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.

AL West lead is down to one  —  Santana can't hold a 3-0 lead and Guerrero's two homers are wasted.  —  Ervin Santana has had better starts, and as anyone who has watched the enigmatic right-hander this season knows, he has had worse starts.  Far worse.  —  But mediocrity on the mound …

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.

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.

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 …

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.