Guillen: Blame me for shortcomings  —  Manager takes heat for champs' second-half struggles  —  CHICAGO — When Ozzie Guillen unleashed his now famous verbal tirade in the direction of Magglio Ordonez late last April, there was no mistaking the intent of Guillen's venom or the point …

Syd Thrift, former baseball executive, dies at 77  —  BALTIMORE (AP) — Syd Thrift, a former general manger of the Pittsburgh Pirates who spent nearly a half century in baseball, died at 77.  —  He underwent knee replacement surgery Monday in Milford, Del., and died that night …

Homer-happy Dodgers show anything's possible … LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers' clubhouse is typically as animated as one of those wooden local radio ads that manager Grady Little does for Jiffy Lube.  It's a businesslike place after victories, and so quiet after defeats you can hear the dirty laundry hit the floor.

'One of the luckiest people on the earth'  —  The first clue that my cell towers were intact came right around the trading deadline, approximately a month after my aneurysm.  By that time, I had been transferred from the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston to the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Cape and the Islands.

Sheffield Embraces Position Change  —  TORONTO — First base?  Gary Sheffield can play it with one hand tied behind his back.  —  At least that was one of the drills he tried in a training session at what could become his new position.  He tucked his right hand behind his back as he darted for sharply hit balls.

A-Rod Agonistes  —  Despite his extraordinary numbers, New York fans are quick to discount his contributions.  And when things go wrong for A-Rod, even his teammates find him hard to motivate and harder to understand  —  "Joe wants to see you."  —  Alex Rodriguez still was weak …

Towers: 'These guys don't miss (Mirabelli)'  —  LOS ANGELES - Doug Mirabelli won't be getting a Christmas card from Padres General Manager Kevin Towers, but maybe he should.  —  The cranky catcher who was traded to Boston on May 1 after a .182 April is one of the central characters of the Padres' season.

Notes: Johnson likely done for year  —  Rookie of the Year candidate has strain in his right forearm  —  NEW YORK — Marlins rookie Josh Johnson has a right forearm strain, and in all likelihood, the right-hander will not pitch again this season.  —  Johnson, who has the fourth-best ERA …

Tribe eyeing move to Cactus League  —  Team confirms report on deal to train in Goodyear, Ariz.  —  CLEVELAND — In their efforts to improve their outdated Spring Training setup, the Indians might head west.  —  Cleveland vice president of public relations Bob DiBiasio confirmed a report …

Hall of Fame is thin at third base  —  If there's an under-represented group in the Baseball Hall of Fame, it's probably the third basemen.  —  Whether that's because of long-running neglect on the part of voters (Ron Santo and Darrell Evans would likely say so) or because of a historical weakness …

No laughing matter  —  Padres' rotation puts a scare in possible playoff foes  —  They were a joke, a team no one took seriously.  A year ago the Padres staggered into the postseason barely a .500 team, and when they were trounced in the first round, they lived up to their billing as one of the worst postseason teams ever.