Latest blow may be the lowest of all  —  How could it get worse?  —  Here's how it could get worse.  The Red Sox can't hold a 5-3 lead entering the eighth.  Derek Jeter fists a two-out game-tying single to right in the ninth.  The Red Sox can't score after getting the first two men on in the ninth.

Baker endures as Cubs' expectations fall short  —  CHICAGO — Chicago Cubs manager Dusty Baker, sitting in his Wrigley Field office, slowly opens a letter, and cringes.  —  It begins with a nasty racial epithet, but Baker keeps reading.  He finishes the letter, slowly crumbles it in a ball and tosses it in the trash bin.

Wallace Matthews  —  No matter, October still in play  —  If you are a long-suffering Mets fan — is there any other kind? — it must freeze the heart and chill the spine to imagine this dream of a season going down in flames because of one cold fingertip.

Rangers' bullpen depleted  —  DETROIT — While the Rangers were thrilled with three victories in four games against the Tigers, their pitching staff has been taxed.  —  Ron Mahay has pitched the past two days, and Akinori Otsuka has pitched three straight days.

Braves question LaRoche's bunt, thinking  —  Miami — Adam LaRoche surprised everyone in the Braves dugout when he bunted in the ninth inning Sunday — and this wasn't a pleasant sort of surprise.  —  With runners at first and second, none out, and the Braves trailing by one run …

Only 100 at-bats?  Lee would go batty  —  Derrek Lee could have called it a season and rested his right wrist for next year, but he doesn't want to sit if he still has a chance to play.  What does Lee hope to accomplish by coming back for the final month of meaningless games?

Nats' Late Rally Falls Just Short  —  The last several innings of the Washington Nationals' nearly unwatchable 12-10 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies were just intriguing enough to force the simple question, based on an elementary move in which one man replaced another in the lineup.

Day Off Is Long Time Coming  —  And on the 25th day, the Angels rested, their grueling string of 24 games in 24 days finally ending Sunday and their first day off since July 27 coming today.  —  The Angels were 14-10 during the stretch, absorbing their share of bumps and bruises along the way …

OMAR GETS MOTA; GREEN MAY BE NEXT  —  While Omar Minaya added another power bullpen arm, yesterday, trading for the Indians' Guillermo Mota, the Mets' GM has also made progress in importing Shawn Green from Arizona to play right field, The Post has learned.  —  Green has decided to waive …

Duque delivers, Mets sweep  —  Orlando Hernandez felt sore while warming up yesterday, so the Mets dispatched Darren Oliver to the bullpen in case they were about to lose yet another starting pitcher.  —  In the end, however, not only did Hernandez take the mound at Shea …

2006 Dead Sox Season Awash  —  Well, I thought that my personal presence would be enough to will the Red Sox to victory but apparentlly it wasn't, and now that Doors song is ringing in my ears loud and clear.  The only feeling I truly have right now is utter disappointment.

The Week In Quotes  —  August 14-20 … —Beane, on Frank Thomas … —A's first baseman Nick Swisher, on Frank Thomas (Kansas City Star)  —  GUILLEN, FOR THE PEOPLE … White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, on how former pitchers Jon Rauch and Damaso Marte wore out their welcomes (Chicago Sun-Times)

Future Shock  —  A couple of pieces of housekeeping before we get going;  —  Numero Uno.  I will be taking an oh-so brief vacation this week, but will return at the end of the week, so no crying.  There's no crying in baseball (prospectus).  —  Numero Dos.

Cook can relate to Glavine's situation  —  New York - The news greeted Rockies pitcher Aaron Cook like a punch in the face.  Suddenly, his deepest concerns weren't about a bad pitch, but taking his last breath.  Two years ago this month, Cook nearly died on the mound from blood clots in both lungs.

From Out of Left Field, A Lifesaver for Yanks  —  When they first worked out Melky Cabrera, the Yankees wasted no time signing him.  It was the fall of 2001, and Cabrera was 17 years old.  The Yankees invited him to their academy in the Dominican Republic, knowing another team would watch him the next day.