PAVANO SUFFERS SETBACK  —  ANAHEIM - Carl Pavano is running out of body parts to break down.  —  Following his rehab start for Columbus (Triple-A) Friday night, Pavano talked of a problem with an oblique muscle, and there is the possibility he will be shut down.

Call-ups could rotate Rangers' Volquez out  —  Addition of other pitchers in September may sideline rookie  —  ARLINGTON - The Rangers will push rookie right-hander Edinson Volquez as far back in the starting rotation as possible.  —  That is, if they keep him in the rotation at all.

Get ready ... aim ... fire  —  Which skippers' jobs are in the crosshairs  —  With Labor Day and the September stretch comes the second manager firing season - the first being right before the All-Star break - and so far all 30 Opening Day skippers are still on the job.

Beckett still pointed toward his next start  —  SEATTLE — Josh Beckett played catch yesterday and will again today as he hopes to stay on course to make his scheduled start Tuesday in Oakland.  —  The right hander cut his right middle finger with his own fingernail in the sixth inning Thursday …

Snyder aims to snap skid  —  Boston (71-58) at Seattle (60-69), 4:05 p.m. PT  —  After losing the first two games of this series to the Mariners, all the Red Sox can hope for is to go sweepless in Seattle.  —  The Red Sox suffered an agonizing 4-3 setback on Saturday, a game they led with six outs to go.

Reliever Speier returning to mound  —  With a new crop of prospects moving front and center in the Rockies organization, it might be difficult to remember pitcher Ryan Speier.  —  But three seasons ago, Speier was at the top of the futures list as he compiled a season of 37 saves for the Tulsa Drillers in the Double-A Texas League.

Dodgers' Kent hits game-winning homer  —  PHOENIX —Jeff Kent homered to lead off the ninth inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers snapped a four-game losing streak by beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-3 Saturday night.  —  Kent's towering shot to left on a 3-2 pitch from Luis Vizcaino (3-4) …

Tough love, then a tough loss  —  Dye's heroics in 9th wasted as Twins win a thriller in 11  —  The Twins took another big bite out of the White Sox's playoff chances Saturday night while chomping away at the Tigers' once-seemingly invincible lead in the AL Central.

Padres-Rockies Preview  —  The San Diego Padres are surging at the right time and so is right-hander Jake Peavy .  —  Peavy tries to lead the Padres (66-63) to their sixth win in seven games when they face the Colorado Rockies (60-69) on Sunday in the finale of a three-game series.

THEO  —  When I first sat down to write this article, I tried a systematic, reasoned evaluation of our GM.  I opened up transaction reports, Cot's Baseball Contracts, espn.com's stats page, baseball prospectus PECOTA cards... every resource I could think of to make my point.

Giants knock out Arroyo, pick up game in wild-card race  —  CBS SportsLine.com wire reports  —  SAN FRANCISCO — It took well into the season's second half for the San Francisco Giants to start playing with the sense of urgency manager Felipe Alou has been looking for all year.

This is one star that is in a wobbly orbit  —  SEATTLE — More news yesterday from the International Astronomical Union general assembly in Prague.  In the wake of their controversial decision to demote Pluto, the astronomers have agreed to officially recognize Planet Manny as the new ninth celestial body in our solar system.

Philadelphia Phillies  —  NEW YORK - The Phillies score runs these days.  This is something we know.  They'll probably be in the thick of the wild-card race down to late September.  This will surprise no one.  —  And while it's true the combination of both should keep things interesting …