Ramírez lobbied to stay  —  Of all the Manny moments in Boston, the last ranks as one of the most confounding.  Within an hour after Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein informed Manny Ramírez he had been traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers Thursday, Ramírez's agent …

Yanks' bats quiet in Ponson's fine effort  —  Starter delivers with help from defense, but Angels get to Rivera  —  NEW YORK — If the Yankees' game plan came over-the-counter, the instructions would insist that Mariano Rivera be the ninth inning go-to guy.  In non-save situations, though, your results may vary.

Rangers fire pitching, bullpen coaches  —  ARLINGTON, Texas (AP)—The Texas Rangers fired pitching coach Mark Connor and bullpen coach Dom Chiti after Friday night's 9-8 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.  —  Andy Hawkins, who had been the pitching coach at Triple-A Oklahoma since 2006, will replace Connor.

Change in Cubs offense is like night and day  —  Heat cools bats; club aims for weekend night games  —  Were the Cubs suffering from a post-Milwaukee hangover in Friday's 3-0 loss to Pittsburgh, or would things have been different if they had been able to play a night game at Wrigley Field?

Murphy lasts in Triple-A one day, gets call  —  HOUSTON - Daniel Murphy's Triple-A career lasted one day.  The 23-year-old prospect is expected to join the Mets for tonight's game against the Astros, the Daily News has learned.  —  After hitting .308 with 13 homers and 67 RBI at Double-A Binghamton …

Rays' bullpen shuts down Tigers in win  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP)—The Tampa Bay Rays are counting on Carlos Pena's bat to help them stay in the pennant race.  —  The struggling slugger homered for the fourth time in eight games Friday night, helping the AL East leaders beat …

Where Losing Is Everything  —  If you happen to be from Philadelphia, as I am, last week's series between the Phillies and the New York Mets was the perfect three-act play for the city of perpetual sports futility — delight followed by deflation followed by convulsive death with the double by Carlos Delgado.

Girardi says Wang won't make September return  —  NEW YORK — Yankees manager Joe Girardi is shooting down speculation that injured right-handed starter Chien-Ming Wang could return to the mound in September.  —  Wang, injured running the bases in Houston on June 15, got the cast off …

Nationals Let López, Lo Duca Go  —  On the day of baseball's trading deadline, the Washington Nationals altered the complexion of their roster.  But only the smallest part of that alteration came from a trade.  A series of bold personnel moves made after yesterday's 8-4 loss …