Yankees pitcher and “Ball Four” author Jim Bouton dies at 80  —  Ex-Yankees pitcher Jim Bouton was a 20-game winner, won two World Series games, spent 10 years in the big leagues — and made a bigger impact with a pen in his hand than a baseball.  —  The author of the groundbreaking hardball tell-all …

Even Baseball's Best Players Are Hopelessly Overmatched in CBA Negotiations  — The best players in the world, selected to represent their sport at this week's All-Star Game, want to fix free agency.  But there's little consensus from these All-Stars about how they're going to do that when the current CBA expires.

Five questions facing the Mets in the second half of the season  —  The Mets' second half begins Friday in Miami against the Marlins, the only team in the National League with a worse record.  Here are five questions that will define the Mets' next two-and-a-half months.  —  How long will the manager last?

American League Holds Off the National League to Win Its 7th Straight All-Star Game  — It wasn't as thrilling as Monday's Home Run Derby, but the 2019 All-Star Game did exactly what it was supposed to do—showcase the best of baseball. … PARTING THOUGHTS AS THE AMERICAN LEAGUE WINS ITS SEVENTH ALL-STAR GAME IN A ROW, 4-3.

Baseball's robot umpires are here.  And you might not even notice the difference.  —  YORK, Pa. — The either long-dreaded or long-awaited arrival of digitally rendered ballpark justice has come to professional baseball.  Robot umpires have arrived.  —  Except, they're not really robots.

Blue Jays' Marcus Stroman details bromance with Red Sox P David Price  —  CLEVELAND — Marcus Stroman was David Price's teammate for only 86 days, but those two-plus months were enough to leave a lasting impression.  —  Stroman and Price joined forces at the 2015 trade deadline when Toronto acquired …

Royals Promote Bubba Starling  —  The Royals announced Thursday that they will select the contract of outfielder Bubba Starling prior to tomorrow's game.  A corresponding 40-man roster move will be announced tomorrow.  —  Starling, 27 next month, was the fifth overall draft pick by the Royals back in 2011.

Buy?  Sell?  Diamondbacks, GM Mike Hazen facing ‘complicated decision’ as deadline looms  —  As the days and games fall off the calendar, the decision for Diamondbacks General Manager Mike Hazen seems to grow ever more difficult.  His team cannot sustain a winning streak - or a losing streak, for that matter.