All-Star notes: La Russa wants larger roster  —  SAN FRANCISCO - Their dugouts are stocked with baseball's best players, yet All-Star Game managers Jim Leyland of the American League and Tony La Russa of the National League couldn't help but pine for a few players who aren't here.

M's set to sign Ichiro to 5-year deal  —  SAN FRANCISCO — One of the Mariners' biggest concerns this season is about to be resolved.  —  The club is on the verge of locking up Ichiro, their All-Star outfielder whose contract was set to expire after the season, to a five-year contract extension, The Seattle Times has learned.

Selig will follow Bonds in HR chase  —  SAN FRANCISCO — The oh-so-obvious dance of discomfort between soon-to-be all-time home run champ Barry Bonds and baseball commissioner Bud Selig continues.  —  And it will continue, right up until the record.  —  Baseball's greatest power hitter …

Vlad captures first Derby crown  —  Angels slugger bests Blue Jays' Rios in final round  —  SAN FRANCISCO — It was State Farm Home Run Derby night at AT&T Park on Monday and Vladimir Guerrero was the finest of Major League Baseball's slugging stars.  —  The Angels right fielder outdueled Alex Rios …

Young must be dealt before deadline  —  When word came down last week that Nick Johnson still was feeling pain in his right hip and needed to visit a specialist in New York, Washington Nationals fans might have had two reactions:  —  {bullet} Compassion for Johnson, who continues to face …

Where will A-Rod land?  —  News takes look at which could be next A-team  —  He's pulled off a successful switch to third base, won an MVP and is now taking aim at a hallowed home run record owned by Roger Maris.  But Alex Rodriguez's tenure in the Bronx also is pockmarked with boos, poor Octobers and racy tabloid tales.

Future Shock  —  Risers and Fallers, National League … Continuing from Friday's piece, we move on to the prospects of the prospects in the National League.  —  Arizona Diamondbacks  —  Great Leap Forward: It took a year longer than expected, but Justin Upton is living up to the promise …

Prospectus Today  —  So Wong He's Right, and Mr. Roberts … Given that it's Free Week, I guess I can put my intended catch-up Unfiltered posts into this space.  For the next four days, we'll be running everything here at Baseball Prospectus free, giving non-subscribers a taste of what they can get for about a dime a day.

Notes: Rotation about set for post-break  —  El Duque the early favorite to start against Reds on Thursday  —  HOUSTON — The Mets' starting rotation, subject to change as New England's weather, has been established — sort of — for the games following the All-Star break.

Agent gets 5 years for smuggling Cubans  —  KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) — A California sports agent was sentenced to five years in prison for smuggling five Cuban baseball players into the United States.  —  District Judge K. Michael Moore issued the mandatory minimum sentence Monday to agent Gustavo "Gus" Dominguez.

Transaction Analysis Special  —  Free Talent All-Stars … Picking All-Stars—whether by fan ballot, journalistic conceit, or individual manager's favoritism—has always been somewhat hit or miss. The standards are invariably slippery, and the insane tokenism requirement that places …

Government and Union Are on Same Side of Suit  —  In separate court filings yesterday, the United States attorney's office in the Northern District of California disclosed that it had not provided George J. Mitchell the names of current and former major league players linked to two cases involving performance-enhancing drugs.