Bruce Markusen's Cooperstown Confidential for July 11. Curtis Pride and deaf players throughout history; trade rumors; the Swingin' A's; more. (Baseball Primer)

The Breakthrough Season That Isn't. Bill Peterson on the Reds' rebuilding program. (Cincinnati CityBeat)

Jason Michael Barker: "This team still needs a slugging LF, a decent middle infielder on the bench and perhaps even a starting pitcher, but chances are they won't add even one of those three pieces. Remember, the M's are built on 'pitching and defense,' have 'budgetary contraints' and are already a 'pretty good' team." (U.S.S. Mariner)

Duquette's new role is art imitating life.

It's not hard to imagine a Boston Red Sox fan selling his soul to beat the New York Yankees.
While he won't go that far, former Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette will sing and act in the musical "Damn Yankees" July 31 through Aug. 3 at Wahconah Park in Pittsfield, Mass.

(Times Union)

Stephen: "[Tom] Glavine has lived as a nibbler and his ability to hit that outside of the plate the 'black' has made him a top shelf pitcher. But now Glavine is whining about having too much responsibility when he pitches. It seems the Ace label makes him quite uncomfortable. Well Tom when you sign a 4 year deal and come to an organization that competes in the toughest market in the country and you were integral member of the Atlanta Braves the team that has been the thorn in the Mets side for over a decade the expectations for success are sky high. Between Glavine and Al Leiter neither pitcher has stepped up and done the job that they are paid hansomly to do." (The Eddie Kranepool Society)

Mac Thomason: "Vinny [Castilla] is the only player in the league who can go 4-4 and still be an easy target for criticism. He already had the single, double, and homer heading into his last at bat, and then hit a high drive to right-center that landed in the ivy with Sosa and the CF having trouble fielding it. It was a sure triple, but he jogged into second. Albert Hall lives. Vinny wound up 4-4 with four RBI, two runs." (Braves Journal)

Not starting eating Raul.

"What is there to say? I want to play," Mondesi said. "[Torre] didn't tell me why. The first two months of the season, nobody was hitting except (Alfonso) Soriano and me and no one said anything then. There's no reason for it. I want to be here, but not that way. The only way I'll get better is to play, not sitting and watching someone else play."

(NY Daily News)

Larry Mahnken: "Uh, news flash, Raul, you weren’t hitting in the first two months, you were hitting the first month, and you haven’t hit a lick since then. Take a seat, and shut up." (Replacement Level Yankees Weblog)

Is Schilling ready? A curt reply: Yep. He's scheduled to start Saturday against the Giants. (Arizona Republic)

New Tribe taking shape. Terry Pluto: "They've used 23 different pitchers and five different first basemen. They've had five different cleanup hitters, five left fielders and thankfully, only one plan. In many ways, the reconstruction of the Indians is working." (Akron Beacon-Journal)

Prospectus Triple Play: Diamondbacks, Royals, Phillies. "It's still way too early to start printing playoff tickets. It's also way too late to dismiss the Royals as a fluke. They have quietly become the most compelling story in baseball. Here's hoping they have many more chapters still to write." (Baseball Prospectus)

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