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?

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

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.

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.

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.

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.”

Baseball mourns loss of Skip Caray  —  Beloved Braves announcer continued legacy of excellence  —  ATLANTA — The Braves family lost one of its most beloved members on Sunday, when Skip Caray passed away at his Atlanta-area home.  —  Caray, who would have celebrated his 69th birthday on Aug. 12 …

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...

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 …

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.

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.

Waiver Trade Candidates: American League  —  By Tim Dierkes [August 4 at 5:33pm CST]  —  5:33pm: I noticed that Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe rattled off a slew of possibilities to clear waivers this month, including Kevin Millar, Rafael Betancourt, Bobby Crosby, Mark Ellis, Alan Embree, and Raul Ibanez.

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.