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.

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.

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.

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 …

Rolen expects to play Thursday  —  Cards third baseman eager to return from bout with bronchitis  —  HOUSTON — Scott Rolen put on a brave face on Wednesday, but it was a face obviously thinned by illness.  Rolen, who has lost about 10 pounds due to what the Cardinals are calling …

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 …

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.

Ask the Booth: Ron Darling  —  You've got plenty of questions and comments for the Mets broadcasting team at SportsNet New York.  And they've got plenty of answers.  Here are more "Ask the Booth" responses from Ron Darling:  —  As a veteran pitcher, how much did the catcher's game-calling affect your performance?

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.

The survival guide: Jones credits his mother  —  If you think a few boo-birds are going to keep Jacque Jones down, then you don't know much about the Cubs right fielder.  Sure, he was disappointed about being booed at Wrigley Field.  No one likes to be booed.  But when you look at the big picture, the boos don't mean a thing.