Truth & Rumors > MLB

07:08 AM ET 05.17 | When the Phillies announced that Roy Halladay's surgery was "successful," they apparently meant it -- even if it's a characterization taken perhaps too lightly. Surgeries seem to have to clear only the lowest of hurdles to qualify as "successful," but Halladay's arthroscopic shoulder surgery is said by people close to him to have been the "best-case" scenario. That means no additional damage was found to his shoulder as to need more extensive surgery, and he is expected back pitching this season. The Phillies star was an uncharacteristic 2-4 with an 8.65 ERA early this season. The Phillies announced that he's likely to be able to begin throwing in "six to eight weeks."

CBS Sports

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07:06 AM ET 05.17 | The notion, of course, seems absurd in nearly every other MLB city, but Hal Steinbrenner says the success of the injury-depleted Yankees is fortifying his commitment to get the payroll below the luxury-tax threshold of $189 million for 2014. "I always believed it could work if -- if -- the young players, which I've been saying all along, pan out and do their job," he said Thursday. ... "I'm proud of them, my family's proud of them," Steinbrenner said. "They've been fighting hard all year long, and despite significant adversity, they've persevered. It's fun to watch. They're scrappy. Coming from behind, it seems like certain times in the past, it's not something you had confidence in."

Newsday

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07:05 AM ET 05.17 | While the Red Sox earned a much-needed win Wednesday night in Florida, the club learned of more dispiriting news from 1,500 miles away. Pitching for the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs, [Daniel Bard] produced his worst minor league outing of 2013 yet. In one-plus innings, the former all-world set-up man walked five, threw two wild pitches and allowed two runs. He threw just eight of his 30 pitches for strikes, and was particularly brutal after coming back out for the seventh -- walking the bases loaded and throwing a wild pitch before being lifted. ... Pitchers have come back from devastating losses of command before, but Bard appears to be nearing a precipice.

Boston Herald

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07:05 AM ET 05.17 | A new day is dawning in baseball, if slowly, that may change the game for its players. One of the game's rising young stars recently told me he was concerned about the flurry of contract extensions in baseball. ... [His] thoughts intrigued me, in no small part because he is a candidate for an extension himself. The player's point was this: Free agency helped make the players union into a powerhouse. But now, with fewer top players reaching free agency, who is going to drive the top of the market? Shouldn't players feel a sense of responsibility to those who came before them and those who will follow? Fair questions, particularly if you look at the next two free-agent classes, which are almost devoid of stars.

FOX Sports

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07:04 AM ET 05.17 | On the surface, Jose Valverde's return to the Tigers bullpen, which has spanned seven innings that have included only one hit, solves a problem, right? Not necessarily. The Tigers remain concerned enough about their late-inning relief that they're still "looking hard" for help on the trade market, according to a source who speaks regularly with Tigers management. The bullpen has remained a constant issue for the Tigers, even though it has yet to cost them many games and hasn't kept them from spending the last two weeks in first place in the American League Central. The Tigers made another bullpen move Thursday, demoting middle reliever Al Alburquerque a day after he had trouble throwing strikes in a 7-5 loss to the Astros.

CBS Sports

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