Chicago White Sox escape collision disaster  —  If the White Sox climb out of their early hole to make the playoffs, something that didn't happen Tuesday will be one of the keys.  Gordon Beckham and Alexei Ramirez (right) narrowly avoided an ugly collision when Beckham reversed field to grab …

Papelbon ties Red Sox's saves record  —  Closer notches No. 132, remains in awe of Yanks' Rivera  —  BALTIMORE — Closer Jonathan Papelbon tied the Red Sox's club record for saves, set by Bob Stanley, with career save No. 132, notched in a 4-0 victory against the Orioles on Monday night.

Angels extend AL West lead after sixth win in a row  —  ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Juan Rivera and Kendry Morales hit back-to-back home runs that put Los Angeles ahead and the AL West-leading Angels won their sixth straight game, 5-2 over the struggling Texas Rangers on Monday night.

Rays ruin Halladay's return and top Blue Jays  —  TORONTO (AP) — Carl Crawford and Pat Burrell homered and the Tampa Bays Rays ruined Roy Halladay's return with their sixth straight victory, 4-1 over the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night.  —  Halladay (10-2) came in having won his past seven decisions …

BREAKING: Surgery for Beltran?  —  (UPDATED) MILWAUKEE — In a ominous-sounding move, Mets center fielder Carlos Beltran flew to Vail, Colo., today for a second opinion on his ailing right knee from the inventor of microfracture surgery.  —  The Mets confirmed that Beltran was in Colorado …

Inbox: Should Hughes stay in the 'pen?  —  Beat reporter Bryan Hoch answers fans' questions  —  Phil Hughes has been dominant in relief and seems to have found “something” that wasn't there as a starter.  Maybe this is what he is and they found it by accident.  What do you think?

Francoeur breaks out lucky ‘turkey underwear’  —  Desperate times call for desperate measures, so Braves right fielder Jeff Francoeur said he'll wear the same underwear to Turner Field Tuesday that he wore on Sunday.  He claimed the Braves are 7-0 when he wears his Thanksgiving-themed “turkey underwear” to the ballpark.

Giants' Lincecum dominates Cardinals with two-hitter  —  ST. LOUIS (AP) — Tim Lincecum looked ready for a return trip to Busch Stadium in two weeks for the All-Star game.  The St. Louis Cardinals could not touch him.  —  Lincecum threw a two-hitter for his third complete game of the season …

Ibanez unlikely to return from DL Friday  —  Left fielder to be re-evaluated before beginning rehab  —  PHILADELPHIA — Phillies left fielder Raul Ibanez said last week that his strained left groin feels much better.  —  But while it has improved, Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said …

Can the Florida Marlins win with Emilio Bonifacio?  —  Before delving into the topic du jour, another great outing from Ricky Nolasco.  He gave up two early runs then retired 20 of the last 21 batters he faced.  Since returning from his demotion to Triple-A, Nolasco has not allowed …

Brewers' McGehee slams Mets after gaffe  —  Buzz up!  —  MILWAUKEE (AP)—Brewers hitting coach Dale Sveum had recently told Casey McGehee  —  that there's nothing like the emotional swings they face in baseball.  McGehee faced it all in the same inning.  —  “I experienced them both pretty quick,” McGehee said.

Florida 4, Washington 2  —  a ride to the ballpark on Monday afternoon, the friends and former teammates chatting and catching up.  —  They'll have plenty to talk about next time.  —  Nolasco retired the final 13 batters he faced, spoiling Olsen's stellar return from the disabled list …

Using HITf/x to measure skill  —  Ever watch a ballgame and see three fielders converge on a pop fly before it ends up dropping for a base hit?  Did you think that batter didn't deserve a hit?  Or perhaps the second baseman dove to the shortstop side of second base to catch a screaming line drive …

Twins have yet to provide us reason to believe  —  The talent on this team was unable to counter the efforts of a Kansas City Royals team that has allegedly gotten better.  —  Congratulations to the Minnesota Twins.  Monday night, they lost to an older version of the Lansing Lugnuts.

UZR Hates The Mets Outfield  —  The Mets have the 2nd worst Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) in baseball, at -20.1 runs.  Only the embarrassing Nationals measure out worse.  This number jumps off the page because the Omar Minaya Mets have been strong defensively.

The Failure of Yankees Fans (and Mets Fans Too)  —  I took the family to last night's Yankees-Mets game at the new Citi Field.  We had a great time despite the very late hour.  (More on that later.)  This was the final game of the season between the crosstown rivals.