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.

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.

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.

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 …

Source: Phils preparing sizable offer for Hamels  —  The Philadelphia Phillies are preparing a substantial offer to their soon-to-be-free-agent left-hander Cole Hamels in an attempt to determine whether they can sign him to an extension in the next two weeks, sources told ESPN.com on Thursday.

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 …

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?

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 …

Giants unlikely to make splash before Deadline  —  Club's focus figures to be on adding extra bat off bench, bullpen depth  —  KANSAS CITY — The Giants' record at the All-Star break mirrors their performance at the same juncture in 2010.  Their needs are similar, too.

Upton shutting out trade rumors  —  CHICAGO — After finishing the first half on a strong note, it seemed odd that D-backs outfielder Justin Upton would have to answer questions about possibly being traded.  —  But rumors continue to swirl around baseball that Upton could find himself wearing …