Tigers agree to trade minor leaguer Hannahan to Oakland  —  The Tigers have agreed to trade Jack Hannahan, an infielder at Triple-A Toledo, to the Oakland Athletics, according to an individual with knowledge of the deal.  —  Hannahan is expected to fly to the West Coast with Oakland's big-league club …

Crushing blows  —  Orioles homer off bullpen to tie in 8th, beat Sox in 10th  —  BALTIMORE — Mayday.  —  In this case, that is not a distress signal, even though you could almost imagine dozens of red flares firing over Boston Harbor as the Red Sox landed at Logan Airport following their 6-3 …

Traber optioned; Bacsik sent to 'pen  —  Righty Hill expected to be activated and start Tuesday  —  PHOENIX — Following Sunday's victory over the Diamondbacks, the Nationals optioned left-hander Billy Traber to Triple-A Columbus and are expected to reinstate right-hander Shawn Hill from the disabled list on Tuesday.

Marlins settle for series win over Mets  —  Four homers allowed hurts Florida's chances of sweep  —  NEW YORK — Working out of a heavily used Marlins bullpen, Lee Gardner has done a tremendous job keeping the ball in the park.  But Sunday was a rare occasion when he didn't.

Contreras clears waivers  —  White Sox may have pay part of salary in any trade  —  White Sox pitcher Jose Contreras has cleared waivers and now becomes eligible to be traded to any interested team, SI.com has learned.  —  While Contreras is only 6-14 overall with a 6.24 ERA, he has pitched well lately.

Cards sizzle; Encarnacion boils  —  UNHAPPY PLAYER  • Says La Russa treated him "kind of unprofessional."  —  THE GAME  • Cardinals pound out season-high 18 hits; Reyes wins.  —  The Cardinals won a game but they may have lost a right fielder Sunday afternoon.

Tom has his Shea day  —  Mets & fans salute Glavine's 300th  —  Back when Tom Glavine was piling up victories and NL East titles for the Atlanta Braves, who could have ever predicted that there would be a Tom Glavine Day at Shea Stadium?  —  Yet there it was yesterday …

Under The Knife  —  Thanks and Faith Edition  —  I try to read and respond to all the email I get, but due to what's going on here, I was out of touch with what was really going on.  If you sent me an email asking for an immediate answer, you probably got a quick response at best, telling you that I was out of touch.

Mets' catching situation getting dicey  —  With Castro listed as day-to-day, DiFelice is ready to step up  —  NEW YORK — What began as a problem has now become something of a catching crisis.  And seemingly nobody is immune.  —  Not 24 hours after starting catcher Paul Lo Duca went …

Torres drops grievance against Pirates  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Reliever Salomon Torres has decided to drop his grievance against the Pirates, as well as his pursuit of a lawsuit.  —  He said yesterday at AT&T Park, shortly after the team's 5-0 victory against the San Francisco Giants …

Gagne blown away: Sagging set-up man's failures raise own ire  —  BALTIMORE - When he took the mound in the bottom of the eighth inning yesterday afternoon at Camden Yards, he was Eric Gagne, veteran, card-carrying, big league relief pitcher.  —  Later, after the game had ended …

Hall of Famer Ripken named goodwill ambassador  —  WASHINGTON — Sports, not politics, will be Baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr.'s emphasis in his new role as a special envoy for the State Department.  —  "This isn't a political statement for me, necessarily," Ripken said Monday …

Yankees Face the Toughest Battle for Playoff Spot  —  One of the great sports fallacies is the old Bill Parcells saw that claims you are what your record says you are.  Untrue!  Take the American League wild card race.  The Yankees and the Seattle Mariners are tied atop the standings with six weeks left in the season.