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 …

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.

Gibbons, Lilly feud in Jays loss; A's overcome eight-run deficit  —  CBS SportsLine.com wire reports  —  TORONTO — While the Oakland Athletics keep fighting for a playoff spot, the Toronto Blue Jays are still tangling with each other.  —  Manager John Gibbons wound up with a bloody nose …

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 …

Phils' Rowand out 4-6 weeks with broken ankle  —  As the Phillies make their push for the NL wild card, they will have to do it without starting center fielder Aaron Rowand.  —  Rowand suffered a fractured left ankle in a scary outfield collision with teammate Chase Utley on Monday night …

Rangers' pitching plan set - for now  —  Volquez's blister could throw rotation into disarray again  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Rangers have a starting pitching plan in place for this week.  Whether it stays as scheduled depends on a small blister on Edinson Volquez's right thumb.

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.

Mailbag: How is rotation shaping up?  —  Beat reporter T.R. Sullivan answers Rangers fans' questions … What will be John Koronka's future with Texas?  With John Danks, Edinson Volquez and Thomas Diamond ready to come up next year for sure, how will the rotation shape up for 2007?

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 …

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.

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 …