Lester dominates; Ramirez lectured by traffic cop  —  The Boston fans in the crowd here, and there were thousands of them at Safeco Field tonight, erupt as Jonathan Papelbon and company jog back to the dugout after ending a wild eighth inning.  Seattle loaded the bases with one out off Jon Lester …

Trading Tex not as simple as some think  —  Raise you hands if you thought that on July 21, the Braves would be opening this series in Florida with the Marlins playing for a share of first place and the Braves contemplating trading away a star this late in the season for the first time since …

Blanton's first test as Phillies comes tonight against Mets  —  MIAMI - As Joe Blanton stood at his locker 2 days ago and fiddled with the brim of his red Phillies cap, he wasn't much different than a lot of modern-day Americans feeling their way through the first couple of days at a new job.

Baker's focus on defensive skills wins teammates' trust  —  MIAMI GARDENS - John Baker didn't have to break into any offices and skim through his personnel file to find out why his professional career had stalled.  —  His offense wasn't the reason Baker totaled 1,151 Triple-A at-bats …

Tradewinds: Cost of Holliday would be expensive for N.Y. Mets  —  PLAYER OF THE DAY  —  MATT HOLLIDAY, Rockies OF  —  He could be the star of this year's deadline, much the way Mark Teixeira was last year.  Or he could stay put.  The Rockies' run to the World Series last year has them cautious …

Under The Knife  —  Deep Cut with Jorge Posada … It's not often that news breaks during a chat.  I'd ignored a couple calls, but apparently my readers didn't, asking about Jorge Posada almost as soon as the news started to trickle out.  The Yankees' catcher was headed to the DL …

Markakis, O's talk deal, back off  —  The Orioles and standout right fielder Nick Markakis engaged in negotiations for a contract extension in the past week, but those discussions halted yesterday and likely will not be rekindled until after the season, several baseball sources said.

Dodgers' Kershaw to be recalled and start tonight  —  The top pitching prospect is expected to stay in the majors for the rest of the season, Manager Joe Torre says.  He had two wins for double-A Jacksonville after being sent down July 2.  —  DENVER — Top pitching prospect Clayton Kershaw …

Rodriguez Signs With Hollywood Talent Agency  —  LOS ANGELES — The William Morris Agency bolstered its sports management business Monday by signing Alex Rodriguez as a client.  The New York Yankees star and frequent tabloid piñata will continue to use Scott Boras as his baseball agent and Guy Oseary as his manager.

SUNBLOCKHEADS AT THE STADIUM  —  YANKS TAKE HEAT OVER BIZARRE BAN  —  Ladies and gentlemen, The Bronx is sunburning.  —  Yankee fans are seeing - and turning - red over a ban on sunscreen, which Stadium security guards say was widely expanded in the last few weeks.

K-Rod May Be Baseball's First 60-Save Man  —  Francisco Rodriguez helped his Los Angeles Angels polish off a sweep of Boston with his 40th save on Sunday, which is pretty impressive even if you're not the sort to be impressed by any achievement involving the worst statistic in baseball.

‘LAST CALL’ FOR AILING GODZILLA  —  If Hideki Matsui's left knee fills with fluid again, GM Brian Cashman believes it will be impossible for the Yankee DH to avoid a second knee surgery.  —  “If the knee swells up we are dealing with last call,” Cashman said last night after Dr. Scott Rodeo recommended …

Wagner's MRI shows no damage  —  Mets closer Billy Wagner has no structural damage and only muscles spasms around his pitching shoulder, an MRI revealed today.  Wagner could be ready to pitch possibly as early as tonight against the rival Phillies, according to Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz.

Pedroia has become a safe bet  —  SEATTLE - Maybe we should overreact and just say that Dustin Pedroia is morphing into Boston's Pete Rose.  —  That's Pete Rose - without the switch hitting, without the boys' regular haircut, without the betting slips.  —  Pedroia has emerged as a second baseman …

Nats Hoping Zimmerman Provides Boost  —  Only Ryan Zimmerman's return can finally fill the void he created some eight weeks ago.  Sure, when Zimmerman suffered a left shoulder injury May 18 — and when he vacated the Washington Nationals' lineup for good after May 25, in a prolonged attempt to recover …

Yanks Keep Doing More With Less  —  Every eligible position player took part in the Yankees' 12-4 rout of the Minnesota Twins on Monday.  That included Justin Christian, Chad Moeller and Richie Sexson, three players who were not among those gathered in Tampa, Fla., when the Yankees began spring training.