Report: Red Sox get catching help in Javy Lopez  —  Looking for help at catcher following the injury to captain Jason Varitek, the Red Sox have acquired veteran Javy Lopez from the Baltimore Orioles, ESPN Radio 890 in Boston reported.  —  Lopez, who will join the team tomorrow in Tampa …

Mets lock up Reyes with four-year, $23.25 million deal  —  NEW YORK — Jose Reyes can count on buying a nice, big house in New York.  —  The speedy All-Star shortstop signed a $23.25 million, four-year contract extension with the Mets on Thursday, the sides working quickly this week to ensure him a home through the 2010 season.

Can Tribe scare up runs for Westbrook?  —  Cleveland (46-60) at Boston (64-42), 7:05 p.m. ET  —  Jake Westbrook could use a little luck.  —  The Indians' sinkerball-throwing right-hander hasn't had much of it his last two starts.  In those starts, against the Twins and Mariners …

Something's Rotten in Den...ver  —  Thanks to all of you who checked in with assistance on the Tejada/Tehama thing.  I've added the name of the Orioles' shortstop to my Word dictionary, which has solved the problem.  As always, writing for people smarter than yourself has its privileges.

Royals, No. 1 pick Luke Hochevar agree to terms  —  Kansas City signs Hochevar to four-year Major League deal  —  KANSAS CITY — The Kansas City Royals have agreed to terms on a four-year Major League contract (through 2009) with Luke Hochevar, the No. 1 overall pick from the 2006 June Free Agent Draft …

Pirates Q&A with Dejan Kovacevic  —  Q: Is it too soon to put my name on the waiting list for playoff tickets?  Shawn Chacon, a couple of middling Class AA players and a part-time outfielder ... Woo-hoo!  We will!  —  We will rue the day that the Pirates made a colossal blunder …

Cabrera clears bases in eighth, Marlins take series from Mets  —  CBS SportsLine.com wire reports  —  MIAMI — Angry after giving up a run, Dontrelle Willis shouted at the plate umpire as he walked off the mound.  One inning later, he threw a celebratory roundhouse punch as he skipped to the dugout.

Trades Hurt, but They're Part of Game  —  SALARY dumps are a blight on baseball.  I hate to see teams waving the white flag in August, telling the fans: "Please, don't expect anything from us for the rest of the season.  We're just trying to save some money."

What are the Odds  —  Chase Utley is 22 games from tying Joe DiMaggio's hit streak, 10 games from tying Rose and Keeler for the NL record.  Let's take a look at the odds of him making it.  —  For the probability of getting a hit, I like to use something I call hit average.

To some, cheating is in the eye of the beholder  —  A Hall of Fame pitcher, an honest-to-gosh legend, was talking last week about the evil of steroids, the shame of the game's whole chemical-cheating culture.  —  "We just want to get it out of baseball," he said, his white mustache dancing …

Notes: Twin bills all mental for Pierre  —  Cedeno adjusts to second; Rusch on DL, Aardsma recalled  —  CHICAGO — Let's play two.  Juan Pierre was ready.  —  Pierre is the only Cubs player to have started every one of the 106 games so far.  The center fielder expected to play both ends …

Weak NL West is up for grabs  —  The trading deadline has come and gone, and for some contenders, it went well.  They were able to get what they needed to vie for a playoff spot and possibly the World Series.  And then there are teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers that went out and made trades …