“Open Letter to the Tampa Bay Rays” or “The Thing About Karma”  —  Okay, you swept us.  And while I do question a few moves made by the Glorious Teets — such as not pinch hitting Casey for Tek in the ninth last night, when it is painfully apparent to all that the Captain has become the Craptain …

Lester pitches 5-hitter, Red Sox end 5-game skid  —  NEW YORK - Jon Lester [stats] pitched a sharp five-hitter while the Boston Red Sox [team stats] roughed up Andy Pettitte, beating the New York Yankees 7-0 on Thursday night to end a five-game losing streak.

Dodgers bringing up Nomar Garciaparra, Andruw Jones  —  As L.A. starts a three-game series in San Francisco, Garciaparra will start at shortstop, a position he hasn't played regularly for four seasons.  Brad Penny's return is delayed for about a week.  —  HOUSTON — The injury-depleted Dodgers …

Sabathia deal is possible  —  Phoenix - The C.C. Sabathia rumors might turn out to be more than rumors.  —  As the Brewers continued to scout Sabathia in his outing for Cleveland against Chicago on Wednesday night, word came out of Brevard County that the Indians were looking at specific Milwaukee minor leaguers.

A-ROD WIFE GOES DOWN SWINGING  —  CYNTHIA SHACKS UP WITH ROCKER KRAVITZ  —  He's out at home!  —  Yankee superstar Alex Rodriguez's marriage is kaput, sources told The Post.  —  A-Rod's wife, Cynthia, has been shacked up with rocker Lenny Kravitz in Paris.

Hal: Yankees' new-look future is bright  —  Steinbrenner discusses Stadium, finances and philosophy  —  TAMPA, Fla. — The All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium is fewer than two weeks away, but it will by no means be the last of the tributes that will be paid to the old Bronx yard on 161st Street …

Nolasco turns in another solid outing  —  MIAMI GARDENS — Ricky Nolasco, the Marlins' newest ace, was watching Wednesday's game on a clubhouse TV when Alfredo Amezaga stepped to the plate after the 95-minute rain delay in the seventh.  —  “I'm just thinking, get a base hit, at least we can tie the game,” Nolasco said.

Andy Pettitte could be dragged into court  —  Andy Pettitte, the Yankees' hottest pitcher in recent weeks, could be pulled off the mound and dragged into court for a hearing on the defamation lawsuit filed by longtime pal Roger Clemens against his former trainer Brian McNamee.

Deadline deals don't match the hype  —  Well, the calendar says it's July.  And you know what that means.  —  No, not the long-awaited arrival of Agib Talib at Buccaneers camp.  No, not even the long-awaited arrival of your beach chair on a big white stretch of sand.  —  We mean, of course, it's trade-deadline month.

Raysmania taking hold at the Trop  —  Fans embracing Tampa Bay and shaking their cowbells  —  ST. PETERSBURG — When Rays manager Joe Maddon first spoke of turning Tropicana Field into “The Pit” this season, it was nearly laughable.  —  Years of being baseball's worst team had parlayed …

Inoa becomes a sign of the times  —  Baseball evolved Wednesday.  The little guys, the teams that for so many years cried poor, won by spending money.  And the recipients of that largess, 16-year-old boys from the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, ones who grew up in the third world …

Scherzer 101  —  Max the Stathead … Eric Seidman (ES): For starters, can you tell me how you came to be interested in analyzing baseball statistics?  —  Max Scherzer (MS): Well, it really started out with my pitching coach at Mizzou, who brought it to our attention by examining the percentage of first strikes and A3P percentage.

O's interested in Toronto's Eckstein  —  Club engaged in talks with Blue Jays regarding veteran shortstop  —  Seeking to fill what has become the team's most glaring deficiency, the Orioles have engaged in talks with the Toronto Blue Jays regarding shortstop David Eckstein, according to industry sources.

BRANDON WEBB IS BUSY RESTING  —  The game's winningest pitcher let us trail him for a week.  Turns out, life is pretty good when you've got five dogs, three pitches and a catcher to do your worrying for you.  —  The assignment is to shadow Brandon Webb for six days.

Mariners, Yankees Land Key Prospects  —  The Athletics grabbed the early headlines by landing this year's top July 2 prospect, holding a press conference in Santo Domingo to announce the signing of 16-year-old Dominican righthander Michel Inoa.  —  The Padres then announced the signing …

Houston General Manager, Decked by Pitcher, Now Slammed by Fans  —  Houston Astros pitcher Shawn Chacon lost his $2 million job last week when he expressed his disagreement with management by decking a manager.  —  Some fans of the Major League Baseball team are decrying the behavior …