Hope everyone is having a nice weekend!

As we approach the All-Star break, I want to announce some upgrades and changes we'll be making over the next few days.

Starting Monday, we will begin the transition to the more powerful WordPress blog software. The majority of the work should be finished in one day, but we'll know for sure once we get into the details. However, in order to capture our entire archive of entries, we need to halt all blog posts as of Sunday at 11:00 PM Eastern Time. Until WordPress is functioning properly, the blog will remain dormant. Once we're up and running again, I will let everyone know. You can count on that!

During this time, we will still be publishing Featured Articles and sending out newsletters. So continue to check the site for new articles and stats. And if you're not signed up for the newsletter, what are you waiting for??? Just enter your email address in the box on the top of the right sidebar and click subscribe!

We have recruited a few new writers to join us, and I'm in the process of forging additional alliances. We're also testing out a gadget that will bring BDD news, audio, and video right to your desktop! So stay tuned for some great new possibilities.

Since I will personally be involved in development the next several days, my more public contributions to the site (blog entries, news, notes, and articles) will be limited. There will be no Short Stops entries tonight or tomorrow, but they'll return after the All-Star break.

For those of you interested, here's the tentative schedule for the week ahead...

- Friday - Last Short Stops Around the Majors entry before the All-Star break
- Sunday - BDD covers the Futures Game at Yankee Stadium
- Sunday at 11:00 PM ET - Last blog post before transition to WordPress
- Monday - Begin the transition to WordPress
- Monday - Tuesday - Discussion and Development of BDD Multimedia Application
- Tuesday - WordPress update
- Wednesday - Scheduled return of the BDD blog on the new WordPress platform
- Saturday - BDD Live radio show

I'd like to thank you all for your kind words and constant support. I know you've inspired me to keep this site going over the years even when things seemed bleak and burdensome. We've built a great community here at Baseball Digest Daily, and we're more recognized than ever because of it!

All the best,
Joe

A-Rod blasted his 537th homer today to move past Mickey Mantle into sole possession of 13th place on the All-Time Home Run list.  Rodriguez took a 3-2 pitch from Blue Jays pitcher Brian Tallet and smacked it off the left field foul pole in the fourth inning for his 19th of the season and 537th of his career.

Toronto is very familiar with watching A-Rod circle the bases after a home run, he's been their victim 47 times in his career.  Only the Los Angeles Angels have given up more homers -- 58 -- to New York's third baseman. 

TOP 15 ALL-TIME HOME RUN LIST

1. Barry Bonds - 762
2. Hank Aaron - 755
3. Babe Ruth - 714
4. Willie Mays - 660
5. Sammy Sosa - 609
6. Ken Griffey Jr. - 606
7. Frank Robinson - 586
8. Mark McGwire - 583
9. Harmon Killebrew - 573
10. Rafael Palmeiro - 569
11. Reggie Jackson - 563
12. Mike Schmidt - 548
13. Alex Rodriguez - 537
14. Mickey Mantle - 536
15. Jimmie Foxx - 534

BOLD = Active

RODRIGUEZ'S PLAYER PAGE ON BASEBALL DIGEST DAILY

As reported during today's Fox broadcast, former Yankee favorite Bobby Murcer passed away today from cancer.

Our own Bill Chuck sent this message along...

Bobby Murcer lost his  fight with brain cancer today, a little more than a year-and-half after first being diagnosed with the most aggressive form of tumors. He was 62. He was a long-time Yankee and Yankee broadcaster.

He played 17 years in the bigs, also playing for the Cubs and Giants. He had a .277 average, 252 homers, 1,862 hits and a .445 slugging percentage. He had seven 20-homer seasons during a time when that meant something.

I remember Bobby Murcer quite vividly, especially as an announcer. He was the calm and soothing voice in the Yankees booth alongside the likes of Phil Rizzutto and Tim McCarver. He was a humble gentleman who conveyed his love for the game in every broadcast. Rest in peace Bobby.

- Jason Marquis was brilliant, allowing just 3 hits over 7 scoreless innings, and Aramis Ramirez did all the offensive damage by belting a 3-run home run in the 8th inning as the Cubs beat the Giants, 3-1. Matt Cain matched Marquis, striking out 9 in 7 shutout innings for San Francisco.
- Brian Roberts singled, doubled, tripled, stole 2 bases and scored 2 runs, and Brandon Fahey contributed 2 hits and 2 RBI as the Orioles shot down the Red Sox, 7-3.
- Rick Ankiel went 3-for-3 with a home run (#20) and 3 RBI, Yadier Molina singled, doubled, and drove in 2 runs, and Kyle Lohse pitched 7 scoreless innings as the Cardinals shut out the Pirates, 6-0.
- Roy Halladay tossed a complete game, 2-hit shutout, and Matt Stairs hit his 9th home run of the year and drove in 3 runs as the Blue Jays blanked the Yankees, 6-0. Lyle Overbay added 3 hits for Toronto.
- Ronnie Belliard went 3-for-4 with a double, 2 home runs, and 5 RBI, Austin Kearns doubled, homered, walked twice, and drove in 3 runs, and "all-star" Cristian Guzman collected 3 hits and scored 3 runs as the Nationals embarrassed the Astros, 10-0. Tim Redding struck out 6 in 6 scoreless innings for Washington.
- Edwin Encarnacion singled and doubled twice, and Jay Bruce scored 3 times as the Reds rallied to overtake the Brewers, 6-5. Cincinnati took advantage of Milwaukee errors and a wild pitch to score 3 runs in the 7th and another in the 8th to seal the victory. Ryan Braun hit his 24th double and 23rd home run for the Brewers.
- Sean Gallagher threw 2-hit ball over 7 innings in his Oakland debut, and Jack Hannahan went 3-for-4 with a home run and 3 RBI as the Athletics roughed up Jon Garland and the Angels, 9-2. Emil Brown also had 3 hits for Oakland.
- Rookie Chris Volstad demonstrated why he was the team's #1 prospect by allowing just one run on 5 hits in 8 2/3 innings on Friday to lead the Marlins to a 3-1win over the Dodgers. Jeremy Hermida hit a 2-run home run to lead the Florida offense.
- Shane Victorino hit a double, a triple, and drove in 2 runs, Ryan Howard smacked his league leading 28th home run of the season, and Jayson Werth added 3 hits and drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 12th inning as the Phillies outlasted the Diamondbacks, 6-5. Miguel Montero had 3 hits and scored 2 runs for Arizona.
- Alexi Casilla had 3 hits, and Nick Punto drove in 2 runs (yes, that Nick Punto!) to help the Twins get by the Tigers once again, this time by a score of 3-2. Glen Perkins pitched 6 2/3 solid innings for Minnesota.
- Cliff Lee struck out 7 in 6 scoreless innings, Jhonny Peralta doubled, homered, and knocked in 3 runs, and Ben Francisco went 3-for-4 with 2 doubles as the Indians sent the Rays to their 5th straight defeat, 5-0. There really isn't anything good to say about Tampa Bay in this game so I'll just stop here.
- Despite walking 6 batters, Oliver Perez allowed just one run on 2 hits in 6 innings of work, and Damion (who needs Luis Castillo) Easley hit a 2-out home run in the bottom of the 8th inning to help the Mets sneak by the Rockies, 2-1. Aaron Cook was his typical self for Colorado, pitched 6 solid innings.
- Josh Hamilton went 3-for-5 with a double and 3 RBI, Michael Young reached base 4 times and scored 2 runs, and Luis Mendoza gave up one run on 3 hits over 6 innings as the Rangers lassoed the White Sox, 7-2. Chris Davis and David Murphy hit home runs for Texas and...my family officially jumped on the Josh Hamilton bandwagon when I bought my son a  #32 All-Star T-shirt today with "Hamilton" inscribed across the back!
- Luke Hochevar appeared as Dr. Jekyll on Friday, allowing just one run over 7 strong innings, and David DeJesus drove in 2 runs as the Royals joined the rest of the league in beating the Mariners, 3-1. Felix Hernandez returned from the disabled list to start today's game for Seattle.
- Scott Hairston doubled, homered, and scored 2 runs, and Jake Peavy mowed down one Atlanta hitter after another for 7 innings as the Padres shut out the Braves, 4-0. Brian McCann had 3 hits for Atlanta who has scored one run or less in 5 of their last 8 games. If it's hasn't started already, the Mark Teixeira trade watch is now officially on.

Friday's Scoreboard

American League

National League

Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Minnesota « 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 3 8 0 Detroit 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 6 0 W:G.Perkins(6-2) L:A.Galarraga(7-3) S:J.Nathan (26) HR: MIN- None DET- None   Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Baltimore « 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 1 7 7 1 Boston 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 8 1 W:B.Burres(7-5) L:C.Buchholz(2-4) S:G.Sherrill (28) HR: BAL- None BOS- None   Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Tampa Bay 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 1 Cleveland « 1 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 X 5 10 0 W:C.Lee(12-2) L:J.Shields(7-6) HR: TAM- None CLE- J.Peralta (15)   Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E NY Yankees 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0