Pirates choose McLouth, send Duffy to minors  —  The Pirates made official what had become increasingly obvious over the past few days: Nate McLouth is their center fielder.  —  Chris Duffy, the starter at the position on opening day, was optioned yesterday to Class AAA Indianapolis in a move …

Is this the swan song for Alou, Bonds, other veterans?  —  IT WAS EARLY Sunday morning, hours before his team's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Giants manager Felipe Alou was packing his suitcase for the upcoming road trip.  —  That's when the question popped into his head.

Blue Jays 'Tower' over Rays  —  Towers earns first victory with strong outing in finale  —  ST. PETERSBURG — Josh Towers can breathe a little easier and maybe feel a little more comfortable inside Toronto's clubhouse — let alone in the starting rotation.

Padres-Cubs Preview  —  Mike Piazza isn't putting up numbers like he used to, but the All-Star catcher has certainly made a difference for the San Diego Padres against the Chicago Cubs during their weekend series.  —  The Padres look to complete a season sweep of the Cubs on Sunday …

'That's not how I operate'  —  Kevin McClatchy says he has no immediate plans to step down from his post as managing general partner of the Pirates.  But he also does not want to grow old and gray on the job.  —  "I don't think I'll own the team in 15 or 20 years," he said.  "If I did, I think it would kill me.

Sox Skipping In The Rain  —  Beckett Goes Today  —  BOSTON — You didn't need The Weather Channel, Doppler radar or the Farmer's Almanac to know that it rained pretty hard around Fenway Park Saturday.  —  When the Red Sox, a team that never met a gate receipt it didn't like …

Weaver struggles in series finale  —  Starter gives up four Mariners homers in 3 2/3 innings  —  ANAHEIM — The challenge in front of Jeff Weaver is two-fold.  —  He must unravel the mystery to his horrendous start, while keeping the patience of the Angels' coaching staff, gossamer thin as it is, from wearing through completely.

The Weather Was Fine, and the Home Runs Were Easy  —  Kevin Mench of Texas hit seven home runs in April.  He had 10 through Friday.  —  Three weeks ago, when major leaguers were bashing baseballs at paces unseen since the so-called Steroid Era, conspiracy theorists wanted the deep flies explained by a Deep Throat.

Cards Insider: Team earns "fair" for early grade  —  Thursday, the Cardinals will play their 40th game, reaching the season's quarter pole.  Although early, the schedule's mile marker represents a legitimate point for evaluation.  Everyday players have reached 100 at-bats.

Phillies fly from Cincy on brooms  —  Howard recovers from stomach virus to belt two homers  —  CINCINNATI — Ryan Howard spent the better part of Sunday's early-morning hours in a hospital, feeling the effects of a stomach virus.  By his graphic account, it wasn't pretty.

Guzman to minors, Ryu to bullpen  —  Angel Guzman was sent back to Triple-A Iowa Saturday and Jae Kuk Ryu called up to fill a long relief spot in the bullpen.  —  One more pitcher will have to leave Thursday when Kerry Wood returns to take Guzman's spot in the rotation, most likely a reliever.

Braves can't wrap up sweep  —  Fifth-inning error by LaRoche leads to four runs for Washington  —  ATLANTA — Adam LaRoche fielded the two-out grounder with the same ease that he has every other routine play he's made throughout his playing career.  Unfortunately his next few steps were made in his occassionally lackadaisical manner.

HELP'S CLOSE TO HOME  —  YANKS, METS CAN BE ALLIES IN TRADE MARKET  —  May 14, 2006 — HARDBALL BEFORE the Yankees and Mets play next weekend, they should think seriously about helping each other now.  —  The long-term loss of Hideki Matsui leaves the Yanks, of all things, needing a corner bat.

Nats GM holds tight on Soriano  —  Yankee officials still insist no contact has been made, and Washington GM Jim Bowden won't say whether he's already been in touch with Yanks counterpart Brian Cashman about the possibility of Alfonso Soriano eventually returning to the Bronx if Melky Cabrera …

Notes: Gonzalez called up from Triple-A  —  Catcher summoned from New Orleans to cut down on steals  —  ATLANTA — In need to have a catcher who can throw out would-be basestealers, the Nationals purchased the contract of Wiki Gonzalez from Triple-A New Orleans on Sunday …