Source: ChiSox 'extremely close' to Soriano deal  —  The White Sox are "extremely close" to trading for Nationals outfielder Alfonso Soriano, a source close to the situation told ESPN The Magazine's Tim Kurkjian.  The Nationals have great interest in pitcher Brandon McCarthy.

Cubs place Lee back on DL with wrist inflammation … FLUSHING, N.Y. — Clearly bothered by inflammation of the right wrist after undergoing surgery three months ago, Derrek Lee was put back on the disabled list by the Chicago Cubs on Monday.  —  The slugging first baseman hit just .227 …

Vote of confidence  —  Hall of Famer Robinson sticks up for A-Rod  —  HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (AP) — Hang in there, A-Rod.  The gold standard of defensive third basemen is in your corner.  —  Brooks Robinson was in his home state of Arkansas on Monday hosting a celebrity golf tournament …

Dodgers acquire LaMura for Alomar  —  Catcher traded for Double-A pitcher; Repko to be activated  —  LOS ANGELES — With the team caught in a tailspin, the Dodgers announced a move after Sunday's 6-1 loss.  Sandy Alomar was sent to the White Sox in exchange for right-hander BJ LaMura …

Nats' Guillen to have season-ending elbow surgery  —  WASHINGTON — Washington Nationals outfielder Jose Guillen will have season-ending surgery Tuesday for a completely torn ligament in his right elbow.  —  The ligament reconstruction — known as Tommy John surgery …

Cabrera Is a Royal Pain for Brown  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Orlando Cabrera is an outgoing player, often fraternizing with opponents during batting practice and chatting them up on the basepaths, but the Angels shortstop is not exactly making friends with Kansas City Royals outfielder Emil Brown.

Five trades that need to happen  —  Baseball's July 31 non-waiver trade deadline is in the offing, and that means it's an especially frenzied time of year.  —  Baseball fans are already inundated with stories about who might go where and who's already gone somewhere, so let's shift the focus a bit.

Future Shock  —  2B Alberto Callaspo, Triple-A Tucson (Diamondbacks)  —  Callaspo is on another roll, with Sunday's five-hit performance as part of Tucson's 28-5 drubbing of Salt Lake representing his fifth consecutive multi-hit game.  It's a streak in which he's gone 15-for-27 with a pair of doubles …

Mets Learn a Lesson About Maintaining Focus  —  Aaron Heilman fielded Chris Burke's grounder; his mistake was taking it to first.  Burke beat him to the bag.  —  Despite what it says on the schedule, the Mets will probably not play their next meaningful game until October.

Twins could use Lee's power  —  CLEVELAND - Several major league scouts sat in the Jacobs Field press lounge before Sunday's Twins game, sipping coffee and talking smart.  —  CLEVELAND - Several major league scouts sat in the Jacobs Field press lounge before Sunday's Twins game, sipping coffee and talking smart.

OK outing for Lester, family  —  SEATTLE — By his count, Jon Lester figures there were about 50 family members and friends in the stands yesterday at Safeco Field, a place they'd seen him pitch once before, while he was still starring for Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma.

SAVE YOURSELF FROM STATISTICS  —  IT'S OFFICIAL.  We've all gone nuts.  Just as the bells cost Quasimodo his hearing, the numbers - stats and their misapplication - have cost us our sanity.  —  Saturday, during Astros-Mets on Fox, Joe Buck noted that the Nats' Livan Hernandez …