Cardinals manage .500 baseball without Albert Pujols

The Cardinals held it together without Albert Pujols, going 7-7 and scoring 4.2 runs per game. Tony La Russa was hoping Pujols would be added to the NL All-Star roster so he could avoid a four-day break....

Jim Leyritz, the Yankees’ 1996 World Series hero who was acquitted of vehicular homicide after a drunk driving accident, is trying to get his career back on track as a coach for the independent Newark Bears. He says Joe Girardi and David Cone were the only former teammates who stood by him through his ordeal....

The Marlins plan to give Mike Cameron a lot of playing time as they lighten the load for young outfielders....

Peter Bourjos’ sore hamstring prompted the Angels to promote Mike Trout from double A. He should play every day and could stick if he comes out hitting....

According to metrics used by Baseball Info Solutions, Ryan Theriot gave up more runs than any other major league shortstop in the first half. The other fielding no-stars: pitcher Edwin Jackson, catcher Jonathan Lucroy, first baseman Ryan Howard, second baseman Bill Hall, third baseman Mark Reynolds, left fielder Raul Ibanez, center fielder Adam Jones, and right fielder Lance Berkman. Jones is a surprise because he’s athletic and has a strong arm....

Max Scherzer showed immediate improvement after Jeff Jones replaced Rick Knapp as the Tigers’ pitching coach. Their season might depend on Jones getting more from Scherzer and Rick Porcello....

The Indians are looking hard at outfield bats to help them score more runs in the second half....

The Royals haven’t had success signing outfielder/quarterback Bubba Starling, who will report to the University of Nebraska next week. They have until Aug. 15 to sign him....

The Red Sox have the Cubs’ Matt Garza high on the list of pitchers they’re pursuing for an injury-depleted rotation. He has pitched well against them. The Cubs would have to get a lot in that trade, including a majors-ready arm to replace Garza. Jim Hendry has said he isn’t looking to deal players who can help the Cubs in the future, and Garza is under control through 2013....

The White Sox look for big second halves from Adam Dunn and Alex Rios, but both historically have been better in the first half. Dunn’s worst two months are August and September.