Red Sox get Carter  —  The Red Sox today received their "player to be named later" from the trade that sent Wily Mo Pena to the Nationals last week.  —  The Nationals acquired lefthanded-hitting first base prospect Chris Carter from the Diamondbacks, then shipped Carter to the Red Sox to complete the Pena deal.

Scioscia-Ball Works More Than It Should  —  When the Yankees play the Angels, it's like a first contact between members of different species, a ball club traveling to Mars (or California — same difference) and finding something that strongly resembles itself but isn't quite the same.

Redding leads Nationals to win over Astros  —  Ex-Astro deals 7 shutout innings; Jennings fails again  —  It was not a good idea to make assumptions Monday night at Minute Maid Park, where the Astros got the figurative equivalent of popcorn thrown in their faces, which is what one fan suffered …

Rockies first pitch  —  HANGING ON  —  Left-hander Mark Redman, an eight- year major league veteran, has signed a minor league contract with the Rockies and pitched for Double-A Tulsa (Okla.) on Monday.  —  He gave up five runs, five hits, two walks and struck out seven in five innings in Tulsa's 6-5 …

With Season in Focus, Wright's Vision Is Clear 30/30  —  David Wright's mind is in overdrive.  He is processing the score, the inning, the count and the number of outs.  He is studying the pitcher's time to home plate, his pickoff move and, if he can sneak a peek, his grip.

Radomski talks in Mitchell probe  —  Radomski offers up names of players, juicy details  —  Kirk Radomski, the former Mets clubhouse attendant who admitted selling steroids to scores of major leaguers, recently has provided names of users in a meeting with baseball's lead steroid investigator, George Mitchell, SI.com has learned.

Red Sox, Wakefield cash in  —  New catcher handles the job in another shutout of Rays  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Don Slaught, who was with Tim Wakefield when the knuckleballer was a Pirates rookie, caught him in the 1992 National League playoffs.  —  "Catching him today," Slaught said that night …

Mets deal for Reds' Conine  —  Add veteran righty bat in wake of Easley injury  —  Jeff Conine was dealt to the Marlins in an August trade four years ago, and helped lift Florida to a World Series victory over the Yankees by hitting .367 that postseason.  Now the Mets are counting on him to do the same for them.

Notes: Capuano penned in after loss  —  Phoenix - Prefacing his announcement by saying he didn't think Chris Capuano pitched that badly Sunday, Milwaukee Brewers manager Ned Yost nevertheless said Monday that he was reassigning the beleaguered left-hander to the bullpen.

Choking Up For Big Hits  —  A little over a week ago, Dayton manager Donnie Scott and hitting coach Darren Bragg told their team that everyone was going to choke up on the bat.  Tired of seeing inopportune strikeouts and looking for a way to speed up bats that were dragging in the August heat …

Bridgeport pitcher suspended three games  —  LIKE THIS STORY?  —  BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) - The minor league pitcher Jose Offerman attacked with a bat last week was suspended three games Tuesday for his role in the fight.  —  The independent Atlantic League also fined Matt Beech of Bridgeport Bluefish an undisclosed amount.

Gloveless hitters buck the trend  —  Few barehanded lumber wielders remain in the game  —  The evolution of baseball equipment has made it difficult for modern-day ballplayers to resemble their predecessors.  Double-flapped helmets, shoulder and shin pads, weighted donuts, oversized fielding gloves.

Watch and Enjoy as Webb Pursues Hershiser's Feat  —  Anyone who still complains that baseball teams from small markets can't compete and that baseball teams that don't play their home games in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, or Boston seem not to matter, ought to set aside some time tomorrow night.

Hit Men  —  Alex Rodriguez's 500th dinger ocasioned much speculation as to whether he will some day overtake Barry Bonds's still-growing home run crown, described ad nauseum in the press as the "most hallowed record in sports."  Nevermind that, outside the Americas, this record is of little interest.

The 2007 Replacement Level Killers  —  In a pennant race, every edge matters.  The late-season heroics of one individual may turn a close race into a tale of success writ large, but it's the failures writ small, the weak links on a team, that commonly create that close race in the first place.