Malaise sweeps Sox  —  Lester unable to salvage win  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Red Sox have been here before, unable to figure out a way to win as the pressure to meet expectations becomes almost suffocating.  —  It was in April when they opened the season with 10 losses in their first 12 games.

The Future Of C.J. Wilson  —  For years, the Rangers would have killed — or at least gamed the living hell out of the system — to have just one pitcher like C.J. Wilson wedged into the topmost slot of their starting rotation.  For years, that caliber of pitcher eluded their grasp …

Diamondbacks' turnaround makes Towers my pick for GM of the year … Nobody besides maybe the Arizona Diamondbacks themselves figured they'd sniff the playoffs this year, but here they are, within a whisper of clinching an improbable postseason berth.  Everyone associated with the team …

“Wonderfully improbable,” and other thoughts from principal owner Stu Sternberg  —  Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg was at the game, and answered questions about a variety of subjects during a more than 20-minute chat with reporters.  Here are some excerpts:

Major League Baseball prohibits New York Mets from wearing first responders hats on 9/11 anniversary  —  Ronny Paulino wears an FDNY cap during batting practice.  Former Met John Franco (below, leading first responders at Citi Field) says the Mets should have worn the hats during the game.

Wins and WAR and MVPs  —  I got back-to-back emails last week from Brilliant Readers that pretty much sums up my frustration with so many gripes about baseball statistics.  The first was written to defend the pitcher's win.  I was actually glad to get that because I obviously …

Free-agent market could be frenzied  —  Maybe it's wishful thinking, but at least one prominent agent believes that the free-agent market will erupt if a labor agreement is reached by the start of the offseason.  —  The agent cites the overall weakness of this year's class …

Beckett throws off mound at Fenway  —  Josh Beckett threw off a mound at Fenway Park today, a first for him since he sprained his right ankle one week ago.  —  Under Beckett's usual pre-start routine, he would be ready to start on Thursday.  But the Sox could wait an extra day to make sure he's OK.

Burnett Makes a Pitch for History  —  Considering the chorus of boos A.J. Burnett hears nearly every time he walks off the Yankee Stadium mound, you probably assumed he couldn't do anything well (besides cash checks, maybe).  But it turns out there is one thing the Yankees' righthander does better …

Epstein: J.D. Drew has a broken finger  —  In an interview with WEEI's Dennis and Callahan on Monday morning, Theo Epstein disclosed that right fielder J.D. Drew has an avulsion fracture of his middle finger, an injury he suffered in his rehab game with Triple-A Pawtucket on Aug. 30.

Nationals rookies dressed as smurfs  —  This is how the Nats rookies and various youngters left Nats Park on Sunday.  It was a good look.  Smurfy.  —  More details from Adam Kilgore: any player who had never had to dress up like this was required to go Smurf.

Jeff Samardzija's improvement puts him in line for a 2012 rotation spot  —  Jeff Samardzija of the Cubs pitches in the eighth inning at Wrigley Field Thursday, August 11, 2011, in Chicago.  John J. Kim~Sun-Times  —  NEW YORK — No chance for the Cubs to compete again by next year?

Ricketts willing to wait on Epstein  —  Some baseball insiders believe Red Sox GM is intrigued by Cubs vacancy  —  Theo Epstein talks on his cell phone at Fenway Park in Boston.  (CHARLES KRUPA, Associated Press / September 25, 2003)  —  On Baseball  —  Theo Epstein is bored in Boston.

Arizona's Rally Falls Short in Loss to San Diego  —  PHOENIX (AP) — Even down six runs after six innings, the Arizona Diamondbacks thought they would find a way to win.  —  This time, their rally came up a bit short.  —  “You'd like to win them all but we didn't today,” …