Who is baseball's best manager?  The survey says ...  29m - MLB SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS CHICAGO CUBS + more  —  Bruce Bochy, Buck Showalter and Joe Maddon all earned raves in ESPN.com's manager survey for their longevity and leadership.  USA TODAY Sports

A-Rod, Yanks settle bonus dispute, with team giving $3.5M to charities  —  30m - MLB ALEX RODRIGUEZ NEW YORK YANKEES + more

It's disgusting how jokester GM, cheap owners watch Mets burn  —  Mets general manager Sandy Alderson speaks to the media before a recent game at Citi Field.  —  PANIC CITY, NY - Oh, come on, let's be serious.  We are way past Panic City.  Panic City was a snapshot of the good times around the Mets.

Braves Inquiring On Young Catchers, Willing To Deal Pitching Prospects  —  The Braves are looking to upgrade their offense and have let other clubs know that they're willing to trade from their recently bolstered stable of pitching prospects in order to acquire a bat, reports Jayson Stark of ESPN (via Twitter).

Angels Acquire Rafael Lopez From Cubs  —  The Angels and Cubs have agreed to a trade that will send minor league catcher Rafael Lopez to Anaheim in exchange for an international bonus slot and left-handed pitching prospect Manuel Rondon, the teams announced.  Chicago had designated Lopez for assignment last week.

Inside Baseball: 12 possible sellers, who might go and proposed deals  —  There are, officially, only two confirmed selling teams as the calendar hit July, the very two who started the year as sellers - yes, the Phillies and Braves.  But there are at least 10 more teams with the potential to sell …

Giants Designate Travis Ishikawa For Assignment  —  12:52pm: The Giants have now announced the move, adding that Tim Hudson has been placed on the 15-day disabled list, with Jake Peavy being activated to fill his roster spot.  —  12:42pm: The Giants will announce today that they have designated …

Cardinals fire scouting director  —  ST. LOUIS  • The St. Louis Cardinals have terminated the services of their scouting director, Chris Correa, after an “imposed leave of absence,” a lawyer for Cardinals executives said Thursday.  —  James G. Martin, lawyer for chairman Bill DeWitt Jr …

Phillies are worse than anyone could have imagined  —  AT THE MIDWAY point, these Phillies are historically bad, 100-loss bad.  —  So much would have had to have gone right for them to approach the respectability of even 80 wins that a .500 season almost defied possibility.

Red Sox Use 8-Run First to Beat Jays 12-6  —  TORONTO — David Ortiz and Hanley Ramirez had consecutive homers in an eight-run first inning, Xander Bogaerts had four hits and the Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays 12-6 on Thursday night.  —  Brock Holt also had four hits and Bogaerts drove …

On eve of Angels reunion, Josh Hamilton says he ‘sleeps fine’ regarding split  —  BALTIMORE — Texas Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton can't wait for Friday, the first time this season he gets to square off against the Los Angeles Angels - the same team that severed all ties with him back in the spring following a drug relapse.

Games of the Day  —  The Yankees are tied for first place in the AL East with Tampa Bay one game back as the Rays send Cy Young candidate Chris Archer against Masahiro Tanaka in New York.  Archer is blowing away batters this season with 133 strikeouts in 109 innings, with just 25 walks.

Second-Place Twins Beat AL Central-Leading Royals, 2-0  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kyle Gibson threw eight innings of four-hit ball, Danny Santana and Eduardo Escobar had RBI triples, and the Minnesota Twins beat the AL Central-leading Kansas City Royals 2-0 Thursday night.