Nationals Can't Close Out Astros  —  HOUSTON, April 10 — When the ball finally settled into Brandon Watson's glove, he wasn't in the position he intended, and the ensuing throw home was more a faint hope than a true chance of gunning down the runner.  So it was that just before Watson's …

AL MVP runner-up Ortiz gets extension  —  BOSTON —Red Sox slugger David Ortiz agreed Monday to a four-year contract extension through 2010, just five months after finishing runner-up for the AL MVP award.  —  The designated hitter was in the last year of a $12.5 million, two-year extension he signed in May 2004.

Derrek Lee agrees to new five-year, $65M deal  —  CHICAGO — NL batting champion Derrek Lee and the Chicago Cubs agreed to a $65 million, five-year contract, a deal expected to be announced Tuesday.  —  "It's fairly likely something will be worked out," agent Casey Close said Monday.

Green Monster and Manny  —  Each baseball season brings new books about the national pastime.  Some are stats-driven, a la Bill James's sabermetric specials.  Some go deep on hardball heroes and seasons past.  A few take swings at the game itself — none more mightily than ''Game of Shadows …

Braves call up hard-throwing Aussie  —  ATLANTA (AP) - The Atlanta Braves shuffled their bullpen again Monday night, farming out Joey Devine and calling up hard-throwing Australian Peter Moylan.  —  Devine, promoted just last week from Triple-A Richmond, had two awful appearances for the Braves.

Chat with Randolph opened eyes  —  Mets outfielder Floyd has found motivation to gut out injuries  —  NEW YORK — As Cliff Floyd prepared to leave the Mets clubhouse Saturday afternoon, Willie Randolph pulled him aside.  Manager and left fielder discussed the circumstances of the rain-interrupted weekend …

Crisp's star on the rise  —  Coco Crisp is shopping his idea for a new reality show to television networks.  The program, which mixes the elements of dating-themed programs with the reward opportunities of a game show, is tentatively titled, "May/December."

Peek at the Week: Griffey's groove  —  Junior's recent success at Wrigley is noteworthy  —  Chicago was "My Kind of Town" for crooner Frank Sinatra, and Wrigley Field has been a friendly confine for Reds center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. lately.  —  When the Reds open a three-game series …

Matthews' return to Rangers is looming  —  Struggling Nix could find himself without roster spot  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. - Gary Matthews Jr. played center field and went 3-for-3 for Triple-A Oklahoma on Monday and could be back in a Rangers uniform Friday.  —  How the club gets him on the roster could become quite a ticklish situation.

Recognition comes early for Atkins  —  Play against Padres nets third baseman NL's weekly award  —  PHOENIX - Garrett Atkins epitomizes the Colorado Rockies.  —  He is easily overlooked.  —  But he would like to think he's ready to get some attention.  —  Chalk up a notch of notoriety for Atkins on Monday.

Prospectus Today  —  Simmer.  Down.  Now.  —  friendly  —  Contact  —  So, this showed up in my inbox Sunday morning...  My initial reaction was to say, "no." Then I thought about it, and figured, "sure, why not."  —  But this isn't the article D is looking for.

Book Excerpt: Stepping Up  —  The following is an excerpt from Stepping Up: The Story of Curt Flood and His Fight for Baseball Players' Rights by Alex Belth.  Reprinted by permission of Persea Books, Inc. (New York)  —  Once he was in Denmark, Flood took a room in a little town called Vaethbeck …

1986 World Series Game 6 Re-Enacted in RBI Baseball  —  So last week had the first day since I've been keeping the blog that I missed an entry.  I felt bad about this lack of discipline, and no doubt you were upset as well.  I wanted to post the little project that I was working on that diverted my attention from posting about music.