June 2012 - Baseball Wiretap

Dunn Hopes Injection Will Accelerate Return
Adam Dunn hopes to resume batting practice on Wednesday after recently receiving a pain-killing injection.

Chicago Tribune

After Comeback Season, LaRoche Wants To Stay With Nationals
Davey Johnson has pumped up Adam LaRoche for MVP consideration, but just how long he remains with the Nationals remains to be seen.

Adam Kilgore/Washington Post

Surging Brewers, Phillies Back In Playoff Picture
They are both 71-71 and sit four games back of the Cardinals for the second Wild Card berth.

RealGM Staff Report

Orioles, Yankees, Rays Separated By Two Games
The Orioles have once again moved into a tie with the Yankees for first place in the American League East.

Associated Press

Reds Giving Chapman Few Days Off
Aroldis Chapman struggled with his velocity and command in an appearance against the Pirates on Monday night.

ESPN.com

Athletics Have Tough Road To Playoffs
The Athletics will play five straight series against playoff-contending teams as the end of the season draws near.

Paul Casella/MLB.com

Jeter Approaching Hits Record For Players 38 Or Over
Paul Molitor had 225 hits from the Twins in 1996.

Kevin Kaduk/Yahoo! Sports

Red Sox Will Place Emphasis On Improved Pitching
The Red Sox are close to the end of a disappointing season and they have begun to line up their offseason priorities.

Scott Lauber/Boston Herald

Ryne Sandberg Perceived As In Line To Become Phillies' Manager
Charlie Manuel will return to manage the Phillies next season in the final year of his contract, but many believe the organization has already tabbed his replacement.

Jon Heyman/CBS Sports

Marlins Don't Anticipate Long Rebuilding Process
There will be changes in Miami this offseason, but owner Jeffrey Loria doesn't expect it to be long before the Marlins are contending in the National League.

Clark Spencer/Miami Herald

Phillies Promote Minor League HR Champion
Philadelphia will spend the next three weeks trying to see if Darin Ruf fits into their long-term plans.

Jerry Crasnick/ESPN.com

Reds Worried About Chapman's Drop In Velocity
Aroldis Chapman's fastball averaged 94.4 mph on Monday night.

ESPN.com

Phillips Accuses Unnamed Pirates Player Of Racist Comments
After Monday night's 14-inning game between the Reds and Pirates, Brandon Phillips took to Twitter with a big-time accusation.

Dayn Perry/CBS Sports

Astros Release Cordero And His 19.80 ERA
Francisco Cordero went 0-for-3 in save opportunities.

Hard Ball Talk

Pittsburgh's ERA Has Jumped .79 Points In Second Half
The Pirates have faded in the second half, thanks in large part to a struggling pitching staff.

Ken Rosenthal/FOX Sports

Orioles Like Pierre, But Phillies Not Ready To Deal
The Orioles could use Juan Pierre with Nick Markakis out for six weeks with a broken thumb.

Danny Knobler/CBS Sports

Berkman's Surgery Could Be Career-Ending
Lance Berkman has been limited to just 80 at-bats this season.

Associated Press

McCarthy Walks, Could Return Home Soon
Brandon McCarthy has taken a few steps and is making progress in his recovery from surgery after getting hit in the head by a line drive last week.

Associated Press

Clemens Could Pitch For Astros This Season
The Astros claim that Roger Clemens could pitch for them this season, but the 50-year-old doesn't sound as optimistic.

Associated Press

Trout Becomes First Since Bonds To Reach 10 WAR
Only six players have reached 10 WAR since 1991, the year that Mike Trout was born.

Hard Ball Talk

MLB Investigating Red Sox Waiver Wire Leaks
Major League Baseball is investigating the unusually high number of reports regarding waiver wire activity involving the Red Sox last month, according to a source.

Rob Bradford/WEEI.com

Giants Averaging 1.62 More Runs On Road
The Giants are one of the best road teams in baseball, averaging 5.17 runs per game away from home this season.

Ken Rosenthal/FOX Sports

Numerous Teams Pursued Profar As Pitcher
Jurickson Profar pitched for Curacao in the Little League World Series as a younger teenager.

Ken Rosenthal/FOX Sports

If Red Sox Want Farrell, Blue Jays Should Make Them Pay
If the Blue Jays can find a replacement and the Red Sox want to hire John Farrell to replace Bobby Valentine badly enough, then Toronto should ask for a lot in return.

Ken Rosenthal/FOX Sports

Upton's Three HRs Went 1,191 Feet
B.J. Upton hit his first off Roy Oswalt, with the next two coming off Martin Perez on Sunday afternoon.

ESPN Stats & Info

Trout Sets Record For HRs By Angels Leadoff Man
The rookie has four leadoff homers this season and 27 overall.

Alden Gonzalez/MLB.com

Pirates In Danger Of Another Losing Season
With 23 games remaining, the Pirates will have to go 10-13 to ensure a winning season.

Jeff Passan/Yahoo! Sports

Pirates Still Formulating Plan For Gerrit Cole
Pittsburgh made Gerrit Cole the first overall pick in the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft.

Rob Biertempfel/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (via Twitter)

Markakis To Undergo Thumb Surgery
Nick Markakis broke his thumb when he was hit by a pitch thrown by CC Sabathia over the weekend.

Roch Kubatko/MASN Sports

Nationals Have $10M Decision To Make On Adam LaRoche
Adam LaRoche leads Washington in home runs and OPS.

Jayson Stark/ESPN.com