JOBA TO PITCH WITH POPPED BLOOD VESSEL  —  BALTIMORE — Joe Girardi said Joba Chamberlain suffered a popped blood vessel in his right thumb throwing a ball back into the infield during batting practice before last night's ugly loss to the Orioles.  —  Girardi said while there was discoloration …

Breaking news: Sox call up Daniel Bard  —  BOSTON — It appears the Daniel Bard Era is about to begin.  —  The Red Sox have not made an official announcement, but Bard is expected to be at Fenway Park Sunday night for the series finale against the Rays.  —  The 23-year-old right-hander …

Rangers end Colon's streak, beat White Sox  —  CHICAGO (AP) — Hank Blalock homered twice, Vicente Padilla allowed one hit in seven innings and the Texas Rangers ended Bartolo Colon's dominance against them with a 7-1 win over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday.

The LatinTalent Market  —  The Basics  —  There's a disease of “more” in baseball prospect coverage, and it has seeped all the way down to the growing interest in the Latin American market of 16-year-old amateurs.  While this might seem borderline creepy and of dubious importance, there's many layers to this emerging foreign market.

Wang to start Tuesday in Scranton  —  Chien-Ming Wang will start Tuesday for Triple-A Scranton against Charlotte.  He is cleared for 100 pitches.  —  If he pitches well, Wang could earn his return to the majors.  Joe Girardi indicated that he is close.  —  Funny story from Johnny Damon after the game.

Dose of reality from O'Leary  —  He's pitching a show that's stuff of dreams  —  Since his baseball career ended after the 2003 season, Troy O'Leary has enjoyed the fruits of earning more than $16 million in his career.  There has been lots of time on the golf course, dad time with his children …

Elbow injury leaves career in jeopardy for Chicago Cubs reliever Chad Fox  —  MILWAUKEE — Chad Fox knows his career is in jeopardy after yet another injury to his troublesome right elbow, and he says he's at peace with it.  —  Fox  —  The Chicago Cubs placed the right-handed reliever …

Astros re-sign Smith, option Fulchino  —  Infield depth needed with Berkman sidelined by ailing wrist  —  HOUSTON — With Lance Berkman on the shelf for a few more days, manager Cecil Cooper came to the conclusion that he needed an extra infielder more than an extra arm in the bullpen.

Tonight's lineups  —  No Carlos Pena for the Rays, and still no Kevin Youkilis for the Sox.  J.D. Drew steps back in for Rocco Baldelli and Nick Green takes Julio Lugo's spot in the batting order.  Daniel Bard and his powerful fastball are active for tonight after being brought up from Pawtucket …

Zimmerman extends hitting streak to 27  —  Nats third baseman homers in final at-bat in eighth inning  —  PHOENIX — It took Ryan Zimmerman's final at-bat to extend his hitting streak to 27 games and help the Nationals to a 2-1 victory over the D-backs at Chase Field on Saturday.