MLB roundup

News

• 2008 MLB All-Star teams named


• OF Soriano will not play in ASG


• Utley, Sizemore head Derby field


• NL All-Star Fan Voting


• AL All-Star Fan Voting

Analysis

• Perry: What voters got right, wrong


• Rosenthal: My All-Star Game picks


• Compare the teams: Batters | Pitchers

Photo gallery:

• See how the rosters compare

Greatest Yankee moments:

The All-Star Game (July 15, FOX) will be the last one played at Yankee Stadium. As we say goodbye to the "House," Dayn Perry busts out his list of the best moments from Yankee lore. POLL: Vote for your favorite!

When does it end? The hiring of Joe Torre as manager put the team in win-now mode. If McCourt has lost faith in Colletti, he should replace him. Otherwise, the owner should let the GM do his job.

Three weeks to the deadline. The Dodgers are on the clock.

Jays' Burnett: Next power arm to go?

Hard throwers dominate in the postseason, so the trades of Sabathia and Rich Harden could make Blue Jays right-hander A.J. Burnett more attractive — or at least, as attractive as a pitcher with an 8-8 record and 4.92 ERA can be.

A Burnett trade, however, would be full of complications.

Burnett could opt out of the final two years of his contract if he pitches well in the second half, or a team could get stuck paying him $24 million in 2009 and '10 if he is injured. He also can veto trades to 15 clubs, and his geographic preference is the east.

For Burnett to waive his opt-out or no-trade rights, a club likely would need to give him either an extension or some other financial inducement, adding to a trade's degree of difficulty. Still, the Yankees always have liked Burnett, and might be more inclined than other clubs to assume financial risk.

The Cardinals pursued Burnett when he was a free agent, but they expect righties Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter to return by August, reducing their need for a starting pitcher. The team's biggest need remains a left-handed reliever, unless Mark Mulder emerges as a worthy option.

It would not be surprising to see the Cardinals enter the mix for Rockies closer Brian Fuentes, but the Rays appear to be the frontrunner, with the Mets, Yankees, Red Sox and Angels among the other clubs interested.

Francoeur's wake-up call

Those who know Jeff Francoeur say that some "healing" will be required in his relationship with Braves general manager Frank Wren, who demoted the right fielder to Class AA, then summoned him back after three games.

Wren, though, obviously agonized over the decision, calling it the toughest of his career. And the move would not have been necessary at all if Francoeur had been hitting better than .234-.287-.374.

Francoeur, 24, plays when banged up, gives maximum effort and remains highly popular in Atlanta, but he still needs to grow as a player. If anything, his demotion should further motivate him to succeed.

"He's a great competitor, a great athlete," one rival executive says. "He's not a skilled baseball player, never has been. The only thing he does somewhat naturally is track a baseball — and that's probably because he played football.

"It was never a pretty swing. He doesn't have an easy arm action. He's not a gliding-type runner. He's just a hard-charging, aggressive competitor who happens to be playing baseball."

Desperately seeking shortstops

At least a dozen teams could seek better solutions at shortstop this off-season, increasing the demand for potential free agents such as the White Sox's Orlando Cabrera and Nationals' Cristian Guzman — and warming the trade market for players such as the Brewers' J.J. Hardy and Pirates' Jack Wilson.

Among the clubs that could be looking:

• Orioles: The team has yet to identify a short-term or long-term replacement for the departed Miguel Tejada.

• Blue Jays: David Eckstein is on a one-year deal, and Marco Scutaro is not a long-term answer. The Jays recently offered Burnett for Hardy, according to a major-league source, but the Brewers have no interest in breaking up their major-league club — and in Sabathia, they acquired a better pitcher.

• White Sox: Alexei Ramirez could replace Cabrera.

• Tigers: The decline of Edgar Renteria is alarming; the Tigers could exercise his $11 million option for 2009 or buy him out for $3 million.

• Royals: Mike Aviles might be more of a super-utility man.

• Twins: Shortstop is a priority; a quality third baseman also would help.

• Nationals: Guzman, an All-Star, has yet to accept the team's reported two-year offer.

• Cardinals: Cesar Izturis, a free agent, is batting .238-.309-.307 — alas, right around his career levels.

• Reds: Jeff Keppinger? Jerry Hairston? Paul Janish? None is an ideal solution long-term.

• Giants: The team is phasing out Omar Vizquel, who is batting .156-.229-.177, by giving increased playing time to Emmanuel Burriss.

• Dodgers: Difficult to imagine them re-signing the oft-injured Rafael Furcal.

• Padres: Khalil Greene is batting .224-.269-.341 — and signed for $6.5 million next season.

Yankees' Gardner: A rare breed

Ask Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner to name his favorite player growing up, and he gives an unusual response:

Pete Rose.

Not that Rose isn't worthy of emulation, but his final season was 1986 — the year that Gardner turned 3.

Gardner, though, says he admired Rose's passion, and tries to play with the same verve.

"It doesn't matter if I hit a groundball to the pitcher, I'm going to run 3.9 or 4 flat to first," he says.

Yankees officials say that Gardner and Class AA reliever Mark Melancon possess "Derek Jeter makeup" — the ultimate compliment within the organization.

A moment of panic

After trading for Sabathia on Sunday night, Brewers general manager Doug Melvin contacted the team's trainer at Class AA Huntsville and told him that he needed LaPorta's phone number.

The trainer replied by text message, and the first words that Melvin saw were, "Matt just broke his . . ." LaPorta had been scratched from the Huntsville lineup, but Melvin feared he had been injured in some other way.

When Melvin scrolled down, he saw the rest of the message ". . . his cellphone. I'll get you a number when he can be reached."

Phew.

"Scared the heck out of me," Melvin said.

Around the horn

Think the Cubs stole Harden? Think again. One rival GM says he "loves" the four-player return that the A's received for Harden and Chad Gaudin, saying, "I wouldn't bet against (Sean) Gallagher helping the A's win more games in the next year-and-a-half than Harden helps the Cubs." The A's needed to include Gaudin to persuade the Cubs to part with Gallagher, whom most scouts project as a No. 3 or No. 4 starter. Gaudin, 25, is only two-and-a-half years older than Gallagher, but the A's will control Gallagher for six years, while Harden is a free agent after 2009, Gaudin after 2010 . . .

Manuel Corpas has pitched nine scoreless innings in his last eight outings, making it more likely that the Rockies will trade Fuentes regardless of their position in the standings. The Rockies could even look to add a young starting pitcher if they get back into contention, but remain poised to explore deals for left fielder Matt Holliday and third baseman Garrett Atkins if not. The team does not intend to trade both right-handed hitters, and would listen on Holliday first . . .

The Padres' goal in any trade is to acquire up-the-middle players — catcher, shortstop, second base, center field. A rival GM suggests the Rockies' Barmes, who is batting .324-.361-.529 in 182 plate appearance, and is largely expendable due to the presence of the currently injured Troy Tulowitzki. One player the Padres do not plan to move: Right fielder Brian Giles. The team holds a $9 million option on Giles, and at that price will not find a better outfielder on the free-agent market . . .

Jose Guillen's recent dustup with pitching coach Bob McClure prompted several clubs to inquire about the outfielder's availability, but the Royals actually like the edge that Guillen brings to their clubhouse. Guillen is signed through 2010 for $12 million per season, and the Royals would rather keep him than go back into the free-agent market, where Braves first baseman Mark Teixeira, Reds left fielder Adam Dunn and Phillies left fielder Pat Burrell will be the top available hitters — along with, perhaps, Red Sox left fielder Manny Ramirez . . .

And finally, for what it's worth, I like the Phillies' Pat Burrell and Rays' Evan Longoria in the final vote for the NL and AL All-Star teams. Burrell is fourth in the National League in OPS, and Longoria has been nothing short of a revelation in his rookie season. "That kid at third base has changed their team," Red Sox manager Terry Francona says of Longoria. "And the scary thing is, he's just starting to scratch the surface."