Braves make tempting offer to Rangers  —  LIKE THIS STORY?  —  The game is now, "Can you top this?"  —  The Braves, major-league sources say, have made the Rangers a whopper of an offer for first baseman Mark Teixeira.  —  The Rangers evidently would receive three highly regarded young players …

Utley breaks right hand  —  Chase Utley sounded like a confident man this afternoon at Citizens Bank Park, but his optimism could not ease the troubled look on Charlie Manuel's face or the evident feeling in Philadelphia that this injury could cost the Phillies another shot at the postseason.

Cleveland Indians acquire OF Kenny Lofton from Texas Rangers  —  The Indians today reaquired center fielder Kenny Lofton from the Texas Rangers for Max Ramirez, a minor-league catcher, team sources said.  —  Lofton was an Indian for nine seasons (1992-2001).  He is the Indians' all-time leading base stealer and a fan favorite.

Smith's Pitches Are Up, So the Mets Send Him Down  —  Joe Smith's career has followed the opposite trajectory of his best pitch, the sinker.  A blindingly quick ascent from a college closer to a minor league stopper to a spring training phenom earned him a job in the Mets' bullpen without facing the downs to balance the ups.

Rodriguez Home Runs: Count Them Backward  —  Alex Rodriguez could become the first major league player ever to hit his 500th home run twice.  —  In a scene more M. C. Escher than Norman Rockwell, Rodriguez, who has 499 career home runs, could become tangled in an esoteric baseball scoring rule applied …

IT'S TY FOR TRADE  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Yankees fans may be tired of watching Scott Proctor and Kyle Farnsworth pitch ineffectively for their team, but that hasn't stopped other major league clubs from being interested in the erratic right-handers.  —  According to talent evaluators from AL …

The price isn't right for GMs  —  They're unwilling to overpay on deal  —  CLEVELAND — The trade deadline goes through many ebbs and flows.  —  There's the "feeler" stage.  There's the "kicking the tires" stage.  And now the "show me the money" stage.

Piniella: Team likely to stand pat  —  ST. LOUIS — Forget the overblown rumors of the Cubs going after Tampa Bay's Ty Wigginton before Tuesday's trade deadline — or maybe even anybody, for that matter.  —  General manager Jim Hendry scoffed specifically at the idea that the Cubs were sending …

Red Sox on verge of Mickelson-like collapse?  —  NL East leaders hitting summer swoon as rival Yankees lurk  —  The Boston Red Sox have been doing business a lot longer than Phil Mickelson has been alive.  —  Yet I can't help but think of the Red Sox as the Phil Mickelson of baseball.

Notes: Depleted 'pen feeling effects  —  Rodney heads to Triple-A, Tigers unsure of his return to club  —  CHICAGO — Sometimes it takes a blown six-run lead to put things in perspective.  —  The Tigers squandered a 7-1 lead in Tuesday's, 8-7, loss to the White Sox, with six of the runs coming …

Reliever gets brief taste of AAA baseball  —  JUPITER — Jupiter reliever Jeff Gogal's first trip to the Class AAA level wasn't quite how he imagined it.  —  Gogal found out Sunday night he was heading to Albuquerque, N.M.  —  "They told me, 'I've got good news and bad news,' " said Gogal …

Benitez blows game  —  PHOENIX — Armando Benitez gave up a three-run homer to Eric Byrnes with two outs in the ninth inning as the Diamondbacks rallied to a 7-4 victory and four-game series sweep of the Marlins.  —  Benitez was one strike from sending the game into extra innings when Byrnes lined …

Murton, Cherry coming up  —  The Cubs are turning to Iowa for reinforcements again and plan to call up right-fielder Matt Murton and right-hander Rocky Cherry Friday.  —  Murton is hitting .331 at Triple-A Iowa with six home runs and 27 RBIs in 39 games; he has a .407 on-base percentage.

Dotel wants to negotiate contract extension to remain with Royals  —  One of the hottest commodities on baseball's trade market would just as soon stay where he is — with the Royals.  —  Veteran closer Octavio Dotel understands the business reality that links him in trade rumors …