SOURCE: BOSSES WANT BRIAN BACK  —  ST. PETERSBURG - Hal and Hank Steinbrenner agree they want Brian Cashman back as the Yankees' GM, The Post has learned.  —  According to a MLB source, the Steinbrenner family has decided Cashman is the man to lead the organization back from a nightmarish season …

Church's slam helps Mets sweep Brewers  —  MILWAUKEE (AP)—Ryan Church hit a grand slam and Brian Schneider added a homer in a six-run first inning that provided all the offense the Mets needed to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 9-2 and complete a three-game sweep Wednesday.

Dustin Pedroia: ‘Jerry Remy stunk’  —  I'll lead this one off this way: I love me some Dustin Destroya.  —  It is for this reason that the following video clip concerns me greatly, considering Red Sox Nation's affinity for the mustachioed one, Jerry Remy.  Cue Dustin Pedroia signing autographs for a random admiring fan:

Mussina quiets Rays for win No. 17  —  A-Rod ties Schmidt with No. 548 to help righty approach No. 20  —  ST. PETERSBURG — It was the second inning, and Mike Mussina was already pointing frantically, making sure that Alex Rodriguez realized there were two runners simultaneously parked at third base.

Coonelly chats with Pirates fans  —  Club president discusses team's decisions online  —  21sthebest: By trading Jason Bay and Xavier Nady, don't you risk setting the franchise back farther than it already is if those trades don't work out?  With Bay and Nady, we had a productive offense and no pitching.

Flores injured, leaves game  —  Manny Acta believes there's a chance Flores can come back before the end of the season, but he's still not sure.  (My guess is that Flores is shelved for the year.  It makes little sense to rush him back.  *) But Acta said that potentially Flores could be ready in 10-12 days.

Pedroia Has 5 RBI In Red Sox Win  —  BOSTON — The national anthem was about to start when Kevin Youkilis felt spasms in his lower back Tuesday night.  So Red Sox manager Terry Francona tore up his lineup card.  And Dustin Pedroia, penciled into the second spot in the original lineup, was shifted to cleanup.

Leyland to Verlander: Admit mistakes  —  The Tigers are not going to the playoffs.  They may not even finish with a winning record.  But manager Jim Leyland has resolved to achieve some objectives before the season is over.  —  Perhaps more than anything else, it appears that Leyland wants …

Chat with Scouts Inc.'s Keith Law  —  Welcome to The Show!  On Wednesday, Scouts, Inc. senior baseball analyst, Keith Law, will stop by to talk some baseball.  —  Keith was formerly the special assistant to the general manager with the Toronto Blue Jays and has a wealth of knowledge for you to tap into.

Danks, Sox Running on Empty  —  When John Danks labored through 4 innings on 90 pitches in his last outing, I said I wasn't worried.  He had seemed fine to me in his previous start against the Rays.  It wasn't until the Sox pushed back his start against the Indians that I began to sweat …

In a Perfect World, Lincecum Would Win Cy Young  —  Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants is perhaps the most stylistically unique starter to debut since Orlando Hernandez.  Just as Jeff Bagwell's batting stance was something like the perfect inverse of everything you'd read in a book …

MLB upholds official scorer's call in Brewers-Pirates game  —  Major League Baseball's Scoring Review Committee convened today to review evidence submitted by the Milwaukee Brewers stemming from Pittsburgh's Andy LaRoche's at-bat against CC Sabathia in the bottom of the fifth inning of Sunday's game at PNC Park.

Funny.  Effen.  Signs.  —  The Major League Baseball countdown to the playoffs is here.  Which means the buzz about the Chicago Cubs and their possible date with destiny are intensifying.  So don't be surprised if plenty of brands start jumping on the Cubs bandwagon in hopes …

With Cubs ownership uncertain, Hendry has options  —  It's hard to believe, but Jim Hendry faces an uncertain future in Chicago.  Ken Rosenthal discusses the options for the Cubs' GM.

RUDI'S CRAZY DAY IN DETROIT  —  A strange thing happened to running back Rudi Johnson when he visited with the Detroit Lions on Monday.  —  Someone stole his stuff.  —  Seriously.  —  Specifically, and as we're told by a reliable source (i.e., not the person who told Mort that Joey Harrington …

Heed the call-up  —  To honor the 28 days of baseball this September, here are 28 September call-ups to keep an eye on.  —  For fairness, they're in alphabetical order.  Except the first guy.  Because he's the one everybody wants to see.  —  David Price, SP, Tampa Bay: Worry not, Rays fans, however many of you there actually are.

Sabathia headlines deep free-agent market of pitchers  —  The Yankees are destined to miss the playoffs for the first time since 1993, but one veteran baseball man said this week that the Yankees' problems won't be that tough to solve this winter.  —  The reason is simple.

Mediocre Dodgers still have a chance to fix their season … LOS ANGELES — Hitting savant Manny Ramirez got a quick glimpse of Dodgers teammate Andruw Jones' failing batting technique and is said by intimates to have opined that Jones' backside (not to mention his career) was obviously collapsing and that it should be an easy fix.