Truth & Rumors > MLB

07:19 AM ET 06.19 | Not only did the Angels squander Joe Blanton's Tuesday gem, but they also lost at home to the Mariners. Looking for a main offender? It has to be Josh Hamilton. Hamilton is of course struggling badly in 2013, but Tuesday's performance may have been the worst of his career. Here's his unfortunate line for the night: 0-for-5, 2 Ks, 3 GIDPs, 7 LOB. Sign of a bad game at the plate? When going 0-for-5 with five strikeouts would've constituted an improvement. In fact, Hamilton is just the second player since 1916 (the back end of available data) to go hitless, strike out twice and hit into three double plays in a single game (he joins Jeff King of the 1990 Pirates). As a "bonus," he tied the Angels' franchise record for GIDPs in a game.

CBS Sports

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07:18 AM ET 06.19 | In the midst of Tuesday's double dose of bad news on the injury front, the Yankees sure could use Alex Rodriguez's bat in the lineup. In the big picture, it would be best for the organization if Rodriguez never came back so it could collect insurance money and avoid the familiar A-Rod circus, and, perhaps, if he goes away due to ties to Biogenesis, the Yankees could chase a pie-in-the-sky chance of having his contract voided. But in the small picture -- in the just trying to win in 2013 scenario -- here is a question: Would you rather have whatever version is left of A-Rod hitting fifth or Thomas Neal? Because Neal was slated to hit fifth last night before the rainout against the Dodgers, and the best you could say about that is it wasn't Ben Francisco.

New York Post

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07:17 AM ET 06.19 | Who's next? With the trade deadline six weeks away, and with the Red Sox having already tried to replace closer Andrew Bailey last winter with out-for-the-season Joel Hanrahan, it's fair to wonder whether they may look to do so again. Bailey didn't help his case Tuesday night. After Felix Doubront turned in eight masterful innings, Tampa Bay's Kelly Johnson hit Bailey's second pitch -- a fat fastball that caught too much of the plate -- for a game-tying solo homer. It marked Bailey's second blown save in his last four chances and the third time in four games that he has allowed runs. On June 10, Bailey had a two-run meltdown in the 10th inning against the Rays. Last Saturday, he gave up a solo homer to Orioles catcher Matt Wieters.

Boston Herald

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07:16 AM ET 06.19 | The raw sewage backup that marred Sunday's game at the O.co Coliseum was considered by some to be a long time coming -- if not metaphorical. A similar sentiment surrounded the long-overdue antitrust lawsuit the San Jose City Council filed against Major League Baseball: Someone in this foul, festering mess preventing the A's from moving to Silicon Valley was going to get litigious. It was just a matter of when and who. ... Should the council get its wish, see the San Francisco Giants yield their so-called territory to the A's for hundreds of millions of dollars and absolve MLB of responsibility in the matter, the A's will get what they want -- a new stadium in an area rich with corporate sponsors -- and an issue that should've been solved a decade ago will finally go to the baseball graveyard.

Yahoo! Sports

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07:14 AM ET 06.18 | Brian Cashman has a full plate these days, one that includes leaning toward placing Mark Teixeira on the DL and renewed concern over Kevin Youkilis. [Cashman] hadn't heard anything about [Youkilis'] visit to a back specialist when he spoke with reporters on a conference call, but it was clear the general manager was concerned about the state of his third baseman's balky back. "Back issues usually don't get better," Cashman said. "They can, but they're very debilitating and hard to get a handle on. It's definitely a concern. As of right now, I'm not planning on him until they tell me I can plan on him." Youkilis was placed on the disabled list Friday with a lumbar strain after playing all 18 innings of Thursday's marathon loss in Oakland. He woke up with numbness in his foot and calf.

New York Daily News

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