With an of####ay today before heading into Philadelphia for an interleague matchup with the Phillies, here are some news and notes from around Red Sox Nation today.

First baseman J.T. Snow has requested a trade according to the Hartford Courant. This is somewhat understandable because no one expected Kevin Youkilis to perform this well defensively at first base. Due to that, Snow just hasn’t been getting the at-bat’s he thought he would receive this season.

Snow says he would like to be traded to a contender, and I think the best trading partner in this case is the Chicago Cubs. While not a contender right now, they have activated Kerry Wood from the disabled list and Mark Prior shouldn’t be far behind. With Derek Lee still out with a wrist injury, the Cubs are in the market for a first base fix, and Snow fits the bill. The Red Sox could probably get a prospect or two out of the deal, perhaps one good one if they agree to foot the bill for the salary. Other potential landing spots could be San Francisco, where Snow won four consecutive Gold Gloves from 1997 to 2000. Atlanta could be another possible landing spot, where Adam LaRoche is hitting .233 thus far this season.

The Red Sox are free to make this move with the offseason acquisition of Hee Seop Choi off waivers from Los Angeles. Choi is hitting .273 with 3 HR, 16 RBI and an .854 OPS in 30 games with AAA Pawtucket this season.

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In last night’s 4-3 loss to Baltimore, Willie Harris was caught stealing second with two outs that ended the game. The Red Sox had already scored twice in the ninth inning, courtesy of a two-run David Ortiz home run. When I saw the play, I was convinced Harris was safe, but it was a close enough play that you can’t really fault the umpire for the call he made. It was an aggressive call by Terry Francona and one that has paid off in the past.

But was it an aggressive call by Tito? After last night’s game, Harris acknowledged that he was given a hold sign from the dugout.

''I saw the hold sign the first pitch. I kind of thought maybe it was just for the first pitch. I told [manager Terry Francona] I #### up." ~ Willie Harris

What does one make of this? Is Harris that dumb? Did he willfully ignore the call because he wanted to make the play? Either way, doubts are now cast on Harris as a late-innings pinch runner, at least for the next few games. This one move doesn’t erase the body of work to date, when it appears he hasn’t been as cavalier on the bases as he was last night, but it still makes you wonder if he’ll repeat the act in the future.

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I was going to do an entry here about the Red Sox pitching prospects down on the farm, but Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald already wrote a stellar piece on four of the young arms working their way through the Sox system in last Sunday’s paper. So in deference to her excellent piece, I will just provide the link for your reading pleasure. On call when Sox need to re-arm: Four top prospects working to be ready