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MLB Free Agency

Wednesday Rumor Updates

UPDATE 4:40 PM EST

The New York Yankees acquire Ivan Rodriguez.

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UPDATE 3:52 PM EST

The Miami Herald is reporting that The Florida Marlins may land Arthur Rhodes.

The Star Telegram is reporting that the multitude of Texas Rangers catchers are generating MANY inquiries.

WIP in Philadelphia is reporting that Pat Gilick is saying there is “no truth” in the Manny Ramirez for Geoff Jenkins and AA Catcher Lou Marson.

Gordon Edes of The Boston Globe is reporting the Red Sox are hot on the trail of Will Ohman

UPDATE 1:42 PM EST

Dan Graziano of the Newark Star Ledger has some interesting updates, including J.J Putz possible availability, Mets need for pitching help if Maine’s injury is too serious and the Raul Ibanez sweepstakes continue. Catchers also seem to be in high demand today!

UPDATE 12:17 PM EST

A Wrap Up of Terry Francona’s weekly talk with Dale and Holley on WEEI in Boston. On Manny’s jog up the 1st base line last night against the Angels..”I know where you are going. Look, my job is to keep guys on the field and playing the game the right way and right now it is a challenge”. On recent inconsistent play…”we have been through this before. We have had stretches in the past where we sputtered and we were able to put stuff behind us and put things together”. Another Manny comment….”more importantly to me (than quotes in the media) is how they play, how they treat the team and how they play to win……if they are here, it is their responsibility to play to win”

Ken Rosenthal reports Raul Ibanez is on the Cubs radar. Other reports have the Cubs looking at the Phillies Jayson Werth.

UPDATE 10:56 AM EST

Dale Arnold of WEEI is saying the Phillies – Red Sox discussions are on again this time including Geoff Jenkins and AA Catcher Lou Marson. No confirmation can be found on the net yet.

UPDATE 10:07 AM EST

Bronson Arroyo likely staying put. Other Reds news as well.

Well Red Sox Fans, another contender might be on the verge of a big deal. The Pittsburgh Post Gazette is reporting Jason Bay may be on the move to Tampa.

Jose Guillen is all in it yet again.her stuff.

Ken Rosenthal’s updates on Manny, The Angels and other stuff

INITIAL POST 7:00 AM EST

The Minnesota Twins have apparent recalled Adam Everett from a “conditional AAA assignment”.

Jayson Stark keeps putting down Manny to anyone rumors. Stark also reports the LA Dodgers are hot after a shortstop since Nomar Garciaparra is hurt again…shocker!

T.J. Simers not confident the Los Angeles Dodgers are going to keep up with their So. Cal AL neighbors.

New York Newsday reports the Washburn to Yankees deal is “dead”.

Pedro Martinez pushing for the Mets to deal for Manny.

Gregg Zaun apparently wants out of Toronto.

Wednesday Morning Quick Hitters

MLB

John Lackey nearly no hit the Red Sox on a night when The California Angels acquired Mark Teixeira. Lil Dusty Pedroia broke up the no hit bid with 1 out in the 9th and YOOOUK followed that up with a 2 run shot over the monster to ruin the complete game shut out bid. The Sox lost 6 – 2, leaving them 2 games behind Tampa Bay.

Speaking of Tampa Bay, they extended their lead on the Sox by shutting out the Toronto Blue Jays 3 – 0. Matt Garza threw his 1st career shutout allowing only 5 hits while striking out 5.

Kevin Millar played Yankee killer again hitting his 2nd home run in as many nights helping the Orioles to a 7 – 6 win. Daniel Cabrera pitched into the 8th inning before getting tossed for intentionally hitting A-Rod after an A Bomb…nope can’t finish it…The loss put the Yankees 4 games back of Tampa Bay.

Game 2 of the NLCS goes to the Cubs. Carlos Zambrano pitched flawlessly for 8 innings and Fukudome and Mark Derosa contributed 2 RBIs a piece to put the Cubs 3 full games up on The Brew Crew. Cubs Win, Cubs Win 7 – 1.

The Minnesota Twins moved to within a 1/2 game of the White Sox, coming back from a 4 -0 deficit to beat Pale Hose 6 -5. Justin Morneau finished off the 5 run 5th inning with a bases clearing double. Clayton Richard took the loss in his 2nd career start.

The New York Mets offense kept going as they put down the Florida Marlins 4 -1, keeping a 1/2 game lead on Philadelphia. Carlos Delgado kept up his HR hitting prowess, smacking another 2 run job in the 8th inning to seal the deal against the Marlins.

The Philadelphia Phillies kept pace with the Mets by beating the Washington Nationals 2 – 1. Brett “Boom…Outta Here” Myers pitched 7 strong innings to help outlast the Nats. The “allegedly” hurt Chase Utley hit a 2 run homer to give Philly all they needed.

Doug Davis pitched 6 2/3 innings of perfect baseball. Brian Giles broke up the perfect game bid with a blazing single in the 7th. Arizona survived a scare in the 8th when the Padres loaded the bases with 2 outs and Jody Gerut blasted a shot to deep centerfield, but rookie cneterfielder Alex Romero made an amazing catch to save the game for Davis. The DBacks won 3 – 0.

Jason Johnson returned to the majors and helped pitch the Los Angeles to a 2 – 0 win over the San Francisco Giants. The LA area had a scare earlier when a 5.3 earthquake rattled Southern California, but the game went on and the Dodgers kept pace with the Arizona DBacks. The Dodgers are 1 game back of Arizona.

NFL

So. Cal’s Sedrick Ellis signed a 5 year $49 Million contract with the New Orleans Saints late Tuesday afternoon. Ellis ends his holdout as $19 million of the contract is guaranteed. Ellis was in camp for the afternoon session

Tried to stay away…Brett Favre signed reinstatement papers and faxed them to the league offices. The Packers try to figure out what comes next.

As previously reported, Terrence Newman is out for 3 to 4 weeks. Goodbye, Newman….

NBA

ESPN’s Marc Stein is reporting that Chicago’s Luol Deng is staying put.

Remember, we will do our best today to keep an eye on any trades in MLB before the deadline, and make sure to join us tonight at 9pm for a live edition of “The Sports Vortex”. If you need to catch up, all Vortex shows are archived on the left hand side, you can listen while you read….

Rumor Update

2:59 Update – Peter Gammons is reporting that the Red Sox are hot on the trail of The Texas Rangers catcher Taylor Teagarden. Buster Olney reports the Mets are still working hard on Seattle’s Raul Ibanez.

FoxSports Ken Rosenthal reports on WEEI this afternoon, that the Red Sox are interested in Jack Wilson and Doug Brocail. He also said sources tell him the Sox are trying to deal Manny, but they will not settle for a bad deal. Rosenthal said the Sox are likely to make a small deal for middle relief help, and that Manny will be staying put.

Tom Verducci with a nice article on Jon Lester. Maybe a bit overstating things, but a good article none the less.

Tuesday Morning Quick Hitters

MLB

The California Angels take game 1 of the 3 games series against the Boston Red Sox 7 – 5. Dice K had set down 8 Angels in a row until the wheels came off in the 6th inning. Casey Kotchman and Torii Hunter both homered in the 6th to blow the game open. The Sox attempted a comeback but MLB saves leader Francisco Rodriguez closed it out after allowing a Manny HR. The latest Red Sox Trade Blog is here

Another day, another monster loss by the Atlanta Braves. The St Louis Cardinals gained a game on Milwaukee by beating the Braves 12 – 3. The Braves are taking bids , the leading contender for Mark Teixeira is Arizona.

Speaking of the Brewers, the Brewers lost a hard fought game with NL Central Division Leading Chicago Cubs 6 – 4. CC Sabathia and Ted Lilly both gave up 3 earned runs and didn’t factor in the decision. This game went back and forth until Salomon Torres set the stage for the Cubbies win by walking 2 batters in the 9th. The Brew Crew is now 2 games back of the Cubs.

The NY Yankees train came to a screeching halt again, losing to Orioles Magic crooner Kevin Millar ( 3 – 5, 3 RBIs) 13 – 4. Mike Mussina lasted just 5 innings giving up 6 earned runs as the Orioles rolled.

The AL Central showdown Part 1 was won by the Minnesota Twins. Kevin Slowey pitched a complete game 6 hitter, shutting out the White Sox 7 – 0. Justin Morneau and Denard Span both hit 2 run HRs in the 3rd inning. Span’s HR was his 1st career HR. Minnesota is now 1 1/2 games back of the Pale Hose. Late news that the Twins might still be in hot pursuit to bring back LaTroy Hawkins.

The Florida Marlins continued their trek to 1st place in the NL East, and beat the Mets 7 – 3. The Marlins got good news off the field as well, as former Red Sox farmhand Anibal Sanchez will start on Thursday

The Philadelphia Phillies had the night off, but Pat Gillick reveals Chase Utley injury, which Utley denies. If he played for the Patriots, they would list him as questionable, then just start him every game.

The NL West keeps the status quo, Arizona over the Dodgers by 1 game, as the Giants beat the Dodgers 7-6 and the DBacks lose to the Padres 8 – 5.

The Toronto Blue Jays kept the Tampa Bay Rays at bay for the Red Sox another night. Former Portland Sea Dog pitcher, AJ Burnett, matched his career high in wins with 12, beating Tampa 3 -1. Former Red Sox player and Bangor, Maine hockey coach Matt Stairs hit a 2 run HR in the 6th inning to put Toronto up for good. JP Ricciardi addressed rumors that AJ might be moved at the trade deadline. Tampa designates Gary Glover for assignment. His brother Danny had no comment.

Ken Rosenthal’s early morning wrap-ups including Miguel Tejada is off the table. Apparently the Red Sox had interest.

NBA

Former UConn standout Emeka Okafor reached agreement on a 6 year deal.

Another UConn star, Ben Gordon, and the Bulls are getting nowhere fast.

Delonte West’s agent doesn’t like how the Cavs are negotiating. There is word within that article that both Miami and Boston approached Cleveland about a sign and trade but were rebuffed.

Toronto Raptors add another guard to the mix.

Sasha Vujacic, I have a name for him that I won’t use here…just go download any old Sports Vortex from the NBA Finals and you will hear it over and over and over again (it rhymes with Moo-Ya-Witch), signed his deal with the Lakers.

Kwame Brown has a new home, I assume it’s nowhere near 8 Mile or Rick Mahorn.

The Pistons feel that the asking price for Josh Smith is too steep.

The Tim Donaghy Saga should come to some kind of an end today as he is sentenced for his crimes.

Ricky Davis goes to yet another team, signing with the LA Clippers.

The NY Knicks traded away one fan favorite Renaldo Balkman to the Denver Nuggets basically for draft picks and cap space.

NFL

Mike Reiss has observations from Patriots Camp .

Ryan Grant is not pleased with the Packers latest offer.

NY Daily News hypothesizes that Eric Mangini gave the NYJ the day off from camp yesterday to secretly talk to Brett Favre. The Jets deny that statement, saying they needed a break after 5 days. In related news, Patriots Fans laugh their asses off.

Joe Horn still wants out of Atlanta. The Falcons have yet to comply.

Terence Newman is injured in The Cowboys AM session yesterday. The Cowboys are taking cues from the New England Patriots and not saying a freaking thing.

Steven Jackson still holding out of Rams camp.

Shawn Andrews is still MIA for the Eagles, and DeSean Jackson and Asante Samuel have something in common.

The Titans are trying to figure out who their returner is going to be.