Notes: Gotay going great as starter  —  Second baseman thriving in new role as everyday player  —  NEW YORK — It's been a tough summer for Jose Valentin.  The Mets' second baseman has been persistently plagued by a gimpy right knee, an injury that won't fully be healed without offseason surgery.

NL West: Bonds' big slump  —  Well, heck, his 2007 on-base percentage has just now dropped below .500.  —  It's important to keep things in perspective — Barry Bonds hasn't tumbled irredeemably off a cliff, not as far as on-field performance goes, anyway.

Varitek gets thumbs down  —  Injured catcher is given a rest  —  Kevin Youkilis symbolized the Red Sox' day of missed chances when he struck out with a man on in the eighth inning.  (JIM DAVIS/GLOBE STAFF)  —  With one out in the ninth inning yesterday and the Red Sox trailing by a run, Doug Mirabelli stepped to the plate.

Not what Williams had in mind  —  BALTIMORE — Before the start of this 11-game road trip, general manager Ken Williams fired his final warning shot, promising that anything less than a ''championship-caliber'' showing would leave him with no choice but to start trading off pieces.

On James  —  Bill James will be inducted into the Shrine of the Eternals on Sunday, July 22, in Pasadena, California.  James, Yogi Berra, and Jim Brosnan comprise the ninth class of electees in voting conducted by the membership of the Baseball Reliquary.  All three honorees …

CASTRO'S NO TYPICAL BACKUP  —  Ramon Castro hadn't started a game in nine days, pinch-hitting just once in that time.  But don't confuse inactivity with inability.  Seemingly every time Willie Randolph turns to his backup catcher, Castro comes through.  Yesterday was no different.

Mets pen happy finish  —  Mets relievers know better than to crave attention.  Most of the time when they get it, it's for all the wrong reasons.  —  Now, though, it's for all the right ones.  —  The Mets got three more innings of scoreless relief yesterday - one each from Pedro Feliciano …

Phils handed 10,000th loss  —  Right-hander Eaton allows six runs in four-plus innings  —  PHILADELPHIA — Many of the Phillies' bags were packed and sitting by their lockers before Sunday's game against the Cardinals.  —  It's a standard practice of every road trip …

TORRE MUM ON LOFTON'S WORDS  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - As he did Friday when Gary Sheffield accused him of treating white and black players differently, Joe Torre refused to comment yesterday in the wake of Kenny Lofton backing Sheffield's claims.  —  "I don't feel a need to respond," Torre said yesterday.

Looking for the perfect comp  —  The news that the White Sox had successfully re-signed their 28-year-old ace pitcher Mark Buehrle, who has taken the ball regularly over the last six years, to a contract extension for the next four seasons worth $56 million has put the sabermetric blogosphere all atwitter.

Braves Want Young Impact Pitcher For Salty  —  Back on June 24th, Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette mentioned that the Pirates inquired as to the availability of catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia.  At that point the required bounty was thought to be a frontline starting pitcher like Mark Buehrle.