Alex Rodriguez, the New York Yankees star who has a shot at becoming the greatest offensive player in Major League Baseball history if he avoids injury, has signed on with the William Morris Agency.

Baseball officials say these young phenoms are the product of a shift in the baseball culture of the Dominican Republic. Thanks to more than a decade of investment by major-league teams, which have built players' academies there, and the growing sophistication of the network of scouts and player wranglers, known as buscones, Dominican pitchers are becoming more polished. In addition to the 94 mile-per-hour fastball that is standard equipment, Mr. Santana has two other major league-caliber pitches, while Mr. Volquez has three. Scouts say even Mr. Inoa, the 16-year-old prodigy, has a curveball and a change-up in addition to a blazing fastball.

"There is much more learning and teaching than ever before" in the Dominican Republic, says Omar Minaya, general manager of the New York Mets.

Just as this talent haul began, something else broke in the AL's favor: the Tax Reform Act of 1986. This act, which was aimed at simplifying the tax code, was also expected to curtail the public financing of stadiums. It limited the amount that tax-free stadium bonds could be financed by team rent payments. But the law did not make public officials any less eager to subsidize new stadiums. To accommodate the law, they just charged teams little or no rent -- making it more attractive than ever for teams to demand new parks. "It's a major economic advantage," says Andrew Zimbalist, an economist at Smith College.

While 10 NL teams played in ballparks built in the 1960s and 1970s that were once the envy of baseball, there were more AL teams playing in older parks that needed replacing. In 1992, the Baltimore Orioles moved into Oriole Park at Camden Yards, which inspired a wave of retro-style, baseball-focused ballparks in downtown entertainment districts. Thanks to improved attendance, a favorable lease and the stadium's abundant luxury seating, the Orioles turned an operating profit of roughly $25 million in its first season.

The Brewers have won the C.C. Sabathia sweepstakes.

The Indians have agreed to trade the ace Sabathia and two lower-level minor leaguers for a package that includes top prospect Matt LaPorta and other minor leaguers, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

The deal is contingent on the paperwork and medical records, the paper reported.

Sabathia could make his debut as early as Tuesday for the Brewers against the Rockies.

LaPorta, a right-handed slugger who is below-average defensively, would be a better fit for the American League. He was the Brewers' first-round pick in 2007, and played first base at Florida, but the Brewers converted him to left field — a position occupied by Ryan Braun, who is signed through 2015.

The script has become a standard fantasy Cinderella story. Little guy with a mind for stats comes up with a clever new way to look at numbers. He starts by hand-cranking a newsletter out of his cramped home office. Slowly he builds a following among fantasy players. An assistant to an assistant in a Major League Baseball front office catches wind of what is now a Web site and sends it up the flagpole. Before the little guy knows it, he is living his dreams as a paid MLB consultant.

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CHICAGO -- If Greg Walker was a different sort of person, an individual who thrived on "I told you so's" or getting even, then he presently would walk by his legion of critics from earlier in the season with a big smirk.
After all, Walker was in the eye of the storm where the White Sox offensive woes were concerned for seemingly all of last year and much of the first two months of the 2008 season. Those naysayers weren't quite as vocal, though, during June.

It's hard to watch the college-baseball World Series, under way now in Omaha, Neb., without noticing how different the college game is from the major-league version. Not in the caliber of play or the funny ping of the aluminum bats, but in the way the players look.

College players in the three main divisions are 86% white, according to the most-recent NCAA figures. That's a big difference from Major League Baseball, where one study puts the number at less than 60%. The most striking difference is in the number of Latinos on the field: They made up about 29% of all major leaguers in 2007 but only 5% of players in college.

PHOENIX—Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Orlando Hudson has been intentionally striking out in an effort to make his teammates laugh, team sources told reporters. Hudson, who struck out in every plate appearance Tuesday against the Oakland A's, was overheard saying "Check this out" to teammates Justin Upton and Chris Young before intentionally taking a third strike during his first at-bat; swinging wildly high and wide at a pitch thrown low and inside; swinging several seconds after the ball had been caught by the catcher for a third strikeout; and during his fourth appearance at the plate, dropping his bat and starting to remove his batting gloves before the pitcher had even thrown the baseball. Upon walking back to the dugout, Hudson reportedly pretended to be disappointed with his performance by yelling, "Jeez, I just don't know what's wrong with me lately," causing his teammates further amusement. Following the game, Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin told Hudson that he could see what Hudson was doing and that he had better cut it out.

(I figured we needed to go back to Orlando Hudson to forget about today's game.)

The Chicago Cubs are flying. Now maybe the sale of the team finally will, too.

After months of delays in Tribune Co. Chairman Sam Zell's year-old plan to sell baseball's lovable losers, briefing books with confidential financial information on the team were sent to prospective buyers Tuesday, Cubs Chairman Crane Kenney said in an interview. Now, the question is whether the team's atypical league-leading performance so far this season can offset a tight credit market. Also problematic could be Mr. Zell's plan to separate the team from its stadium in the sale. If successful, experts say it could be baseball's first billion-dollar transaction.

TORONTO (AP) - The slumping Seattle Mariners fired hitting coach Jeff Pentland on Monday and replaced him with special assistant Lee Elia.

Lee is vocal," Seattle manager John McLaren said. "He can pat you on the back and cheerlead you and, if he needs to, he can get in your face and challenge you. I've seen both sides of him."

After McLaren's "meltdown" I believe it makes sense to get Seattle the "real deal". Welcome back, Lee! I can't fucking wait.