Griffey's 609 HRs tie Sosa, ChiSox roll  —  CHICAGO (AP)—Ken Griffey Jr. thought it was just a matter of time.  His first home run with the Chicago White Sox was still a pretty sweet sight for manager Ozzie Guillen.  —  Griffey hit one of Chicago's four homers to move into a tie with Sammy Sosa …

METS SIGN AL REYES  —  ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO UPGRADE BULLPEN  —  The Mets today tried another avenue to upgrade their bullpen by signing Al Reyes, who was recently waived by the Tampa Bay Rays, to a minor-league contract, The Post has learned.  —  Reyes was released by the Rays on Aug. 9 …

Johnny Damon is shaky in center as Yankees fall to Toronto, 2-1  —  TORONTO - The Yankees held a players-only meeting less than an hour before Tuesday night's game in an attempt to reinforce the obvious: Time is running out.  —  The meeting didn't do much to inspire the Yankees' bats …

Buchholz demoted to Portland  —  BALTIMORE - Terry Francona announced after the game that Clay Buchholz, who allowed five runs over 2-1/3 innings in an 11-6 Sox loss to the Orioles was demoted to Double-A Portland to work out his pitching issues.  —  “I talked to Buck and we feel we need …

A few things....  BALTIMORE - Josh Beckett will start throwing on Friday in Toronto to prepare for his Tuesday start in New York.  —  Terry Francona reiterated that the tingling and numbness in two of Beckett's fingers on his right hand has subsided and that the Sox medical people …

Kotchman leaves Braves to be with ailing mom  —  Diaz won't need surgery on reinjured knee  —  New York — Braves first baseman Casey Kotchman was placed on the major-league bereavement list Wednesday so he could be with his mother, who is hospitalized for an undisclosed medical condition in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Projected Elias Rankings  —  The good news is that I have finally, with reasonable certainty, figured out the disabled list adjustment in the Elias Rankings.  The bad news is that it requires going through every player's transactions data and does not lend itself to quick updating.

PELFREY TO PEN PERFECT IN PINCH  —  THE Mets have an aching need in their bullpen, and Mike Pelfrey is the best man for the Joba.  —  Pelfrey does not have the overpowering stuff of Joba Chamberlain.  But he has the best combination of skills to re-enact for the Mets what Chamberlain …

Team picks up infielder Jose Castillo  —  Comments Recommend  —  The Astros claimed Jose Castillo off waivers from the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday, and the 27-year-old infielder will join the club at Shea Stadium on Friday for the start of a four-game series against the New York Mets.

Picking the NL MVP  —  Award Week continues at Prospectus Today, as we take a look at the NL MVP race, while silently cursing the lovely and talented Rob Neyer for getting to it a day sooner.  —  As in the AL, no clear favorite has emerged in the public eye, as some of the players who began …

Prospectus Hit and Run  —  Park Adjusted Defensive Efficiency  —  Last week, in my look at the Twins' rotation, I made reference to this year's Park-Adjusted Defensive Efficiency statistics, and noted that the Twins were dead last in the American League in that category.

Surging Twins knock off reeling A's 3-1  —  MINNEAPOLIS (AP)—The Minnesota Twins stuffed equipment bags and suitcases to their brims, preparing for two full weeks on the road and a defining stretch of this so-far successful season.  —  Before they left, they crossed one more item off the list …