Warning: These truths may hurt  —  You want the truth?  —  OK.  Let's see if you can handle the truth.  —  The truth is that at present the Red Sox have two reliable pitchers, Curt Schilling and Jonathan Papelbon.  —  The truth is that, while you cannot blame everything on not having Jason Varitek …

Jays lose tight game after altercation  —  Lilly, Gibbons exchange words during pitcher's removal  —  TORONTO — When Blue Jays manager John Gibbons headed down the stairs in Toronto's dugout in an attempt to catch up with Ted Lilly, he certainly wasn't planning on shaking the pitcher's hand and telling him "Good game."

Furcal, Lofton leading the charge  —  The NL MVP should be unanimous this season: Los Angeles Dodgers GM Ned Colletti.  If you look back to when he was hired, there was a huge mess in L.A. that needed cleaning up.  Within 58 days, Colletti hired a new coaching staff and manager, made three trades and acquired seven free agents.

Nats' Clutch Hits A Long Way Off  —  It's as if they're playing basketball, and they go to the free throw line, where they haven't made a shot in a month.  Or perhaps they're golfers with the yips, unable to stride confidently to three-foot putts and knock them solidly into the back of the cup.

TOM'S TERRIFIC  —  SOURCE: TEST SAYS GLAV CAN  —  RETURN IN WEEK  —  Tom Glavine will be taking the mound again.  —  A source told The Post last night that the Mets' All-Star left-hander - feared done for the season, maybe even for his career with a possible blood clot in his pitching shoulder …

Cubs' woes no mystery to Perez  —  Says rookie starters, injuries made it tough  —  DETROIT — Neifi Perez displayed the same joy Monday that he had during his tenure of almost two seasons with the Cubs.  —  But as he moved from a fifth-place team to the first-place Detroit Tigers …

Willingham's hot streak defies explanation  —  · Josh Willingham hasn't spent much time looking for answers.  He has resigned himself to the fact that streaks are part of the game and trying to explain them is counterproductive.  —  He's hot now and can't pinpoint why.

O'Malley to lure hometown flock  —  A caravan of Ryan O'Malley fans will be traveling up Interstate Hwy. 55 from Springfield on Tuesday to watch the Cubs' rookie make his Wrigley Field debut against ex-Cub Jamie Moyer.  —  O'Malley made a big splash in his major-league debut, throwing eight shutout innings Wednesday against Houston.

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.

Mets get 'closer' to Green  —  The Mets are closing in on Diamondbacks outfielder Shawn Green, though sources familiar with the discussions cautioned that no deal is final until the sides agree to exact financial terms.  —  GM Omar Minaya and Diamondbacks counterpart Josh Byrnes …

Seat gets warmer for several managers  —  Rarely do teams fire managers in August, but the Mariners easily could justify the dismissal of Mike Hargrove.  —  The mounting case against Hargrove includes 20 consecutive losses to AL West opponents, highlighted by a just-completed 0-11 trip to Texas …