Rangers' price is high for Teixeira  —  LIKE THIS STORY?  —  In one version of the Braves' second-half blueprint, right-hander Jon Garland would have been their No. 3 starter, Yunel Escobar their shortstop and Mark Teixeira their first baseman.  —  A proposed trade of shortstop Edgar Renteria …

Courageous pitcher A-OK in triumph  —  CLEVELAND — If you have a shred of humanity, watching Jon Lester take a major league mound for the first time since being diagnosed with cancer in late August of 2006 and win a 6-2 decision over a tough Cleveland Indians lineup last night had to tug at the heartstrings.

Belliard Signs Extension  —  Other Nats Could Be Dealt as Trade Deadline Nears  —  At a time when much of the baseball world expected the Washington Nationals to be selling off their veteran pieces, the club's first move in the week leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline was to keep a player.

Marlins insist Willis not on the market  —  PHOENIX One ESPN analysis of the July 31 non-waiver trading deadline touted Dontrelle Willis as perhaps the best available starter.  —  Here's the problem with that: Willis is not available.  —  The Marlins continue telling teams Willis is not up for discussion.

Pence out 4-6 weeks with injured wrist  —  MRI exam reveals small chip fracture; outfielder placed on DL  —  HOUSTON — With the Astros offense struggling for a fourth consecutive night, and the team falling to a season-worst 15 games under .500 after a 10-2 rout at the hands of the Dodgers …

Rangers should offer a package deal  —  egrant@dallasnews.com  —  ARLINGTON - If the Rangers want to get the maximum value for some of their tradable commodities, it may make the most sense to package them in a bigger deal.  —  Almost every contending club is interested in a Rangers reliever.

Cedeno gets call to return from Iowa  —  Trade of Izturis opens spot; Fox likely to be demoted  —  The Cubs will promote shortstop Ronny Cedeno from Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday, and he's expected to be available for the opener of the three-game series in St. Louis.

Time for a Redbird reality check  —  ATLANTA — Sometime this week Cardinals ownership will meet with its front office and dugout staff to determine whether this season is irreparably damaged or can be salvaged within a flawed division.  —  In other words, buy or sell.

PEDRO THROWS ANOTHER ROUND  —  Having returned to St. Lucie, Fla., Pedro Martinez threw his second simulated game yesterday and had no problems health-wise.  —  "Everything went well," Omar Minaya said, adding that the Mets ace threw all his pitches.  —  Martinez threw three innings …

Reyes's Plate Discipline Sees Unprecedented Strides  —  With two outs, a runner on second, and your team up 6-0 in the top of the first on the road, what would you do?  I won't lie — I'd hack away, trying to pad my numbers.  —  Jose Reyes is a better man than I, so when he found himself …

Blogger Beat: Bucs Dugout  —  This season, at the beginning of each series, MetsBlog will attempt to get the perspective of the opposition and their fans.  From this, we hope to be better educated on the opposition going into a series.  It also gives us a fine opportunity to highlight some of our favorite team blogs.