Phillies interested in deal for Manny  —  The Red Sox appear serious about trading slugger Manny Ramirez and are talking to the Phillies and two other teams about a deal, according to people familiar with the talks.  —  The Phillies may be the front-runner for Ramirez …

Guillen denies desire to be traded from Royals … Left fielder Jose Guillen wants out of Kansas City pronto, according to a source who spoke to ESPNdeportes.com on condition of anonymity.  —  Guillen feels the Royals have not kept the promises made when he signed for three years and $36 million during the offseason, said the source.

Deal or no deal?  —  Mets have outfield options with deadline approaching  —  A reader, Steve from Brooklyn, asked me to scour the trade market for potential Mets outfield acquisitions, and that follows below.  Although I couldn't possibly weigh in on every name that's been bandied about …

Tuesday afternoon update: Hawkins, Everett  —  Heading over to the ballpark after working the phones today.  Nothing Earth shattering to report, but a couple tidbits:  —  (*) The Twins are competing with the Tigers for LaTroy Hawkins.  Lots of bullpen issues for the Tigers and they were interested in signing him last winter.

Milton, Zambrano (!) throw in sim. game  —  Left-hander Eric Milton took another step in his comeback from elbow surgery by throwing 35 pitches Tuesday in his first simulated game.  —  Milton, who had surgery in June 2007, went 0-4 with a 5.17 ERA in six starts with Cincinnati last season.

A WASH-OUT  —  YANKS' DEAL FOR M'S LEFTY IN JEOPARDY  —  Though the Yankees are saying otherwise, a potential deal for Jarrod Washburn isn't dead yet.  Not with so much time before Thursday's trading deadline remaining.  And Sidney Ponson and Mike Mussina getting pounded on consecutive nights …

Today: Pirates-Rockies, 7-29-08; LaRoche has intercostal strain  —  The Pirates have given a diagnosis for Adam LaRoche's injury.  It is a right intercostal strain, which this Wikipedia entry makes sound pretty uncomfortable for breathing, much less baseball.

Teams searching for a little relief  —  Bullpen help a hot commodity as Trade Deadline nears  —  The relentless search for relievers continued on Tuesday as contenders keep trying to pry bullpen arms away from sellers.  With Thursday's 4 p.m. ET Trade Deadline approaching, some of the negotiations are reaching the crucial stage.

Stick a fork in Braves, they're done  —  The day after a second straight meltdown in Philadelphia, the Braves put two more players on the disabled list.  This time it was just their best starting pitcher and their best position player.  —  So much for the post-season tease.

Texas Rangers play it cool when it comes to heat  —  rdurrett@dallasnews.com  —  ARLINGTON - The white board near the main entrance of the Texas Rangers' clubhouse included a brief reminder to players: “Temperature near 100 degrees or more.  Drink plenty of water.”

Hot Streak or Not, the Yankees Still Need Starters  —  The New York Yankees showed Friday night, with a dramatic 1-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox, that their years-long attempt to find a number one starter is finally over with the development of Joba Chamberlain.

Ichiro opens tuesday's game with 3,000th career hit  —  Ichiro Suzuki wasted no time in getting his 3,000th hit Tuesday.  —  He looped the first pitch from Luis Mendoza into short left-center field for a single, giving him it was his 1,722nd hit in the major leagues and 1,278 in his first incarnation …

Mahay going to Phillies?  —  Left-handed reliever Ron Mahay could be on the verge of heading to the Phillies.  —  According to clubs that have been speaking with the Royals, they've been having extensive conversations with the Phillies about a trade that would send Mahay to Philadelphia …