Indians To Sign Johnny Damon  —  The Indians will sign Johnny Damon, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (all Twitter links).  Damon confirmed to Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio that he has agreed to sign with the Indians (Twitter link).  —  The deal will include a full no-trade clause …

NY Mets' Jason Bay boils over and gets thrown out in Wednesday's 4-0 loss against Washington Nationals  —  Collins stands up for struggling outfielder  —  Jason Bay can't believe he is called out on strikes by home plate umpire Larry Vanover (l.) in the Mets loss to Washington.

Burrell grateful for chance to retire with Phillies  —  Even on the last day of his playing career, wearing a San Francisco Giants uniform in a game against the Colorado Rockies, Pat Burrell found himself thinking about the Phillies.  —  He had already decided this would be it.

Halladay, Phillies Beat Marlins  —  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Roy Halladay's presence was a bigger obstacle for the Miami Marlins than Ozzie Guillen's absence.  —  Halladay threw seven sharp innings and the Philadelphia Phillies broke out of their offensive slump, beating the Marlins 7-1 …

Royals' Jeff Francoeur delivers pizza to A's fans  —  OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Pizza delivery, courtesy of Jeff Francoeur.  —  The Kansas City Royals' right fielder had 20 personal pizzas delivered Wednesday to a small but animated group of Oakland Athletics fans in section 149 of the Coliseum.

Rockies pound Tim Lincecum, Giants, 17-8  —  DENVER—Tim Lincecum had four inches cut off his famous locks before Wednesday's game and joked that he was trying to look like Tom Cruise in “Mission Impossible—Ghost Protocol.”  —  Lincecum's ensuing start was no blockbuster, more of an epic box office bomb.

Anderson continuing to make progress  —  Left-hander planning to throw BP after successful bullpen session  —  OAKLAND — A's left-hander Brett Anderson took another step Tuesday in his recovery from Tommy John surgery when he threw his first full bullpen session, using all his pitches.

Comparing 2012 offense to 2011 (it's crashing and burning, folks)  —  Here's a quick look at offensive numbers in 2012 vs 2012.  Both are through the first 142 games of each season.  —  (First number is 2011, second number is 2012, all are on a per-game basis):

Phillies Notes: Slow but steady progress for Howard  —  When Dan Baker yelled Ryan Howard's name into the microphone behind home plate Monday at Citizens Bank Park, the crowd cheered.  It was louder when Howard, wearing his No. 6 jersey, popped from the dugout and jogged to the first-base line for pregame introductions.

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Jaso helps Mariners rally for 4-3 win over Rangers  —  ARLINGTON, Texas—John Jaso had an RBI single with two outs in the ninth to cap a three-run rally off new Rangers closer Joe Nathan and give the Seattle Mariners a 4-3 victory over the two-time defending American League champions Wednesday night.

10 Years Of Newspapers Declaring That Mariano Rivera Is Too Old  —  On Friday, Mariano Rivera blew the save.  It was the 73rd blown save of his career, and one of many from baseball's opening weekend.  Predictably, it brought out the old standby storylines: Is this it for Mariano Rivera?