature reached 102 degrees at game time.  —  Just when you thought things couldn't get any hotter ...  The Red Sox managed to turn the heat up on themselves …

Prospectus Today  —  Summer Drama  —  It's been a long, hard slog from their 17-24 start, but as of this morning, the Minnesota Twins have the third-best record in the American League and a tenuous grip on the AL's wild-card slot.  They won two out of three this week in Detroit …

Position Breakdown: Center Fielders  —  The 2005 draft is looking like it could go down in history as the year of the centerfielder.  Half of the 12 players listed here were selected in the first round of last year's pickfest, and two of the five honorable mentions were selected later on.

Who Needs a Heart When a Heart Can Be Broken?  —  Like something from Mark Twain's imagination, the big, red paddle wheel on the Mississippi Queen slowly churned through the muddy Ohio River, just beyond the right-field seats of the Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

Floyd Put on D.L.; Tucker Is Recalled  —  The Mets placed Cliff Floyd on the 15-day disabled list yesterday with tendinitis in his left Achilles' tendon, and purchased the contract of outfielder Michael Tucker from Class AAA Norfolk.  —  Floyd did not start in left field against the San Diego Padres …

The Shifting Swings of A-Rod and Andruw: Part 1  —  It might be different in New York, but from here in Atlanta, it seems as though the media criticism of Alex Rodriguez has tapered off.  Apparently, all is well now that the Yankees have returned to their rightful position at the top of the AL East.

Cubs' scheme a bad sign  —  Proving that there's as much justice in the justice system as jazz in Utah, an appeals court ruled recently that the Chicago Cubs' ticket-scalping scheme did not violate state anti-scalping laws, despite clearly violating the state's anti-trust law.

Firing Buck or Jon won't solve problem  —  For those angry enough to still care, your disgust with the Rangers is coming in loud and loaded.  —  Stop the media coddling of Buck Showalter, you demand.  —  This man must be fired.  Now.  And if not now, October for sure.  —  Four years of nothing is enough.

Dusty on '07: 'I've got a choice, too'  —  MILWAUKEE — Whether he was motivated by his team's recent success or by months of speculation about his job, Dusty Baker spoke with a sense of defiant confidence Wednesday before the Cubs faced the Milwaukee Brewers.

A Signature Moment for This Relationship  —  We almost won, we almost won.  —  Had the streak continued, we would have been in first place, but that's all right, the guys are still great, and it's like I was telling my bro Jeff Kent before the game, we're one big family around here when the Dodgers are going good.

Liriano's absence indefinite after second MRI  —  MINNEAPOLIS — The Twins are optimistic, but not totally confident, that injured left-hander Francisco Liriano will return this season.  —  Liriano, 12-3 with a league-leading 2.19 ERA, had a second, enhanced MRI exam Thursday when a shot …

With Henry, dinner and The Show  —  It's 7 p.m. on a glorious Tuesday in a leafy suburb not far from Fenway Park and John Henry is in his home office, staring at a computer screen almost as big as the frame bordering Jane Swift's gubernatorial portrait.  He's downloading some crucial information …

Tigers fall short in finale vs. Twins  —  Zumaya gives up game-deciding homer in eighth  —  DETROIT — For the third time in this six-game homestand, the Tigers went ahead with late-inning heroics.  This time, however, the other team answered back.  —  Brandon Inge's two-run …

Book excerpt: Spalding's World Tour  —  The Epic Adventure That Took Baseball Around The Globe — And Made It America's Game … Rough seas made the four-day trip due west from Auckland to Sydney one of the more difficult legs of the tour, but the welcome Spalding and his men received …