Cubs' Ryan Dempster could be gone soon  —  Tony Campana of the Cubs makes an unsuccessful bunt attempt in the sixth inning at Wrigley Field Thursday, June 14, 2012, in Chicago.  John J. Kim~Sun-Times  —  Searching for ways to avoid looking directly into the blinding baseball being played by the Cubs?

Beckett out with inflammation; Morales to start  —  CHICAGO — Red Sox right-hander Josh Beckett has been scratched from his Sunday night start at Wrigley Field because of right shoulder inflammation, the team announced after Friday's 3-0 loss to the Cubs.  —  Instead of calling up a pitcher …

Simmons Hits HR, Braves Beat Orioles 4-2  —  ATLANTA (AP) — Rookie Andrelton Simmons made amends for his first career error by hitting a two-run, go-ahead homer in the sixth inning and the Atlanta Braves beat Baltimore 4-2 on Friday night to end the Orioles' five-game winning streak.

A's release Manny at slugger's request  —  OAKLAND — The Manny Ramirez experiment has come to an uneventful end.  The A's announced before Friday's game against the Padres that they granted Ramirez his outright release after the outfielder requested it.  —  Oakland made a splash when it signed …

Darvish 11 Ks for Rangers in 6-2 Win Over Astros  —  ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Yu Darvish matched his major-league high with 11 strikeouts over eight innings after an extended break and the AL West-leading Texas Rangers beat the Houston Astros 6-2 on Friday night.

Jays place Drabek on disabled list; call up Cecil  —  Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Kyle Drabek could be facing surgery on his right elbow after being put on the 15-day disabled list on Friday.  —  An MRI showed that Drabek had a tear in the ulnar collateral ligament of the elbow and he will see Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham.

Greinke admits he was bad guy in Royals saga  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Nobody does honest like Zack Greinke.  Because modern athletes have conditioned us to expect canned analysis, hollow words and cadaverous personalities, there is something so satisfying in somebody unburdened by what others might think.

Red Sox sign third overall pick Pat Light, second-rounder Jamie Callahan  —  The Red Sox officially have signed supplemental first rounder Pat Light, a hard-throwing right-hander out of Monmouth University, to a bonus of $1 million.  Light routinely would work in the mid-90s for Monmouth …

Mets' Bay exits game after hitting head on wall  —  NEW YORK — New York Mets left fielder Jason Bay was forced to leave Friday night's game against the Cincinnati Reds after hitting his head again against the left field wall on Jay Bruce's second inning inside-the-park home run.

Curtis Granderson drives in three as Yankees win 7th straight  —  WASHINGTON — Curtis Granderson drove in three runs, Derek Jeter had two hits and Phil Hughes pitched six innings to win his fourth straight start, and the New York Yankees won their seventh game in a row, beating the Washington Nationals 7-1 on Friday night.

Indians Grab Naquin For $1.75 Million  —  The Indians have agreed on a $1.75 million bonus with first-rounder Tyler Naquin, pending a physical.  —  A Texas A&M product, Naquin was one of the best pure hitters and had one of the strongest outfield arms in this year's draft.

Indians Blank Pirates 2-0  —  CLEVELAND (AP) — Justin Masterson pitched seven effective innings and the Cleveland Indians snapped a three-game losing streak with a 2-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night.  —  Masterson (3-6) allowed four hits, struck out nine and ended his own three-game slide.

Update On Timeline For Calling Up Prospects  —  In all likelihood, the wait is over.  Teams can now call prospects up to the MLB level with the expectation that the players will not obtain super two status three winters from now.  While there's no way of predicting where the super two cutoff …