Pena lives a dream in debut: Bad back lands Lester on DL  —  OAKLAND, Calif. - Growing up in Haverhill and starring at Northeastern, Carlos Pena always dreamed of the day he would pull on a Red Sox jersey.  —  The dream was fulfilled last night, when the veteran first baseman was called …

'A significant accident'  —  Authorities confirm Pavano car crash story  —  WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — New York Yankees pitcher Carl Pavano crashed his 2006 Porsche into a tractor trailer in August, causing $30,000 in damages to his car, according to a West Palm Beach police report.

Webb, crash victim were closest of friends, college roommates  —  PHOENIX (AP) — Right up until the time he took the field for his latest start, Arizona Diamondbacks ace Brandon Webb was thinking about his friend and college roommate, Jon Hooker, searching the internet for more information …

Girardi stays home with pregnant wife  —  Skipper doesn't travel as tropical storm heads toward Florida  —  ST. LOUIS — Family obligations have kept Marlins manager Joe Girardi grounded in his South Florida home, where he, along with his pregnant wife, Kim, and two children are riding out Tropical Storm Ernesto.

Report: MLB, Players Union agree to eliminate draft pick compensation  —  Every June, the 30 Major League Baseball clubs gather for an amateur draft of American high school seniors and college juniors or seniors.  While numerous baseball officials have advocated for a world-wide draft …

Source: Sox appear likely to trade Wells … The Red Sox are shopping veteran pitcher David Wells, and a source familiar with the conversations has put the odds at "80-20 or 90-10" that Boston will trade him in the next 48 hours.  —  St. Louis, the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego appear …

Edmonds unsure when he'll be ready to play again  —  ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jim Edmonds was out of the St. Louis Cardinals' lineup again Tuesday, giving him one start in two weeks due to post-concussion syndrome, and he doesn't know when he'll be ready to play again.

Columbus, Ga. 2, Kawaguchi City, Japan 1  —  SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — With his team clinging to a one-run lead and pitcher Kyle Carter in a jam, Columbus, Ga. manager Randy Morris visited the mound to give his ace a pep talk.  —  A Little League World Series championship hung in the balance.

Rangers: from so close to so long  —  Season of opportunity dashed by intangibles and inconsistency  —  ANALYSIS: Sunday afternoon showers sent the Rangers scrambling for cover.  They went deep, deep, deep under cover.  —  Less than 24 hours after falling nine games behind Oakland in the AL West …

A Whiff of Futility, and Rodriguez Can't Breathe Easy  —  Alex Rodriguez went 10 years without striking out four times in a game.  Then he did it last month in Toronto, and again Friday night in Anaheim.  Naturally, Rodriguez's inner competitor did not take this well.

1. Philip Hughes, rhp, Double-A Trenton (Yankees) … IN THE TEAM PHOTO … THE NOT-SO-HOT SHEET … BLAST FROM THE PAST … HELIUM WATCH

Melting pot of on-field success  —  The Amazins are New York's one, big happy family … New York - At 11:30 a.m. at Shea Stadium recently, approximately an hour before first pitch, nearly half of the New York Mets were hanging around their lockers.  —  Jose Reyes was sorting through mail with a smile.

Nationals' Escobar out for season  —  Outfielder expected to be ready for start of Spring Training  —  WASHINGTON — Nationals center fielder Alex Escobar had an MRI on his right shoulder on Monday and it revealed that he has a tear in his right labrum and will have surgery within the next seven to 10 days.

Randa, Burnitz possibly GM's last mistakes  —  Jeromy Burnitz and Joe Randa represent all that went wrong with what might have been Dave Littlefield's final off-season as the Pittsburgh Pirates' general manager.  —  Littlefield gave Burntiz a one-year contract with a mutual option for 2007 …

Little action upon roster deadline  —  With Rowand lost for season, Phillies consider adding Pierre  —  This might be the calm before Thursday's deadline storm, but with two days to go until the deadline for teams to add players who will be eligible for postseason play, there was little action on the waiver wire front.