Chicago White Sox close to obtaining Manny Ramirez from Los Angeles Dodgers  —  The White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers may be closing in on a deal to send Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez to the South Side in exchange for minor league prospects.  —  The deal appeared to be close Wednesday …

Playing backup to Ruben Tejada isn't sitting well with Luis Castillo; Josh Thole has busy night  —  Luis Castillo arrived for work at Citi Field Wednesday, looked at the starting lineup and didn't know what to think.  He did know that Jerry Manuel had spent the season rewarding good play with a start the next day.

Padres dominate Diamondbacks at home again  —  The Sports Network  —  San Diego, CA (Sports Network) - Adrian Gonzalez's three-run blast capped an early offensive attack, and the San Diego Padres continued their home dominance over the Arizona Diamondbacks with a 9-3 victory at PETCO Park.

Beltre: Ejection was uncalled for  —  So it turns out Adrian Beltre was ejected because he told umpire Dan Bellino that he wasn't talking to him.  —  After he struck out in the second inning, Beltre was talking to Felix Hernandez in the Seattle dugout, playfully telling him in Spanish that would hit a home run his next time up.

Harper: Omar dreaming of October  —  Omar Minaya was standing in the dugout a couple of hours before game time, sounding just a bit exasperated as he answered questions about what the Mets should be trying to accomplish heading toward the final month of the season.  —  “Guys, we're still in the hunt,” the GM said.

Nyjer Morgan suspended seven games by MLB [UPDATED]  —  Nationals center fielder Nyjer Morgan was suspended seven games by Major League Baseball for his actions Saturday night.  In the middle of the ninth inning, Morgan threw a ball into the stands at Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia and struck a fan.

Rockies rally from 9-run deficit to beat the Braves 12-10  —  Through three innings, the best pitch thrown by a person in a Rockies' uniform was delivered by Ken Burns.  —  He was in town promoting the “10th Inning,” a follow-up to his landmark baseball film, when he fired a pregame strike to Miguel Olivo.

Beckett reverses fortunes, helps Boston to 5-3 win  —  BOSTON (AP) — Josh Beckett (FSY) rebounded from a rough stretch and the Boston Red Sox broke a scoreless tie with four runs in the sixth inning to beat the Seattle Mariners 5-3 in the first game of a day-night doubleheader Wednesday.

Williams always on call  —  Sox GM taking bum rap for weekend personnel decisions as roster moves weren't appealing  —  We can agree Ken Williams laughing at a comedy club in Schaumburg on Saturday night while his White Sox were grinding through their longest day of the season in Kansas City looked bad.

Newberg Report: Short-term yield  —  How the players Texas traded in July have fared  —  The impact that Cliff Lee, Bengie Molina, Jorge Cantu, and Cristian Guzman (and possibly Mark Lowe) have in Texas will be measured largely on what they do over the final third of the 2010 season and, the Rangers hope, in October.

Guerrero, Hamilton power Wilson, Texas past Twins  —  ARLINGTON, Texas—Vladimir Guerrero and Josh Hamilton homered in support of C.J. Wilson, who won his sixth consecutive decision for the Texas Rangers, in a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins in a matchup of division leaders Wednesday night.

Damon's decision says as much about Yankees as Red Sox … The T-shirts read, “Looks like Jesus, acts like Judas, throws like Mary,” and Johnny Damon was supposed to pretend he did not see them.  He was supposed to catch the first flight to Boston, do a few naked pull-ups in the clubhouse …