Wells Headed To Shea?  —  When colleague Dan Graziano told me that Wells, the portly left-hander with the personality of a rattle snake, might be pitching here on Sunday night, it scared me.  —  After all, who wants to see Wells at Shea Stadium?  —  Apparently the Dodgers do.

Cubs land Monroe in deal with Tigers  —  Experienced outfielder expected to produce against lefties  —  SAN FRANCISCO — The Cubs, needing an experienced bat against left-handed pitching, acquired outfielder Craig Monroe from the Detroit Tigers on Thursday for a player to be named.

Piazza's 5 RBIs power A's over Rays 12-2  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Mike Piazza hit his 424th homer, had four hits and drove in a season-high five runs, powering the Oakland Athletics to a 12-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Thursday night.  —  Piazza hit a two-run shot …

Drew has the tools, lacks the numbers  —  LIKE THIS STORY?  —  He is the baseball equivalent of unreleased vasocongestion, arousing us with his limitless potential before thwarting us with his all-too limiting indifference.  —  The strong, accurate arm.  The swift, powerful legs.

Red Sox Nation new king of the road  —  TAMPA — Terry Francona recalls walking into a hotel elevator in Baltimore this month, still smarting from a galling loss that night.  The Boston Red Sox manager was joined by two Sox fans, also guests in the hotel where the team was staying.

Rangers astonished by record night  —  Club scores 30 times; Littleton records save with 27-run lead  —  ARLINGTON — Wes Littleton got the last out, retiring Brian Roberts on a grounder to shortstop.  —  But he forgot to keep the baseball.  —  "I didn't think about it," Littleton said.

Lester update  —  Red Sox lefty Jon Lester was sent down to Double-A Portland today.  Lester is 2-0 with a 5.67 ERA in six starts since being recalled from Pawtucket on July 23.  —  Lester will miss one start and is scheduled to return to start for the Red Sox on September 2.

Pirates Notebook: Doumit has setback  —  DENVER — The Pirates will be without right fielder Ryan Doumit longer than expected.  —  A second examination of his sprained left wrist prompted the team's medical staff to order him to not use the wrist in any capacity for another week.

COLUMN — Andy Rooney — A no-hit game for me  —  Baseball has never been my game.  I never liked it as a kid, probably because I could never throw a ball very well.  My friends said I threw like a girl and that's enough to put any young boy off a game.  As I've probably told you …

Is Moose cooked?  —  Mussina looking older and shakier than ever  —  Mike Mussina pitched credibly enough for more than two months during the summer, keeping the Yankees in games he started while they straightened out their miserable season.  But he's been horrible in consecutive clunkers …

Reyes steals his way to the top  —  Mets shortstop breaks franchise's stolen base record in fifth  —  NEW YORK — Jose Reyes established a franchise record for stolen bases in a season on Wednesday night, when he stole third base on the front end of a double steal in the fifth inning of the Mets' 7-5 loss to the Padres.

MOTA MAKES MORE MISERY  —  The Mets have an albatross to bear, and its name is Guillermo Mota.  —  The slumping reliever poured gas on the fire with a sorry two-inning, three-run outing that proved decisive in last night's 7-5 loss to San Diego.  He's struggling so badly, nobody should be wondering if he's back on the juice.