Manny: machine wash cold, tumble dry low  —  Boston Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirez was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers last Thursday.  ESPN agency Ground Zero quickly sprang into action, and by lunchtime Friday, “nearly every Laundromat in Los Angeles county had at least one ‘Lost Red Sock.’ ” Even the Encino Quickie Wash?

MLB bonus probe targeting ‘handful’ of teams  —  Major League Baseball investigators are looking into accusations that several New York Yankees prospects from the Dominican Republic were forced to kick back portions of their signing bonuses to one or more team employees, several sources told ESPN.

Dodgers Manager Joe Torre should dread day Manny Ramirez cuts hair  —  If Ramirez returns to Dodger Stadium a week from today to open the team's next home stand with all his hair, Torre said he would make a donation to Mattel Children's Hospital at UCLA.  —  T.J. Simers

Giambi loses the 'stache, hopes to cut out slump  —  ARLINGTON, Texas — Jason Giambi arrived in the Yankees clubhouse Monday without his famous mustache.  —  But it won't be gone for long, he said.  —  Giambi, who began to swing well around the time he decided to grow a mustache back in May …

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.

Game 112: Yankees at Rangers  —  YANKEES (61-50)  —  Joba Chamberlain (4-3, 2.24) vs. the Texas hitters.  —  Vicente Padilla (12-5, 4.52) vs. the New York hitters.  —  Notes: The Yankees have won two straight but are coming off a 3-4 homestand. ...  The Yankees are 25-24 on the road. ...

ALMIGHTY DOLLAR FALLS ON ‘GRAND CATHEDRAL’  —  JOHN STERLING and Michael Kay were doing a good job hosting the last Old Timers' Day in Yankee Stadium Saturday when it was time to introduce Don Larsen.  Larsen, Kay declared, had thrown the greatest game ever pitched in “this grand cathedral.”

Newcomers Nady, Aviles split AL honor  —  Recent arrivals to Junior Circuit named Co-Players of Week  —  One began this season in the Minor Leagues and did not make his big league debut until May 29.  The other spent his entire career in the National League before a July 25 trade shipped him to the Junior Circuit.

How the Manny trade went down … When the Red Sox originally offered Manny Ramirez in trade to the other 29 teams, they went 0-for-29.  Red Sox GM Theo Epstein made tens of calls and found no takers.  —  Things were looking bleak.  Ramirez was apparently being viewed as an active …

3 UP: Met Depth, Santana and Wells  —  1. Omar Minaya had a devilish decision at the July 31 deadline: Try to improve the obvious problems with the 2008 Mets, but do it by sacrificing a chunk of the few upper-level prospects that the team has left.  What...

A's notes: An upbeat note in a dismal song  —  While dropping all three games at Fenway Park this weekend, Oakland scored five runs, total.  —  This isn't a new story, really.  The A's have struggled offensively for nearly two months, and their strikeout totals keep climbing.

C.J. Wilson update  —  Manager Ron Washington said C.J. Wilson remains the closer.  But he added that doesn't mean he won't use someone else to close at times.  Obviously, there's some concern about Wilson's performance of late.  —  Wilson hinted that he wasn't 100 percent, but wouldn't talk about exactly what that was.

RASNER'S SPOT IN JEOPARDY  —  Darrell Rasner's hold on the fifth spot in the Yankees' starting rotation couldn't be more tenuous.  —  The right-hander allowed five earned runs over four innings in the Yanks' 14-9 victory over the Angels yesterday, and manager Joe Girardi hardly gave Rasner a ringing endorsement afterward.