The Tampa Bay Rays today signed shortstop Tim Beckham, the first overall pick in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft.  Beckham, 18, was drafted by the Rays out of Griffin High School in Griffin, GA on June 5.  Beckham, who received a $6.15 million signing bonus, will report to the Rays Appalachian League affiliate in Princeton, W.V., to begin his professional career.

"We are thrilled to add an athlete of Tim's talent and character to our organization," said Andrew Friedman, Rays Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations.  "That we were able to conclude the signing process just two weeks after the draft is a testament both to the relationship that our scouting staff formed with Tim and his family, and of course to Tim's enthusiasm for the game.  He has true five-tool potential, and we look forward to helping him develop his unique abilities."

After another lame offensive performance and another one run loss last night, Blue Jays' GM J.P. Ricciardi was taking calls from frustrated fans on Mike Wilner's postgame show, when a caller expressed his surprise that the Jays have said they have no interest in Adam Dunn. 

At first, J.P. attempted to downplay Dunn's value, calling him a ".230, .240 hitter who strikes out a ton and hits home runs" (Dunn's career average is .247). When the caller pointed out that might not be such a bad thing since, well, none of the Jays are hitting home runs, J.P. responded by going off on a tangent and taking some personal shots at the Reds Slugger:

“Do you know the guy doesn’t really like baseball that much? Do you know the guy doesn’t have a passion to play the game that much? How much do you know about the player?

“There’s a reason why you’re attracted to some players and there’s a reason why you’re not attracted to some players. I don’t think you’d be very happy if we brought Adam Dunn here. We’ve done our homework on guys like Adam Dunn and there’s a reason why we don’t want Adam Dunn. I don’t want to get into specifics.” (for the full audio, click here).

Today, Dunn spat back a great one-liner: "I don’t know the clown." He continued with a lengthy response (which you can read all of on C. Trent's blog) in which he contradicts himself a few times- at first brushing off the comment:

I’ve seen it, I haven’t heard it. I really don’t care what one guy thinks, to be honest with you.

And then getting angry enough to drop a few expletives while still sort of trying to brush it off:

It pisses me off. It does. I just told you it pisses me off when people who have no idea what the **** goes on around here and then say – I don’t give a **** what people say in this clubhouse, I don’t care, besides what’s said in here.

I must say I agree with Dunn. Putting aside my horror at having a supposedly statistically-minded GM suggest that Dunn would not be a giant shot in the arm to a Toronto offence that has gotten a ridiculously terrible .622 OPS out of left field this season because all he does is strike out and hit home runs (incidentally, the Jays have been great at avoiding the strikeout this season, ranking 25th in the majors. All that weak contact has also lead to them on pace to smash the all-time double play record), why would a GM say that about a player even if it was true and everyone knew it?

After all the trouble Toronto has had attracting free agents (or needing to overpay them), you'd think Ricciardi would be a little more politic. Players get bent out of shape over "respect" enough anyway, and just don't say this kind of thing in public even if they hate each other's guts. It's not the first time he has run his mouth off about someone not on his team, either- after Gil Meche signed with the Royals after saying that he was interested in having a chance to win and pitch against the Yankees and Red Sox, J.P. called it an "eye opener", and questioned his competitiveness. That lead Buddy Bell to say the following:

"(Ricciardi) is an interesting guy for all that he's done in the game," Bell told the Kansas City Star. "He's a little guy with a big mouth and all he does is whine. And you can write that. That's the kind of crap in this game that drives me crazy. He knows nothing about our situation. You've got to be kidding me. Every time I hear this guy talk, all he's doing is whining."

Last season Ricciardi took a lot of heat for lying to the media about the nature of B.J. Ryan's injury, calling it a back injury when it was actually an elbow injury that eventually required Tommy John. I had zero problem with that- if he thinks that it will take the heat off a player and help the team, I don't care what ridiculous stories he tells the fans (I hear Alex Rios has lost his power this season because he was abducted by aliens). Why he's now trying to quiet the legitimate complaints of fans with a little too much honesty is beyond me...

...We talk a lot about injuries to our favorite players, or players in general whether it's a knee here or a shoulder there. How about the Umpires? They're in the line of fire as well, take Greg Bonin who was forced to retire in 2001 due to a series of concussions.

...With the re-call of Mariners Prospect Jeff Clement (who had dismantled PCL pitching after he was returned to Tacoma) it looks as though starting catcher Kenji Johjima could see time at 1st to allow Clement to work on his skills behind the dish.

Quoth Seattle Mariners Manager John McLaren.

"We just had [Johjima] take some ground balls, and I don't know where it's going, if it's going anywhere," McLaren said. "We're playing National League clubs, and we're ... preparing for anything and Joh's still a catcher. We're not thinking about switching positions or anything, we just had him take ground balls."

...The Milwaukee Brewers have designated Julian Tavarez for assignment to make room for pitcher David Riske. The Brew Crew now have 10 days to work a trade, release him or he can accept an assignment to Triple A Nashville.

...The Colorado Rockies have signed their first round draft pick Christian Friedrich. He collected a $1.35 million dollar signing bonus. He will likely start his season in the Short Season A Northwest League - with the Tri-City Dust Devils.

Seattle Mariners Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Lee Pelekoudas announced today that John McLaren has been relieved of his duties as manager.

"John worked extremely hard, but our team continued to under perform compared to our expectations of them," Pelekoudas said. "With 90 games left on our schedule, we owe it to ourselves and our fans to do everything we can to win as many games as possible. At the same time, as we move towards the trade deadline and decisions have to be made on the futures of the players on our ballclub, I wanted to see if a different voice could make a difference in their performance."

Jim Riggleman, who was on the Mariners staff as the bench coach, has been named manager for the remainder of the 2008 season. He is the 13th full-time manager in Mariners history.

Atlanta    

Phil Stockman - Optioned to Richmond (AAA).
Mike Gonzalez - Missed 72 games (elbow surgery).
    
Boston    

Manny Ramirez - Hamstring, day-to-day.
    
Chicago Cubs    

Reed Johnson - Back spasms, day-to-day.
    
Cincinnati    

Jerry Hairston - Missed 7 games (fractured thumb).
Ken Griffey Jr. - Illness, day-to-day.
Homer Bailey - Optioned to Louisville (AAA).
Norris Hopper - Missed 54 games (elbow injury).
    
Detroit    

Brandon Inge - Oblique injury, day-to-day.
Brent Clevlen - Optioned to Toledo (AAA).
Clete Thomas - Missed 13 games (ankle injury).
    
Los Angeles Anaheim    

Sean Rodriguez - Optioned to Salt Lake (AAA).
Erick Aybar - Missed 25 games (finger injury).
    
Milwaukee    

J.J. Hardy - Missed 5 games (rotator cuff).
    
NY Yankees    

Hideki Matsui - Left knee injury, day-to-day.
Sidney Ponson - Signed by the New York Yankees to a minor league contract and added to the 40-man roster.
Oneli Perez - Claimed off waivers from the Cleveland Indians.
Jonathan Albaladejo - Transferred from the 15-day DL to the 60-day DL (elbow injury).
    
Pittsburgh    

Ryan Doumit - Concussion, day-to-day.
    
San Diego    

Paul McAnulty - Missed 1 game (lower back pain).
    
Texas    

Joaquin Benoit - Right shoulder inflammation, day-to-day.
Milton Bradley - Quadricep injury, day-to-day.

- J.D. Drew went 4-for-5 with a double, home run, and 4 RBI, and Dustin Pedroia added 3 hits and scored twice as the Red Sox defeated the Phillies, 7-4.
- Jeremy Guthrie allowed just one run on 3 hits over 8 innings, and Kevin Millar singled in the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning as the Orioles walked-off with a 2-1 win over the Astros. Lance Berkman reached base 3 times and hit a solo home run for Houston.
- Akinori Iwamura walked and scored twice, and Andy Sonnanstine pitched well enough to record his 8th victory as the Rays edged the Cubs, 5-4. Geovany Soto doubled and homered for Chicago.
- Yunel Escobar singled, doubled, and walked, and Kelly Johnson drove in 2 runs as the Braves took advantage of a 9th inning Texas error to score 3 runs and beat the Rangers, 5-2.  Jo-Jo Reyes threw 7 strong innings for Atlanta.
- Carlos Gomez had 3 hits and scored 2 runs, Justin Morneau added 2 hits and 3 RBI, and Brendan Harris doubled and tripled as the Twins pounded the Nationals, 11-2. Kevin Slowey gave up one run in 6 innings for Minnesota. Cristian Guzman and Elijah Dukes had 3 hits apiece for Washington.
- Alex Gordon doubled, homered and scored twice, and Brian Bannister allowed just 2 runs in 7 innings as the Royals rallied to sneak by the Cardinals, 3-2. Braden Looper gave up one run on 5 hits over 7 innings for St. Louis.
- Dan Haren struck out 8 while allowing just 4 hits over 7 innings, Chris Young doubled, homered, and drove in 3 runs, and Stephen Drew and Chad Tracy each had 3 hits and 2 RBI to lead the Diamondbacks to a lopsided 11-1 win over the A's. Orlando Hudson also had 3 hits, and Haren helped his own cause by driving in 3.
- Placido Polanco went 4-for-4 with a walk, a double, 2 RBI, and 3 runs scored, and Armando Galarraga did not allow an earned run in 6 strong innings as the Tigers roughed up the Giants, 7-2.
- Alex Rodriguez went 3-for-4 with a home run, 2 RBI, a stolen base, and 2 runs scored, Johnny Damon had 3 hits, 2 RBI, and a stolen base, and Wilson Betemit singled, doubled twice, and scored two runs as the Yankees pounded Jake Peavy and the Padres, 8-5. Edgar Gonzalez doubled twice and drove in 2, and Chase Headley hit his first career home run for San Diego.
- James Loney doubled, homered, and drove in 2, and Juan Pierre had 2 hits and 2 RBI as the Dodgers coasted to a 6-1 victory over the Reds. Andre Ethier collected 3 hits, and Derek Lowe pitched 5+ solid innings for Los Angeles.
- Craig Counsell picked up 3 hits, and Mike Cameron and Russell Branyan each went deep to give starter Ben Sheets and the Brewers just enough offense to edge the Blue Jays, 5-4. Gregg Zaun doubled, homered, and drove in 3 runs, and Vernon Wells had 3 hits and scored twice for Toronto.
- Mark Buehrle gave up 2 runs on 4 hits over 8 innings, and Carlos Quentin had 2 hits, hit a solo home run, and scored twice to lead the White Sox to an easy 8-1 win over the Pirates.
- Jeff Baker hit a double, a solo home run, and scored 3 runs, and Jeff Francis yielded one earned run in 6 innings of work as the Rockies doubled up the Indians, 4-2.
- Hanley Ramirez reached base 5 times, doubled, scored 3 runs, and stole a base, and Mike Jacobs and Dan Uggla each blasted 2-run homers as the Marlins downed the Mariners, 8-3. Jose Vidro had 3 hits for Seattle.
- Jose Reyes had 3 hits, tripled, and scored 3 runs, and Damion Easley reached base 3 times and hit a 10th inning home run as the Mets rallied to score one run in the 9th and one in the 10th to get by the Angels, 5-4.

Wednesday's Scoreboard

American League

National League

Final(10) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E Houston 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 5 1 Baltimore « 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 9 1 W:C.Bradford(3-2) L:J.Valverde(4-2) HR: HOU- L.Berkman (20) BAL- L.Scott (12)   Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E San Diego 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 5 8 2 NY Yankees « 1 2 1 0 1 0 2 1 X 8 14 1 W:D.Rasner(4-4) L:J.Peavy(5-4) S:M.Rivera (19) HR: SDP- B.Giles (5), A.Gonzalez (20), C.Headley (1) NYY- A.Rodriguez (14)   Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Chicago Cubs 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 4 9 1 Tampa Bay « 1 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 X 5 7 0 W:A.Sonnanstine(8-3) L:C.Zambrano(8-3) S:T.Percival (17) HR: CHC- G.Soto (12) TAM- None   Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Atlanta « 1 0 1