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.

Nats SS Guzman to miss rest of season  —  ATLANTA (AP) — Washington Nationals shortstop Cristian Guzman will miss the rest of the season following surgery Monday to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb.  —  Guzman sprained his left thumb in the fifth inning Sunday while tagging …

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 …

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.

Lo Duca suspended after tossing equipment  —  NEW YORK — Mets catcher Paul Lo Duca was suspended two games and fined after he tossed every piece of equipment he could find onto the field after being ejected Saturday night.  —  Lo Duca appealed the penalty and cannot be disciplined until after a hearing is held.

Gyro to the Beat: Matsuzaka to Release Music CD  —  Gyroating into a record store near you, Japanese pitching sensation Daisuke Matsuzaka.EMI Music Marketing announced today the upcoming album Music From The Mound from Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka.  EMI will distribute the album …

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.

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 …

Guillen named AL Player of the Week  —  Tigers shortstop bats .476 over week ending June 24  —  After going 10-for-21, good for a .476 batting average over the last week, Detroit Tigers shortstop Carlos Guillen was named the Bank of America Presents American League Player of the Week.

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.

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.

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.

Blogger Beat: Viva El Birdos  —  This season, at the beginning of each series, MetsBlog will attempt to get the perspective of the opposition and their fans.  From this, we hope to be better educated on the opposition going into a series.  It also gives us a fine opportunity to highlight some of our favorite team blogs.