The Angels announced Tuesday night at Fenway Park that they acquired first baseman Mark Teixeira -- a deal that gives the Angels offense a formidable middle-of-the-order bat.

The chances of outfielder Manny Ramirez getting dealt have narrowed considerably, and the Sox are again setting their sights on bullpen improvements. Shortstop Julio Lugo -- a close friend and confidant to Ramirez -- playfully proclaimed that it was a "98 percent" surety that the dreadlocked left fielder would stay put.

Manager Terry Francona has -- in the past -- always been up-front with Sox players who see their names surface in trade rumors, and he expects that will again be the case leading up to Thursday's trade deadline.

"That has happened in the past, not this year. There's no secret formula for anything, just tell guys the truth," Francona said. "In the past, sometimes you can't tell them (anything). Some things we don't know, but we haven't gone through that."

Meanwhile, the Sox have been linked to deals for veteran bullpen help with names such as Seattle's 38-year-old Arthur Rhodes and Houston's 41-year-old Doug Brocail heading up a list that won't cost A-list prospects.

Younger relievers with higher upsides -- guys like Atlanta lefty Will Ohman, Colorado left-hander Brian Fuentes, Oakland A's righty Huston Street and Baltimore closer George Sherrill -- are still on the board, but are commanding a premium prospect price tag.

Many of the bullpen arms aren't exactly household names, but Boston has to feel optimistic about a resurgent Hideki Okajima sharing eighth-inning duties with a full-of-potential Manny Delcarmen. The results haven't been always been there this season, but the two Sox relievers are better than much of what's out there.

"We have a pretty impressive collection of guys that can throw hard, but when you watch a guy like Okajima and the way he can attack hitters -- you realize there's a lot of different ways this bullpen can get people out," Sox righty David Aardsma said. "I think you have to feel like the ability is there in this bullpen."

ANGELS 6, RED SOX 2: The Red Sox offense continued to struggle against Los Angeles pitching, and a two-run home run in the ninth inning by Kevin Youkilis accounted for all of Boston's offense. Boston was held hitless for the first 8 1/3 innings by John Lackey, and Clay Buchholz was cuffed around for six runs in his 6 1/3 innings.