Sportsmeels

Florida star shortstop Hanley Ramirez has agreed to the framework of a six-year, $70 million contract to remain with the Marlins, a person familiar with the negotiations told the Associated Press yesterday.

Seriously, with Jimmy Rollins returning to the Bay Area, where he grew up, and to a Phillies’ starting lineup that had been without him for 28 games, predicting a big night wasn’t hard.

Brewers reliever Derrick Turnbow cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Nashville, where he will return to the closer’s role and try to overcome the command issues that cost him his job in the big leagues

The Toronto Blue Jays added two players yesterday in an effort to spark their moribund offence.
The Jays picked up outfielder Brad Wilkerson, who had been released by Seattle, and acquired outfielder Kevin Mench from Texas for cash.

Jim Edmonds’ batting average had fallen to .178 — more than 100 points below his lifetime mark — and he clearly had lost a step or two while chasing fly balls in center field.
The 37-year-old Edmonds was hardly the only struggling player on the team with the worst record in the big leagues. His struggles were glaring enough, though, that San Diego released him on Friday, a move that will cost the Padres approximately $4.7 million.

Richie Sexson’s suspension was reduced from six games to five after the league heard his appeal Saturday.
Sexson, Seattle’s first baseman, was suspended Friday for what the league termed “violent and aggressive actions” stemming from Thursday night’s benches-clearing fight with the Texas Rangers.

In the offseason, the Washington Nationals spent $6.25 million to acquire free agent catchers Paul Lo Duca and Johnny Estrada. On Friday they plan to put both players on the disabled list — Lo Duca with a broken bone in his right hand, Estrada with a ligament problem in his right elbow — and turn the regular catching duties over to the man they think will hold the position for years to come, Jesús Flores.