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 …

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 …

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 …

Texas Rangers' pitching, bullpen coaches dismissed  —  rdurrett@dallasnews.com  —  ARLINGTON - The Rangers fired pitching coach Mark Connor and bullpen coach Dom Chiti after Friday's 9-8 win against Toronto.  —  Triple-A Oklahoma pitching coach Andy Hawkins and Jim Colborn …

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.

Rays players don't mind that no deals were made  —  ST. PETERSBURG — Rays players were relieved and rejuvenated by management's decision not to make a move before Thursday's nonwaiver trade deadline.  —  Some believed it served as a vote of confidence and stood by manager Joe Maddon's sentiment …

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?

Cuban Wants Cubs, but Will Baseball Want Him?  —  Think of it: Mark Cuban as the Chicago Cubs' owner, bonding with the Bleacher Bums at Wrigley Field, splurging for rounds of Old Style beer and screaming at umpires.  The concept is almost Veeckian, as if Bill Veeck, the populist former owner of the Browns …

Braves' McCann cleared; backup catcher dropped  —  New hometown hero Sammons to remain behind the plate  —  Less than 24 hours after rookie catcher Clint Sammons had a three-hit, three-RBI performance Thursday, the Braves dropped veteran backup catcher Corky Miller from the 25-man roster.

Twins' Gardenhire suspended one game, fined  —  Manager's outburst led fans to throw hats and baseballs on the field during game vs. White Sox  —  NEW YORK - Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was suspended for one game Saturday for his outburst that led fans to throw hats and baseballs …