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 …

Are Baseball Umpires Racist?  —  Bad calls by the ump are as much a part of baseball as home run records, rabid fans and watery beer, but a new study shows that an umpire's decision may have a disturbing ulterior motive: racism.  —  According to the new study led by Daniel Hamermesh …

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.

No Wake  —  Tim Wakefield and James Shields are locked in a pitcher's duel in the fifth.  Shields allowed five hits and one run so far, but most of the attention goes to Wakefield.  Tim's allowed just one walk so far, not surprisingly to Iwamura.  He'll take a no-hitter into the sixth.

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.

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.

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.

Prospect Hot Sheet: August 13  —  After missing a month—and an opportunity to play in his second straight Futures Game—with a shoulder injury, Maybin got back to being Maybin, raking for both average and power.  —  After hitting .304/.393/.486 in 296 at-bats, the Tigers called Maybin up to Double-A …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

The Rick Ankiel You Don't Yet Know  —  Rick Ankiel was called up from Triple-A Memphis this past Thursday.  Since then, he has hit 3 homeruns.  The thing is that Ankiel was never known for his power.  Coming out of high school, the St. Louis Cardinals were able to persuade Ankiel away …

Deadline Approaches  —  As I returned home from a two-week stint on the high school showcase circuit, it's time to shake out the notebook and share a few tidbits I picked up along the way during conversations with the most respected scouting minds in the industry.

BAD KARMA AT SHEA  —  Though Moises Alou hit two home runs - and had a third go foul by five feet - his opposite corner outfielder, Shawn Green, went a soft 0-for-4.  Alou's 10-week stay on the DL with a strained left quad is no doubt a major factor why the Mets' corner outfielders rank 14th …

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 …