Fans Talked a Good Game, but the Red Sox Never Played One  —  THE Red Sox and their frenzied Fenway followers can take some solace from the obvious comparisons between what they experienced over the past four days and the Boston massacre of 1978, when the Yankees annihilated the Red Sox …

Front-running Tigers have AL by the tail  —  Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein, getting some heat from media for his July trade inactivity, pointed out this week: "In 2003, people thought we made by far the best trade deadline moves.  Not a single one worked out, and we lost Freddy Sanchez and Mike Gonzalez."

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.

Depleted Rotation Has Options  —  ANY day now, Steve Trachsel will win the prize.  Once doctors decide what they need to do with Tom Glavine, Trachsel will be the last member standing from the Mets' original 2006 starting pitching rotation.  —  And then there was one.

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.

Gibbons and Lilly get into argument  —  TORONTO (AP) — Blue Jays manager John Gibbons wound up with a bloody nose after tangling with Toronto pitcher Ted Lilly near the dugout during Monday night's game against Oakland.  —  It was not known whether any punches were thrown.

Under The Knife  —  Cascade Blues  —  Okay, so shoot me, but I was watching the Colts-Seahawks game tonight while the Sox and Yanks were in rain delay, and something in particular caught my eye.  One of the things that NBC is doing to promote its new Sunday night game is a modified fantasy contest …

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.

Dodgers-Padres Preview  —  The last time the Los Angeles Dodgers faced San Diego, they had a fight in the dugout and fell 7 1/2 games behind the NL West-leading Padres.  —  Less than four weeks later, things have changed dramatically.  —  The first-place Dodgers (66-58) …

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 …

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.

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)

Comeback falls short for Nationals  —  PHILADELPHIA — To Washington Nationals manager Frank Robinson, it wasn't the season-high five errors that prevented his club from erasing a nine-run deficit yesterday.  The difference was a couple of calls.  —  Following a 12-10 loss to Philadelphia …

Reports: Barfield taken to hospital after fight with son  —  HOUSTON — Former All-Star outfielder Jesse Barfield was taken to a hospital Sunday after he suffered a head injury when he was shoved down a flight of stairs by his 18-year-old son, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Cubs activate Bynum and Rusch, place Marmol on disabled list  —  The Chicago Cubs today activated outfielder Freddie Bynum and left-handed pitcher Glendon Rusch from the 15-day disabled list.  In addition, Chicago placed right-handed pitcher Carlos Marmol on the 15-day disabled list …

Reds ready to make playoff push  —  Houston (59-65) at Cincinnati (64-60), 7:10 p.m. ET  —  This could be the start of a stretch that makes or breaks the Reds' playoff hopes.  —  Cincinnati will be playing 16 straight games, and 19 of the next 22, against teams still alive with postseason aspirations …