BOSTON -- For the last two days, the names most closely attached to possible trades for the Red Sox were intriguing position players. Julio Lugo and Andruw Jones were just two of the many mentioned.

But all along, somewhat under the radar, the Red Sox were far more interested in hunting for top-of-the-rotation starters.

"We came very close to a couple of very high-caliber starters," said Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein.

In fact, for a few brief hours late Sunday night and early yesterday morning, the Sox thought they had a good shot at obtaining Roy Oswalt from Houston.

In a separate longshot deal, the Sox continued to hold out hope that they might be able to lure Roger Clemens back to Boston, a dream that stayed alive until two hours before yesterday afternoon's trade deadline passed.

When both -- as well as some smaller deals -- fell apart, the Red Sox elected to stand still for the second straight July 31 deadline day.

"We have a long-term plan," said Epstein in a press conference an hour after the 4 p.m. trade deadline came and went without any local activity. "As much as we desperately wanted to do something to help the big-league team, it would have been detrimental to the long-term plan."

The Sox engaged the Atlanta Braves in talks for center fielder Andruw Jones. It was the Red Sox' intention to flip Jones to the Astros in exchange for Oswalt, who won 20 games in each of the last two seasons.

But the deal then hit two snags. While the Sox were willing to include Coco Crisp and Craig Hansen to get Jones, they were adamant in refusing the Braves' request to include rookie lefty Jon Lester. As good as Oswalt is, the Sox, currently shorthanded in their rotation, couldn't see the logic in subtracting one pitcher to add another.

The Sox were willing to satisfy the Braves with another prospect. While the Sox worked feverishly to reach agreement with the Braves, the Astros began to get cold feet when they realized that they risked having Jones demand a trade after this season -- as veterans dealt in the middle of a long-term deal have the right to do.

That scuttled the Red Sox' plans to immediately extend Oswalt, who has won 19 games or more in three of the last four seasons, to a long-term contract extension. Oswalt is arbitration-eligible next season, then can become a free agent.

While all that was transpiring, the Sox also were closely monitoring Clemens, who has grown increasingly frustrated with the Astros' inability to compete.

Yesterday, Clemens approached Astros owner Drayton McLane and the two talked, in broad terms, about a trade to Boston. But Clemens, according to an industry source, never felt comfortable "pushing" the idea of a deal, fearful that it would be tough to ask out of his hometown, where he plans to live the rest of his life.

Additionally, Clemens has a post-career 10-year contract with the Astros and thought that asking for a trade would be seen as graceless.

Still, according to a source familiar with both teams' thinking, the clubs laid some groundwork in the event McLane and Clemens came to a meeting of the minds. The Red Sox introduced a list of prospects they were willing to surrender for Clemens, who intends to retire after this season.

No consensus was reached, but it's doubtful that would have been an impediment to a deal.

Finally, two hours before the deadline struck, talks collapsed entirely, with Clemens resigned to staying put.

On a far smaller level, the Red Sox briefly had a deal done for Pittsburgh's Kip Wells for a low-level prospect. But when the Red Sox' doctors got involved and looked at Wells' medical records, the trade quickly fizzled.

Wells had undergone surgery this spring to improve circulation in his arm by correcting a vascular problem near his right shoulder. But the Sox doctors feared that in colder weather in September and perhaps October, Wells would have difficulty with numbness in his fingers, reducing his effectiveness. Not long after the Sox backed out, Wells was dealt to Texas.

Over the weekend, the Sox had dabbled in talks for Philadelphia's Bobby Abreu, who was sent -- along with Cory Lidle -- to the Yankees.

Unlike the Yanks, who assumed all of Abreu's remaining salary this year and next, the Sox were unwilling to do so since taking on Abreu's money next year -- a scheduled $16 million -- would have sent the Sox over the luxury-tax threshold. With a 40-percent penalty for going over the tax a second time, Abreu's actual cost would have been approximately $23 million in 2007, a number they found too high.

In return for having the Phils take some of Abreu's money back, Boston actually offered a better group of prospects than did the Yankees. But in the end, it was more important for general manager Pat Gillick to rid himself of Abreu's money altogether, making the Yanks' offer more attractive.

smcadam@projo.com / (401) 277-7340