Need a veteran lefty?  Red Sox's Wells clears waivers  —  After suffering a five-game sweep at the hands of the Yankees, the Red Sox might have to begin looking toward 2007.  If Boston does cut bait on this season, David Wells will be available to the highest bidder.

Lilly-Gibbons argument leaves manager bloodied  —  TORONTO — 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.

Park scratched after recurrence of intestinal bleeding  —  SAN DIEGO (AP) — Padres right-hander Chan Ho Park was scratched from his start Monday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers due to a recurrence of intestinal bleeding that recently forced him to go on the disabled list.

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."

Pirates Notebook: GM in search of left-handed power bat  —  By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette  —  ATLANTA — The Pirates plan to search for a left-handed power bat to play first base or right field in 2007, preferably someone young enough that they can control his rights for several seasons.

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.

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 …

THE HOT SHEET … IN THE TEAM PHOTO … THE NOT-SO-HOT SHEET … BLAST FROM THE PAST … HELIUM WATCH

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.

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 …