Jon Heyman: White Sox fire sale imminent  —  Also in this column:  —  The White Sox are heading south, and we don't mean just 35th Street and the Dan Ryan Expressway, on the South Side of Chicago.  But much farther south, so far down in the standings that the team-wide selloff appears at hand now.

Ex-mates remember Beck  —  Reliever's death comes as shock  —  SAN DIEGO — The news of Rod Beck's death, which occurred Saturday in his home in suburban Phoenix, arrived in the visitor's clubhouse before yesterday's game, his former Red Sox teammates learning of his death from members of the Padres who had also played with him.

What's Wrong With the Yankees?  —  There was no way the Yankees' hot streak was going to last, of course.  They had won 14 of 17 games since falling a season-worst 14 ½ games behind Boston on May 29, with a 21-29 record.  —  But there was a sense, during that time …

In The Big Inning, God Created Israeli Baseball  —  Professional baseball took its first steps today when the inaugural game of the Israel Baseball League was played.  There weren't any Cracker Jacks, cotton candy, or peanuts, and there certainly wasn't any pork sausages.  All food was strictly Kosher.

One is real Met - who's the fake?  —  Florida woman says she lost 1M to scammer who pitched her on Pedro  —  A wealthy Florida chiropractor thought she was dating Mets ace Pedro Martinez, but the lovelorn back cracker wound up being scammed out of almost $1 million.

Stumbling Yanks Keep Taking Steps Backward  —  There is more than half the season remaining.  But if the Yankees continue to sputter and wheeze, the seventh inning of Sunday's game might have been their last stand.  —  In the top of the inning, Johnny Damon, Jorge Posada and Bobby Abreu came off the bench in succession.

As the other guy, Broglio's moment of glory was stolen  —  Often when introduced to strangers, former major league pitcher Ernie Broglio will notice a glint of recognition in their eyes.  —  "They'll say, 'How do I know that name?' "  Broglio says.  —  And he'll say, "You know Lou Brock?

Daniels Gets More Jack  —  Last week, the Texas Rangers signed general manager Jon Daniels to a one-year extension through 2009 for approximately $650,000.  The 29-year-old Daniels became the youngest GM in MLB history when he inked a three-year contract for $1.35 million in October 2005 after John Hart resigned.

Taveras feels robbed by premature calls  —  Ump calls him out on grounder; replay says "safe"  —  Toronto - A simple groundball to shortstop Sunday quickly cast Willy Taveras as the star of "The Fast and the Furious."  —  In Sunday's first at-bat, Taveras bounced a ball toward John McDonald.

Former MLB pitcher Rod Beck dies  —  SAN FRANCISCO (TICKER) — Former major league relief pitcher Rod Beck died Saturday from unknown causes.  He was 38.  —  According to a report on the Arizona Republic's web site, Beck died at his home in northeast Phoenix.

Injuries put Guzman, Colome on DL  —  Shortstop hurts thumb; old injury resurfaces for reliever  —  WASHINGTON — The Nationals received potentially devastating news after their 3-1 victory over the Indians on Sunday afternoon when they were forced to place shortstop Cristian Guzman …

Chasing the Cubs  —  A Chicago-based buyout artist may be Bud Selig's choice to become the Cubs' next owner for a record price.  But can he break the curse?  —  (Fortune Magazine) — Back in 1981 the Tribune Co. bought the hapless Chicago Cubs for a bargain price of $21 million …

Breaking Down The Draft's 1st Round: Picks 21-30  —  Today, we look at picks 21-30 in this year's draft.  In Part 1 (picks 1-10) and Part 2 (picks 11-20), you can find the ground rules I set for myself plus an explanation of many of the mechanical concepts that I'll mention in this article.

Miller, Tigers cruise to shutout of Braves  —  Lefty tosses six-plus strong frames as Detroit finishes sweep  —  ATLANTA — A Tigers left-hander battles out for out with his Braves counterpart through five scoreless innings.  The Tigers put him up for good with a sixth-inning outburst.