Handicapping the major award races  —  With a month to go, it's Votto over Pujols in NL MVP and King Felix for AL Cy  —  It's September, and you know what that means.  —  Time to buy those 75 back-to-school notebooks.  Time to determine whether there's room on your fantasy football roster for Legedu Naanee.

Source: Scott Boras is out as A-Rod's agent  —  Alex Rodriguez has fired uber agent Scott Boras and is now being represented full time by Pittsburgh attorney Jay Reisinger.  —  Bob Nightengale of USA Today was the first one to run with this this morning, but for reasons that are unclear, the link disappeared as soon as it showed up.

Pedroia expected to have surgery  —  Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia is expected to have surgery to insert a screw in his left foot sometime tomorrow at Massachusetts General Hospital according to a major league source.  —  Pedroia was examined last night by Massachusetts General …

Is it time to push back trading deadline?  —  A dozen GMs weigh in on possible change to system and, naturally, they don't all agree  —  Here's an idea whose time needs to come:  —  Move back the trading deadline.  —  Move it back to Aug. 31.  We'd even settle for Aug. 15.

Elusive big bat key to big Dodgers offseason  —  Club hopes to address inconsistency in middle of lineup  —  LOS ANGELES — Whether or not the Dodgers can pull off some sort of miracle to reach the postseason, they'll be looking at another necessary miracle in the offseason to fix the roster.

Delgado diagnosed with tear in left hip  —  BALTIMORE — Carlos Delgado won't play for the Red Sox this season.  —  Delgado, who signed a minor-league contract last month with the hope of being a left-handed-hitting complement to fill-in first baseman Mike Lowell, has a small tear in his left hip, according to his agent David Sloane.

Was last night's Rays outfield the fastest in baseball history?  —  With rosters expanding yesterday the Rays called up speedster Desmond Jennings from Triple-A and started him in right field.  They also had Carl Crawford in left field and B.J. Upton in center field, which has me wondering whether …

Coach says Mariners were told of Josh Lueke's criminal past  —  The Mariners knew all about Josh Lueke's 96-mph fastball when they acquired him from the Texas Rangers in the Cliff Lee deal.  But Mariners executives insisted they knew nothing before the July 9 trade about the 25-year-old minor …

Free Agent Stock Watch: Carl Pavano  —  Carl Pavano isn't the best pitcher in the Twins rotation - that honor goes to Francisco Liriano - but he has quietly been one of the best pitchers in the American League this year.  Pavano ranks second in the AL in walk rate (1.5 BB/9), third in innings pitched and 14th in ERA (3.52).

Inbox: What second baseman would fit?  —  Beat reporter Bill Ladson answers Nats fans' questions  —  Is there a pending free-agent second baseman that can fit the Nationals' needs — defensively and offensively?  If so, can they sign him?  —  A couple of weeks ago, I tweeted …

Adversity aside, White Sox poised to pounce  —  South Siders have overcome injuries, poor play  —  BOSTON — If an overriding theme was attached to the White Sox first 133 games of competition, it quite possibly could look something like this:  —  Chicago White Sox, '10: It could be a lot worse

Brian Cole's family wins $131 million suit  —  The family of a New York Mets prospect killed in a 2001 rollover accident while leaving spring training won a $131 million judgment against the Ford Motor Co. from a Laurel, Miss., jury Monday.  The case was then settled before the punitive phase …

Jerry Manuel would love to know his job status … ~ Mike Puma, New York Post  —  Here's the thing about Manuel, how is a difference maker?  What has he done to justify keeping his job?  By the way, being a nice guy and entertaining reporters is not a sufficient answer.  —  I look at Buck Showalter.