Texas Rangers cut ties with pitcher Ponson  —  egrant@dallasnews.com  —  ARLINGTON - Citing a lack of respect for teammates and the club, the Rangers suddenly severed ties with No. 3 starter Sidney Ponson on Friday.  —  General manager Jon Daniels declined to reveal specific reasons …

Rays try to minimize impact on pitching staff  —  ARLINGTON, Texas — The Rays won't know the full impact of the suspensions handed down for a few days.  —  By having James Shields (six games) and Jonny Gomes (five games) appeal their suspensions, which were to begin Friday …

Hal on Cash: We'll ‘wait until after the season’  —  There are no plans to sit down and talk with general manager Brian Cashman about his contract status, Yankees co-chairman Hal Steinbrenner said Friday.  —  Steinbrenner was at Yankee Stadium for Friday night's game against the Royals.

postGame: Padres 2 Mets 1  —  The Mets (30-30) lost to the Padres (26-37) by the score of 2 to 1 in San Diego tonight.  —  For a recap, boxscore, stats, etc., go to SNY.tv.  —  Randy Wolf + Petco Park = Loss  —  However, in case you missed it:  — The game's only runs were scored …

Did Youkilis ignite scrap?  —  Multiple Red Sox players confirmed yesterday that Thursday night's dugout altercation between Manny Ramírez and Kevin Youkilis resulted from Ramírez objecting to what he believed was excessive - and chronic - complaining about the strike zone …

Cuban says he will ‘pull out all the stops’ in bid to buy Cubs  —  Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban, one of the Major League Baseball-approved bidders for the Chicago Cubs, expects to receive confidential financial data on the team any day now and said Friday on a Chicago radio show that it is his …

Hank Steinbrenner: Do your own jobs  —  Do your own jobs, and stop worrying about Joba.  —  That was Hank Steinbrenner's strongly worded message Friday for Johnny Damon or any other veteran Yankee who wants to see Joba Chamberlain switched back to the bullpen.

Home Run Derby Swaps Ortiz for 2 to Be Named  —  David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox was supposed to try to mimic Babe Ruth during a Call Your Shot promotion in next month's All-Star Game festivities at Yankee Stadium.  After the Yankees protested and Ortiz was injured, officials decided to have two players replace him.

Kyle Davies helps KC enjoy trip to NY  —  Kyle Davies won his second consecutive start since being called up from the minors and the struggling Kansas City Royals earned a rare victory at Yankee Stadium, shutting down New York, 2-1, last night to snap an 11-game road skid.

Tigers could lose Bonderman  —  As if the Tigers didn't have enough problems, they begin a 10-game homestand tonight with new concerns about right-hander Jeremy Bonderman.  —  After reporting some discomfort around his right shoulder, Bonderman went to see a doctor this afternoon.