Mets turn to Pelfrey with '07 collapse rearing its ugly head  —  History will have its long tentacles wrapped tightly around the Mets tonight as they try to preserve their next-to-nothing lead over the Phillies.  Just a half-game separates the Eastern Division rivals who are accelerating …

Henry: Epstein has new deal  —  Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein has agreed to a contract extending beyond this season, but the deal has not yet been formalized or signed, according to owner John Henry.  —  “We are all on the same page with regard to our vision for the organization,” Henry wrote in an e-mail this afternoon.

Torre, Santo, Hodges added to veterans' ballot  —  COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Joe Torre, Ron Santo and Gil Hodges are among 10 players on the latest Hall of Fame ballot for Veterans Committee voters.  —  Dick Allen, Jim Kaat and Luis Tiant are on the list, made up of major leaguers whose careers began in 1943 or later.

All kinds of personnel news  —  Chicago — Dale Sveum has yet to manage his first game as the Brewers' interim skipper but we've already gotten all kinds of personnel news this afternoon at Wrigley Field:  —  *Reliever David Riske is having surgery to remove a bone spur and is done for the season.

Lawmaker blasts deal for new Yankee Stadium … ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Taxpayers and ticket buyers are the losers in plans to provide hundreds of millions of dollars in public subsidies to build the new Yankee Stadium, a New York lawmaker said Tuesday.  —  Assemblyman Richard Brodsky …

Papelbon throws some heat at critics  —  Critics of closer get a brushback  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Jonathan Papelbon, one week ago, was surging toward another untouchable autumn, more infield jigs and magazine covers to come.  He allowed zero earned runs from July 21 to Sept. 8 …

Is the clock striking midnight in Tampa?  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Attaboy, Scott Kazmir.  —  Great way to set the tone for your team.  —  First pitch, in the immortal words of Bob Uecker, was “just a little bit outside.”  Nine straight balls later, there were two men on, setting up a three-run jack by David Ortiz.

Ten of Baseball's Unforgettable Wild Card Teams  —  Wild card season is upon us.  That time of the year when the division races are mostly sewn up, and you start looking at teams from all over the league, trying to keep track of half a dozen different schedules all at once.

Holliday pleads his case  —  The Rocks have five home games remaining in a lost season.  Matt Holliday might have that many remaining in his Rockies career.  —  Holliday says he hasn't given it a lot of thought but acknowledges there will be some emotional detritus if that's how it works out.

Mad Dog stays loose in first show  —  What was Chris Russo's first official show for Sirius XM Satellite Radio like yesterday?  —  To borrow a familiar Russo phrase: loosey goosey.  —  Sure, the topics were more national in scope than at his longtime perch at WFAN, and he had to talk more than ever …

PEDRO LIVID OVER POSADA DISS  —  WASHINGTON - Jorge Posada dredged up the past yesterday, and Pedro Martinez didn't appreciate it one bit.  —  Told that Posada had accused him of having “no class” for his actions in the notorious Yankees-Red Sox brawl during Game 3 of the 2003 ALCS …

Teagarden, Texas Rangers topple Tigers, 11-8  —  rdurrett@dallasnews.com  —  ARLINGTON - If the Texas Rangers plan on putting Brandon McCarthy on their preliminary starting rotation list for 2009, they better do it in pencil.  —  The biggest question regarding McCarthy, 25, is his health.

Photo of Playbook Concerns Coach  —  Concerned that Pro Bowl tight end Chris Cooley displayed private team information on his blog, Washington Redskins Coach Jim Zorn plans to address players tomorrow regarding their conduct while using the Internet, he said late yesterday.

The Wheel of Change  —  With the firing of Ned Yost yesterday with less than two weeks to go in the regular season, I thought it would be interesting to continue the errata from It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over: The Baseball Prospectus Pennant Race Book with this tidbit on managerial changes and pennant winners.