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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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.

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 …

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 …