Brewers Prepared To Offer Greinke Extension  —  The Brewers are believed to be willing to offer Zack Greinke an extension worth close to $100MM over five years, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports.  However, people close to the team aren't particularly hopeful that the right-hander …

Mismatched Sox wearing on Bobby?  —  Boston manager Valentine seems to be encountering problems from all directions … ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Halfway through Bobby Valentine's first season as manager of the Boston Red Sox, signs of disconnects are everywhere, regardless of how much he and others try to downplay them publicly.

Yankees Sign Hensley For $1.2 Million  —  The Yankees have signed first-round pick Ty Hensley, a righthander from Santa Fe HS in Edmond, Okla., for $1.2 million.  —  Hensley originally agreed to a $1.6 million bonus shortly after the draft, matching the assigned pick value for his 30th overall selection.

Mark Appel will stay at Stanford  —  NEW YORK — Highly touted pitcher Mark Appel spurned the Pittsburgh Pirates and decided to remain at Stanford for his senior season, the first big casualty of baseball's new restrictions on amateur signing bonuses.  —  Appel was the only unsigned player among 31 …

Angels' Weaver has no regrets after staying put for less  —  Jered Weaver tilts his head back, brushes back his long sandy-brown hair with his right hand, shuts his eyes and, for a split moment, allows the notion to assault his senses.  —  If not for his fateful decision last August …

Miami Marlins begin second half of season with plenty of questions to answer  —  MIAMI —  Manager Ozzie Guillen likes to keep things light.  But he was only half-joking Thursday when he looked up at the clouds above Marlins Park and said a mock prayer.  —  “You know what I want for second half?

What's wrong with Rickie Weeks?  —  As the second half of the 2012 season begins, there is only one qualified hitter in all of baseball hitting below the Mendoza line.  That man is Rickie Weeks, who is batting.199.  The Mendoza line is a rather arbitrary cutoff point, but Weeks is struggling by any measurement.

Angels' Mike Butcher says Ervin Santana's problem is count control  —  The pitching coach says the starter, who is 4-9 with a 5.75 earned-run average, needs to be more aggressive early in pitch counts.  Butcher says Santana is not out of shape.  —  Angels starter Ervin Santana, left …

Sox's Humber throws 6 innings of 2-hit ball in rehab start … Philip Humber showed Thursday night that he appears ready to rejoin the Chicago White Sox's rotation Tuesday night at Boston.  —  Humber threw six innings of two-hit ball and retired the final 16 batters he faced for Double …

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Matt Joyce pegs return at two weeks  —  ST. PETERSBURG — While the return date of 3B Evan Longoria remains unclear, OF Matt Joyce is “pretty optimistic” he will be back in the Rays lineup within two weeks.  —  Joyce, out since mid June, said he feels good …