Club calls up catcher George Kottaras for 1st big league stint  —  A little more than two years ago, the Red Sox [team stats] effectively announced they were conceding the 2006 season when they traded veteran left-hander David Wells to the San Diego Padres.  —  But now, as the 2008 Red Sox close …

Wagner out for season with elbow injury, could miss '09  —  Mets closer Billy Wagner has a torn ligament in his left elbow and will have surgery this week, meaning he'll miss the rest of this season and likely all of 2009, too.  —  The surgery will repair a torn MCL ligament and a torn flexor pronator …

Girardi will return in '09  —  Steinbrenner: Manager will be back for second season  —  ANAHEIM — The Yankees appear likely to miss the postseason for the first time in more than a decade, but the club plans to retain Joe Girardi as manager for the 2009 season.

Registration for Mets playoff tix opens  —  Opportunity to secure first-round tickets runs through Sept. 15  —  NEW YORK — Though the Mets may have plenty of work to do before they can play in October, preparations for the playoffs are beginning now.  —  The team on Monday announced …

Phils prevail, trim Mets' NL East lead  —  Offense gives Blanton needed lift; Philly 1 1/2 games back  —  PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies' bats bailed out pitcher Joe Blanton after a rocky start, lifting Philadelphia to an 8-6 win over the Marlins on Monday night.

Rain postpones Blue-Jays-White Sox  —  CHICAGO (AP) — Rain forced the postponement of Monday night's Toronto Blue Jays at Chicago White Sox's game.  It will be made up as part of a split doubleheader beginning at 1:05 Tuesday.  —  The four-game series that was to have started at U.S. Cellular …

Sheffield hits Majors' 250,000th homer  —  Milestone dinger a grand slam against Athletics' Gonzalez  —  DETROIT — Gary Sheffield still needs a few home runs to get to his career milestone.  In getting closer on Monday, however, his two-homer game reached a Major League mark that has been 133 years in the making.

Pujols leaning toward elbow surgery  —  Slugger dealing with ligament tear since 2003  —  ST. LOUIS — Slugger Albert Pujols told a local television station on Monday that he may be leaning toward undergoing Tommy John ligament-replacement surgery on his right elbow after the season ends.

Torres has rough ninth in loss to Reds  —  Kendall, Hardy go deep; Bush solid in eight innings  —  MILWAUKEE — If Brewers manager Ned Yost did not feel comfortable with his team's hold of the National League Wild Card going into Monday's game, imagine how he felt afterward.

Lee vs. Halladay  —  This is primarily supposed to be a data dump without advocating a position.  I just want to at least put this out there to see if it becomes part of the discussion.  Two weeks ago, I wrote that Cliff Lee would not only be my choice for AL Cy Young, but also for AL MVP.

Oswalt, Ethier share NL's weekly honors  —  Astros starter, Dodgers outfielder recognized for performance  —  Baseball season has entered the September home stretch, and the Dodgers and Astros both find themselves in the thick of the playoff hunt with three weeks to go.