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Jon Heyman of SI.com reports that the mystery team submitting a waiver claim for Johnny Damon was … the Red Sox. Seriously.

When last we heard from Brandon Webb he was aiming to return from shoulder surgery in time to make 6-8 starts this season, but yesterday the rehabbing right-hander said his goal is now to simply pitch this season, period. One time or 10, whatever I can get. Hopefully, I’ll pitch the last game of the…

Cincinnati has until August 26 to trade or release Micah Owings after designating him for assignment last week, but general manager Walt Jocketty said yesterday that “there’s not a lot of interest” in the 27-year-old right-hander. John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes that Owings being “arbitration-eligible next year and represented by Scott Boras ……

Yesterday the Cubs sent manager Lou Piniella off with a blowout loss, which is either sad given his excellent (and possibly Hall of Fame) career or fitting given how bad the Cubs have been all season. Either way, the boys over at The Platoon Advantage put together a lengthy, interesting look at the final games…

I was among the many people who mocked Omar Infante’s presence on the All-Star team and I’ll stand by that mockery, because at the time he was a 28-year-old career-long utility man who wasn’t even playing every day for the Braves. However, he’s been on fire since the All-Star break and after going 4-for-6 with…

With the White Sox’s pitching staff in shambles after playing a pair of extra-inning games Saturday, manager Ozzie Guillen used Bobby Jenks in a very uncharacteristic way yesterday. Jenks was brought into the game in the seventh inning for the first time since August 20, 2005 and then proceeded to throw three full innings, which…

I grew up an ardent and zealous Pirates fan, listening with my grandfather to Bob Prince on the radio and staying up late to watch road games in San Francisco, confused why anyone living in California would be wearing a jacket when it was 80 degrees at midnight in West Virginia.  In October 1992, when…

Royals first baseman Billy Butler is having a very nice season, hitting .308/.379/.456 with 46 extra-base hits and nearly as many walks (53) as strikeouts (56) as a 24-year-old, but he’s also closing in on a dubious record. Butler has grounded into 26 double plays, which is the most in baseball this season, ties the…

Following in Billy Wagner’s footsteps rather than Brett Favre’s footsteps, Mike Lowell reiterated yesterday that he still plans to retire after the season despite getting regular playing time recently in place of the injured Kevin Youkilis. Am I personally enjoying it? Of course. That’s obvious. I have more fun playing than not playing. Yeah, it’s…

Francisco Liriano was slated to pitch tonight, but instead his start has been pushed back to Thursday because of what manager Ron Gardenhire called “a tired arm.” Liriano has struggled in two of his last three outings after throwing shutout ball for three straight starts, so the Twins will hope that a little extra rest…

After trading Derrek Lee to the Braves the Cubs are now looking at rookie Tyler Colvin as his possible replacement at first base. Colvin has never played an inning at first base in five seasons as a pro, but Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reports that he took grounders there before today’s game and manager Lou…

After a rough start Wednesday the Rangers have sent Derek Holland back to Triple-A, calling up reliever Michael Kirkman to take his place on the roster for now. Holland was penciled in to start Monday, so that means the Rangers will likely activate Rich Harden from the disabled list to make that start against the…

Craig noted this morning that the Pirates are one defeat away from their 18th straight losing season and their current 109-loss pace would be the team’s worst record during that horrendous stretch. But fear not, Pirates fans, because today team president Frank Coonelly said the following to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette: We…

Between his black, thick-framed glasses and decidedly intellectual persona Joe Maddon already kind of looked and talked the part, but now the Rays manager will actually be a “doctor” thanks to his alma mater awarding him an honorary degree. Lafayette College in Pennsylvania, where Maddon was a student from 1972-76, will give him a “Doctor…

Derrek Lee will make his Braves debut later this afternoon at Wrigley Field against his former Cubs teammates. He’s also batting cleanup, which is somewhat unexpected for a guy with a .416 slugging percentage. Of course, Lee hit .304/.358/.528 with six homers and 10 doubles in the 30 games preceding his trade to Atlanta and…

After spending mid-April through mid-June on the disabled list with a forearm injury Vicente Padilla returned to post a 1.80 ERA and 52/16 K/BB ratio in his first nine starts, but he’s been knocked around for 12 runs in his last two outings and now he’s been placed back on the DL with a bulging…

Things aren’t going particularly well for the Dodgers, who’re now just two games above .500 and a dozen games back in the NL West, but at least Ted Lilly has pitched brilliantly since coming over from the Cubs in a trade last month. Lilly racked up a season-high 11 strikeouts in a two-hit shutout of…

Earlier this week I suggested that Adam LaRoche’s contract would make it tough for the Diamondbacks to trade him even after he cleared waivers, but that may not even be an issue because Jack Magruder of FOXSportsArizona.com reports that the two sides “are in the very preliminary stages” of working on an extension. General manager…

Back in May, when he wasn’t playing much, Omar Vizquel indicated that this would likely be his final season. However, now that he’s in the White Sox’s lineup regularly and playing well, the 43-year-old infielder said yesterday that he’ll likely be back in 2011. I think it would be sad that if at the end…

Rod Barajas has returned from the disabled list and the Mets made room for him on the roster by demoting Fernando Martinez back to Triple-A. Martinez’s latest stint with the Mets lasted 12 days, during which time he started just five times and got all of 22 plate appearances. His return to the minors seemingly…

Jarrod Saltalamacchia may have conquered his throwing problems at Triple-A, but it took him only a week with the Red Sox to get hit with the same injury bug that has tried to wreck Boston’s season. Saltalamacchia, who was acquired from the Rangers on July 31 and called up from Triple-A last week, has been…