Cubs' Wood opts against surgery to repair shoulder  —  CHICAGO — Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood has decided against having surgery to repair his injured right shoulder.  —  Wood made just four starts this season following shoulder surgery on Aug. 31 and will miss the rest of the year with a partially torn rotator cuff.

Bonser knocked out early in finale  —  Twins suffer first losing homestand of the season  —  MINNEAPOLIS — Boof Bonser's return lasted one game and four innings.  —  His defense didn't help him, but Bonser is still on his way back to Triple-A Rochester after giving up seven runs …

Ramirez denies he wants out  —  Infielder may try to renegotiate deal  —  Aramis Ramirez disputed an Internet report that said he was considering opting out of his contract at the end of the season to become a free agent.  —  "I've never said I want to leave," Ramirez said before Wednesday night's game …

THE RING'S THE THING FOR GARY  —  Injured right fielder Gary Sheffield embraced the arrival of Bobby Abreu both literally and figuratively, first with a welcoming hug for his replacement then by publicly backing the move and saying he'd DH, move to first base, or do anything he could to earn a ring wearing pinstripes.

Toronto's road woes continue in loss  —  Glaus' two-run ninth inning homer provides only runs  —  NEW YORK — It's been a long, frustrating road trip for the Blue Jays, and there's still one game left before they can catch a flight back to the comforts of the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

Quick Take: Rangers miss out on young arms bonanza  —  Rangers owner Tom Hicks cited an inability to develop pitching as a reason for firing Doug Melvin, the most successful general manager in club history.  —  This is the Rangers' fifth season after Melvin.

McGwire holds Hall fate in his own hands  —  There is a real irony in this.  The Baseball Hall of Fame no sooner completes one of its golden days by inducting 17 players and executives from the Negro Leagues this past Sunday than the talk turns to next year and the case of Mark McGwire.

Livan pitches a gem for Nats  —  SAN FRANCISCO - He was available to anyone willing to take him - and his contract -on.  The Washington Nationals made no secret about their attempts to shop Livan Hernandez around heading into Monday's trade deadline.  —  But when no other club came calling …

Where are the fans?  —  Despite success, attendance jump is small  —  The Reds begin a 10-game homestand tonight, leading the National League wild card race by 1 game and on track for their first winning season since 2000.  —  But while the team's unexpected success has resulted …

MASN Takes On Comcast With New 24-Hour Programming  —  The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, a joint venture between the Baltimore Orioles and the Washington Nationals, began 24-hour sports programming on Monday morning, creating a new round-the-clock rival to Comcast SportsNet.

Prospectus Hit List  —  Rk  —  Team  —  Overall W-L  —  Week W-L  —  Hit List Factor  —  Trend  —  Another sweet week for the Tigers as they pad their lead by two more games; their Postseason Odds are at 97.8 percent.  Still, it's an underwhelming deadline as they come away with just the requisite lefty bat in Sean Casey.

What's eating Billy Beane?  Take your pick  —  The trade deadline, which just passed with the Giants making only minor changes and the A's none at all, is often a trick question anyway.  Activity is confused with wisdom and work ethic, inactivity with indolence, smugness and even sloth.

Vintage effort from Buehrle; White Sox beat Royals in 10  —  Lefty regains form; Crede stars  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With the throbbing music of Journey blaring in the White Sox's clubhouse Tuesday night, Mark Buehrle finally brought back memories of 2005.