Pre-game news: Red Sox place waiver claim on Johnny Damon  —  News that Johnny Damon could be returning to the Red Sox put a twinkle in the eyes of those who knew him and played with him.  —  “Yeah!  Party like rock star,” said a gleeful David Ortiz.  —  From Tim Wakefield to Jason Varitek …

MLB Confidential: The Financial Documents Baseball Doesn't Want You To See, Part 1  —  We've obtained financial statements for a number of baseball teams — containing perhaps some of the most closely guarded information in sports — and they offer a rare glimpse at how MLB franchises do brisk business in the modern era.

Sources: Manny Ramirez of Los Angeles Dodgers likely to hit waivers this week  —  The expectation around baseball is that outfielder Manny Ramirez will be placed on waivers early this week, according to baseball sources.  —  The Los Angeles Dodgers could have put Ramirez on waivers on Monday …

Strasburg likely headed for DL … WASHINGTON (AP) — Rookie ace Stephen Strasburg of the Washington Nationals is probably headed back to the disabled list.  —  Strasburg strained a tendon in his right forearm over the weekend, and Nationals manager Jim Riggleman said Monday the team would …

What I care about more  —  Matt Cerrone mentioned Johan Santana's run of bad luck on MetsBlog earlier today, which is funny to me because earlier in the season, sabermetricians everywhere were rapping about Santana's run of good luck.  —  Remember when Santana was walking more batters …

Brewers Release David Riske  —  The Brewers released reliever David Riske, according to the team's Twitter feed.  Riske has about $1MM remaining in 2010 salary, plus a $250K buyout for 2011.  The Brewers will be on the hook for that minus the prorated league minimum if Riske signs elsewhere.

Morrow gets the call for Jays' opener against Yankees  —  Sports Network  —  (Sports Network) - Ivan Nova makes his first major league start this evening, when the New York Yankees open a three-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.  —  Nova, who pitched three scoreless innings …

Texas Rangers activate Matt Treanor, send Scott Feldman to disabled list  —  ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers activated catcher Matt Treanor from the disabled list and optioned Taylor Teagarden to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Monday.  —  Also, Scott Feldman was placed on the 15-day disabled list …

Free Talent  —  Yesterday, the Giants were awarded Cody Ross on a waiver claim, likely made to keep the Marlins from being able to ship him to San Diego.  They didn't need another outfielder, but they got stuck with him when Florida just let him go, and so they had to clear a roster spot.

Does Good Pitching “Always” Beat Good Hitting?  —  I've attempted to prove or disprove a lot of theories on UFR over the last (almost) two years.  “Good pitching always beats good hitting” is one that is espoused as though it were the synonymous with “Cows eat grass.”  But, is it the truth?