Nats' Brass Say They'll Rebuild From Within  —  Lerner, Kasten Promise No Precipitous Moves  —  Stan Kasten, the man who will run the Washington Nationals as their president, has been involved with professional sports for nearly three decades, virtually the entire span of free agency.

Delgado Has the Will and Finds a Way  —  The weather during last night's game between the Mets and the Pittsburgh Pirates was miserable.  The wind at Shea Stadium was howling during the first pitch, and rain began falling in the third inning.  —  But the stormy conditions did not begin in earnest until the top of the ninth.

Prior's recovery runs into another roadblock  —  PHOENIX — Pitchers Kerry Wood and Wade Miller were with their teammates Wednesday in the Cubs' clubhouse at Chase Field, but Mark Prior was missing and no gear was in his empty locker.  He is dealing with a physical setback that has nothing to do with his right shoulder rehab.

A-Rod grabs chance in clutch  —  RBI single lifts Yanks in 10th  —  ST. PETERSBURG - Alex Rodriguez was waiting in the on-deck circle when Joe Torre called him over from the dugout.  Rodriguez was a little confused.  Tenth inning, tie game, go-ahead run in scoring position . . . and the manager wanted to talk?

Perez Could Be Headed for the Bullpen  —  On the day after Odalis Perez lost a 6-0 lead in one inning, Dodger Manager Grady Little said he might remove him from the starting rotation — for one start, or for an indefinite assignment to long relief.  —  "We do have options," Little said.

Mulder in St. Louis to have back examined  —  HOUSTON - Lefthanded starting pitcher Mark Mulder returned to St. Louis Tuesday night to be examined for back stiffness that has bothered him for much of the last two weeks, club officials confirmed Wednesday afternoon.

On the Lidge  —  Wednesday's game ended up as a mark in the wrong column, but it was a treat to watch.  Certainly, our crimson-clad superheroes played a hard nine.  Some things I think:  —  Jason Marquis: I either called this one, or I jinxed him.  I left a comment on VEB's Game 28 thread about 10 minutes before first pitch:

New pastime: Needling Barry  —  MILWAUKEE - There's a statue of Hank Aaron outside the main gate at Miller Park.  The plaque underneath contains the information that the Hall of Famer played for the Milwaukee Braves from 1954 through 1965, after which the franchise relocated to Atlanta …

Arizona not a happy place for Maddux  —  PHOENIX — Bank One Ballpark is now Chase Field.  But as far as Cubs pitcher Greg Maddux is concerned, withdrawing a victory from this chintzy place has been an impoverishing experience.  —  Maddux continued to come up dry in the desert …

Giles was almost a Dodger when Padres budged  —  LOS ANGELES - Brian Giles said it wasn't a bluff.  The native San Diegan and longtime Padres fan nearly became a Dodger in November.  "It was probably a day away," Giles said yesterday from the visiting clubhouse at Dodger Stadium.

Rain delay provided an opportunity to soak the fans  —  Despite more brutal weather, they played baseball at Fenway last night.  Hallelujah.  But had they not played, the Red Sox still would have been winners at the cash register.  The $ox always win these days.

Flashback From The Subconscious  —  Any similarities to Tike Redman and Braden Looper are completely coincidental.  —  We hope.  —  This is the game that you don't want to take a nap in the middle of...especially anytime after the ninth inning.  Because after Country Time spit the bit …

Astros Preview  —  Re: Decisionmaking and your Cardinal future  —  First of all, we would like to congratulate you on your promotion, and welcome you to the Big Leagues.  Your work down in Memphis clearly justified the move, so well done.  —  That said: When Mr. Molina tells you to throw …

Matsui's second coming  —  The Mets had no problem handing light-hitting rookie Anderson Hernandez the second base job to start the season because they were confident he'd been an improvement in the field over incumbent Kaz Matsui, who opened the season on the DL.

The Diary of Carlos Delgado  —  The students wanted to present Carlos Delgado with a gift he could actually use, something that did not cost a lot of money but showed a lot of thought.  —  Johnathan Polanco was watching the Mets on television when he thought of the perfect thing.

Grieving Barmes to leave team  —  Shortstop will miss up to two games of upcoming homestand  —  ATLANTA — Rockies shortstop Clint Barmes will leave the club to mourn the death of a family member after Tuesday night's game, and will miss one and possibly two games of a homestand that starts on Wednesday.