Pirates Notebook: Two late offers for Bay spurned  —  CHICAGO — The Pirates had made up their minds not to trade Jason Bay six minutes before Major League Baseball's trading deadline Thursday, general manager Neal Huntington said, rejecting two firm offers on their table.  —  But they left open one exception.

Manny mania still all the rage  —  While Jason Bay more than held his own in his Boston debut, Manny mania continues to sweep Los Angeles and there's no shortage of commentary on the former Sox slugger that took Chavez Ravine by storm over the weekend.  —  This morning's LA Times has the recap …

Dan Murphy's Law  —  With everything going wrong, Mets' roster moves perplexing  —  Whoa.  What's going on here?  —  Suddenly, Nick Evans and Dan Murphy are platooning in left and Eddie Kunz is in the bullpen.  —  Suddenly, Omar Minaya is operating on the younger-and-more-athletic platform that won us over a few years ago.

Braves announcer Skip Caray dies  —  Skip Caray made the call when the Atlanta Braves won the World Series in 1995: “Yes!  Yes!  Yes!  The Atlanta Braves have given you a championship!  Listen to this crowd!”  —  He made the call when Sid Bream scored on Francisco Cabrera's pinch-hit …

Stupid, Petty, Ungrateful, Ignorant  —  We may think that Red Sox fans are a different breed, cut from better cloth than the average baseball fan.  More loyal, more knowledgeable.  But then something happens that shows beyond all doubt that Red Sox fans can be as stupid, petty, ungrateful, and ignorant as any other team's fans.

Giants notes: Lincecum is no baby  —  Giants ace wants to keep pitching  —  SAN DIEGO - Tim Lincecum doesn't want to be treated like a baby down the stretch, even though the Giants are out of contention.  —  Babies don't win Cy Young awards.  —  “I want to go out there as many times as possible,” Lincecum said.

Braves' Soriano on DL for third time  —  Rafael Soriano continues to be hampered by right elbow problems that have bothered him since early on in spring training.  —  The Braves announced after Sunday's game they were disabling Soriano for the third time this season with elbow inflammation.

Waiver Trade Candidates: American League  —  By Tim Dierkes [August 4 at 9:19am CST]  —  Today let's take a swing through the American League and identify players who could clear waivers this month.  If a player clears waivers he can be traded to any team for another such player or a prospect not on the 40-man roster.

The 'stache has met its demise  —  My friends, I have some sad news.  —  The 'stache is no more.  —  Sources have told the LoHud Yankees Blog that Jason Giambi has shaved his mustache.  The Big G clearly needed to do something given that he has four extra-base hits and a .205 batting average since July 1.

Mets Have Problems, but Beltran Isn't One of Them  —  The Mets, it is clear, are determined to give their fans heart attacks this year.  Yesterday, not a week out of first, they lost the last game of a three-game sweep to the Houston Astros, 4-0, which left them in third place, 2.5 games behind Philadelphia.