Cubs trade catcher Barrett to Padres  —  CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs traded embattled catcher Michael Barrett and cash to the first-place San Diego Padres on Wednesday for backup catcher Rob Bowen and minor league outfielder Kyler Burke.  —  Barrett, batting .256 with nine homers and 29 RBIs …

Complete Transcript: MacPhail Press Conference  —  The following is a complete transcript from today's press conference announcing Andy MacPhail as the President of Baseball Operations for the Baltimore Orioles.  —  The following has opening statements from Russell Smouse, Andy MacPhail, and a Q&A with members of the media.

Braves Trade McBride  —  Posted on Wed Jun 20, 2007 at 04:49:56 PM EDT  —  The Atlanta Braves announced that they have traded left-handed reliever Macay McBride to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for left-handed reliever Wilfredo Ledezma.  —  Ledezma has primarily been a reliever …

Getting the Manager Right  —  The Orioles shuffled a deck chair or two Monday, firing manager Sam Perlozzo and replacing him with bench coach Dave Tremblay.  The move will have no impact at all on the Orioles' 2007 season, which is now all about positioning for the 2008 draft.

Schilling to DL  —  ATLANTA — The Red Sox announced this afternoon that Curt Schilling will be put on the 15-day disabled list, and that Josh Beckett will move up in the rotation to pitch Sunday (he'll have his normal rest).  —  Schilling, who had an MRI on his pitching shoulder yesterday …

UNC tops Rice, stay alive  —  OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Robert Woodard and two relievers limited Rice to six singles and a double, Dustin Ackley broke open the game with a three-run homer and North Carolina beat the Owls 6-1 in the College World Series on Wednesday.

White Sox can't contain Marlins in loss  —  Manager Guillen expresses frustration after lead dissolves  —  CHICAGO — On the sliding scale of Ozzie Guillen tirades, ranging from the somewhat comical right on up to his irate verbal assault of Magglio Ordonez in Detroit two years ago …

Yanks in Hunter's sights  —  Potential free agent likes N.Y.  —  It's such a natural, it could be the name of a movie.  And it would be the kind of headline-grabber the Yankees crave.  —  What if Spider-Man took New York?  —  Torii Hunter, a.k.a. Spider-Man, is the Twins' high flying acrobat …

Fick's Mother Succumbs to Lung Cancer  —  Washington Nationals utility man Robert Fick joked with teammates and talked about his recent hot hitting yesterday afternoon before batting practice.  He was in a giddy mood, but he knew the news could come at any time.

The Boston Red Sox's Sultan of Statistical Analysis  —  After 25 years on the outside, Bill James was invited to take a seat at the center of the baseball universe.  Since Mr. James, the statistical oracle and author of the Bill James Baseball Abstracts, was hired by the Boston Red Sox in 2002 …

Less Than Ideal  —  Is there an ideal pitcher's body?  There's some irony here since the pitcher who asked me that is 6'10" (as well as 3-0 with an 0.64 ERA), but ignore that for a moment.  Scouts often say there's a type that's "durable" or "ideal.  " In fact, the evidence suggests …

Pirates Notebook: Tracy sticks by Paulino as catcher  —  SEATTLE — To get more offense from their catcher, the Pirates could do one of two things:  —  1. Get Ronny Paulino to hit something approaching his .310 mark as a rookie last year.  —  2. Use Ryan Doumit instead …

Renteria gets extra spring vs. Red Sox  —  Edgar Renteria was hitting .330 with 10 homers before Tuesday, having an even better season in his second year away from Boston than he had in his first.  —  You should know he's enjoying every minute of it, especially while the Red Sox are in town to see him shine.

Yanks, Mets, Angels all have inside track  —  LIKE THIS STORY?  —  If the Yankees wish to trade for Rangers closer Eric Gagne, they would hold an advantage over most other contenders.  —  The Yankees, Mets and Angels are among the clubs that can obtain Gagne without his permission, FOXSports.com has learned.

Throwin Heat - General Managers  —  A lot of general managers are operating with limited payrolls, but they're not all getting the same results.  Some teams make GM changes when they're not making progress, while others keep the same general manager for several years even when that GM has done …