SHEFF AND METS AT ODDS  —  Gary Sheffield asked the Mets for a contract extension, the club rejected the oveture and now Sheffield has threatened to leave the team and head home, two sources told the Post.  —  As of 6:30 p.m., one of the sources said, Mets officials and Sheffield were in discussions on how to move forward.

Continuity breeds success for Angels  —  Buzz up!  —  The Los Angeles Angels' clubhouse is a domicile for sameness.  They've listened to the same music for years.  They perform the same handshakes.  They follow the same routines.  They celebrate wins in the same manner.

Drew, Lester lead Red Sox past Blue Jays  —  Buzz up!  —  TORONTO (AP)—With J.D. Drew  —  rested and refreshed, the Boston Red Sox are on a roll.  —  Drew homered twice, Jon Lester  —  pitched eight strong innings and the Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-1 on Thursday night to complete a three-game sweep.

Chris Duncan, player acquired for Julio Lugo, is released  —  The man the Red Sox acquired in the Julio Lugo trade, outfielder Chris Duncan, has been released after less than a month with Boston.  —  Duncan, who is playing with Triple-A Pawtucket, was told of his release after flying out to right field to end tonight's game.

Padres get cash for Gaudin ...  SAN DIEGO - General manager Kevin Towers said Wednesday that the Padres will take cash considerations, believed to be $100,000, as compensation for the August 7 deal that sent him to the New York Yankees.  —  The Padres had the option of cash considerations …

Yankees Still Have Something to Prove in Boston  —  BOSTON - The Yankees are 76-45, too many games over .500 to be a fluke.  This is easily their best team in several years, and the rough patches in their schedule - the interleague games in June, the series in Anaheim in July - have been quickly followed by prolonged dominance.

Team President Stan Kasten Explains GM Search  —  As I told you guys, I thought it was important when we made the change [in March] — even though I had a lot of confidence in Mike, which has been rewarded and justified — I thought it was a good opportunity for the franchise to do a thorough …

Wagner Activated, Hernandez Released  —  The Mets have activated Billy Wagner from the 60 day disabled list.  —  To make room for Wagner, the Mets have released Livan Hernandez.  —  Hernandez was 7-8 with a 5.47 ERA for the Mets in 2009, but posted a 7.33 ERA in July and an 11.30 ERA in August.

Baseball roundup: Dodgers 7, Cubs 2  —  NL ROUNDUP  —  Dodgers 7, Cubs 2 — Russell Martin broke open a 2-2 game with a sixth-inning grand slam to lead host Los Angeles past Chicago.  —  Phillies 12, Diamondbacks 3 — Jayson Werth hit his fourth homer in three games …

Rumblings and Grumblings: Dangerous closer issues among contenders  —  Several contenders are heading down the stretch with unreliable closer situations  —  It isn't necessarily true that to win a World Series you need a dominant closer.  —  What is necessarily true, though …

Yankees win!  Thhhhheeeee ... Yankees win!  —  I live in New York, land of baseball.  —  I love it here in the summer, because the games matter and the fans are intense and all anyone wants to talk about is Yankees!  Yankees!  Yankees! (and, sometimes, mets, mets, mets).

Body found on Chipper Jones' ranch  —  Braves star says man on Texas property believed to be illegal immigrant  —  The body of a 22-year-old man was found Thursday morning on Chipper Jones' family ranch in southwest Texas.  —  “He was in a part of the ranch we don't go to on a daily basis …