Beckett pulled  —  Josh Beckett has been pulled from tonight's start because of a stiff neck.  Beckett had been fighting the same illness that has taken Jason Varitek out of the lineup for the past couple of days.  —  So the Red Sox, anticipating that there might be a problem, had pulled David Pauley from his start on Monday.

Cedeno's slam helps Cubs defeat Mets 8-1  —  CHICAGO (AP)—A day after Ronny Cedeno told reporters the Chicago Cubs are “thinking about the World Series,” he recanted.  —  “I'm going to take it back,” Cedeno said.  “I go too fast.”  —  Cedeno swung as if he wants to help the Cubs get there …

Gross traded to Tampa Bay  —  The Milwaukee Brewers made a pre-emptive strike to clear an upcoming logjam in the outfield by trading Gabe Gross to Tampa Bay for right-handed pitching prospect Josh Butler after their game today.  —  Oddly enough, Gross scored the winning run in the 12th inning …

Game 21: Yankees at White Sox  —  YANKEES  —  Chien-Ming Wang's history against the White Sox  —  Jose Contreras' history against the Yankees  —  Notes: Cynthia and Alex Rodriguez had a baby girl in Miami last night.  The as-yet-unnamed kiddo checked in at 7 lbs, 2 ounces.

Harper: Wags dogs Hank on Joba, thinks rook spells relief  —  CHICAGO - Behind closed doors Monday, the Mets had quite a chuckle over Hank Steinbrenner's latest outburst.  After all, it seemed obvious that his rant about moving Joba Chamberlain to the starting rotation was driven …

Smoke-free Shea might dampen Cox's cigar ritual  —  ATLANTA — Puffing on his usual postgame cigar, Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox flashed a startled look when asked what he thought of Shea Stadium's total ban on smoking.  —  “You mean the new one?” he asked, referring to Citi Field …

Munson: Age, name questions pose problems for Tejada … When ESPN's Tom Farrey confronted Miguel Tejada last week with his actual birth certificate and a two-year discrepancy in Tejada's claimed age, Tejada walked out of the interview.  The exchange will be shown on “E:60” Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET.

A few quick injury updates (including Pedro)  —  A few minutes ago, Mets assistant GM John Ricco provided a brief summation of the team's injury situation, so here goes:  —  Pedro Martinez (strained left hamstring) was examined by team orthopedist David Altchek in New York on Monday …

Baby Boss could cost Yanks their GM  —  Brian Cashman doesn't need this aggravation.  Ken Rosenthal says it may be time the Baby Boss goes out and finds himself a puppet.

Huntington says Pirates will stick by Morris ... for now  —  Beleaguered starter roughed up in 10-4 loss to Florida  —  The Pirates' options with Matt Morris all are plenty unattractive.  —  Buy him out?  —  That would prevent further scenes like the four-inning, eight-run meltdown …

It's a girl!  A-Rod, wife welcome daughter  —  Third baseman's wife, Cynthia, gives birth Monday night  —  CHICAGO — Alex Rodriguez and his wife, Cynthia, celebrated the birth of a 7-pound, 2-ounce daughter in Miami late Monday night.  —  “We are thrilled with the birth of our second daughter …

Colorado's 'pen out of sync, out of gas  —  The Rockies blow two three-run leads, with lack of communication contributing to the Phillies' winning rally.  —  The Denver Post  —  It was one of the strangest pitching changes on record.  —  Manager Clint Hurdle left the dugout in the eighth inning …