Rangers' rookie is spot-on in 2-0 win  —  ARLINGTON - John Rheinecker went out and messed up the Rangers' plans Monday night.  He did it by stifling Seattle.  —  Rheinecker made the Rangers' decisions about the roster a whole lot tougher by pitching the crispest game a Texas starter has pitched this year.

Injury stops Wells before he can start again  —  TORONTO — David Wells was trying his best to be a medical miracle.  —  Whacked off the right kneecap with a line drive Friday night, Wells has made better progress than he thought, but his attempt to show that he could make his scheduled start tomorrow …

Defiant Unit finds change is good  —  DETROIT - If Randy Johnson has given in to the need to reinvent himself as a pitcher, as the Tigers seemed to think and even Ron Guidry indicated, he doesn't seem to want to admit it.  —  And you can't blame him for that.

Hermida just about back to full speed  —  · A popular preseason National League Rookie of the Year pick, Jeremy Hermida has to make up ground to prove the prognosticators right.  —  One of his swings Sunday showed he might not be far from starting his push.

Wood earns first win in 10 1/2 months, hits clutch RBI for Cubs  —  CBS SportsLine.com wire reports  —  CHICAGO — Kerry Wood delivered his best start of the season when the Chicago Cubs needed him the most.  —  Wood pitched six solid innings and hit a key RBI single to get his first win since July 15 …

Pitiful Cubs could use a maverick owner  —  Mark Cuban would be interested in owning the Cubs.  I know this because he said so, by e-mail, responding quicker to my questions than it takes Andy MacPhail to remove his tinted sunglasses and Dusty Baker to make a pitching change.

Jered Weaver Rises to the Occasion in His MLB Debut  —  Jered Weaver made his much-anticipated major-league debut on Saturday night vs. the Baltimore Orioles.  He allowed only five O's to reach base (one by error) while putting up nothing but O's on the scoreboard over seven innings as the Angels beat the Birds, 10-1.

Save the Last Dance  —  In the interest of preventing guilt feelings, apparently I'm not the only Mets blogger to title his post in this way.  See Metstradamus for another such perspective.  —  So we substitute die-hard Mets fan Julia Stiles (it says so in her IMDB.com bio) …

Yet Again, a Final Swing From Wright Settles It  —  With Endy Chávez on second base and no outs in the ninth inning and the Mets trailing the Arizona Diamondbacks by a run, José Reyes was asked to do something he rarely does: lay down a sacrifice bunt.

Let It Go  —  "It was the first jam I get in all year and I don't get a chance to get out of it," said Penny, who voiced his displeasure with Little on the mound before taking a swing at a water cooler with a bat in the dugout and yelling in anger.  —  "I wanted a chance to get that inning out of the way …

Dodgers' Gagne ready to return to team  —  Closer completes successful Triple-A rehab assignment  —  LAS VEGAS — It didn't take long for Eric Gagne to declare himself ready to face Major League hitters.  —  Gagne capped a successful rehab assignment at Triple-A Las Vegas on Monday …

Baseball's Best Pitching Teams  —  Following yesterday's look at the Tigers and how their team ERA stands head and shoulders above the American League, I thought I would take a look - as I did here and here with slugging and OBP - at the all-time great pitching teams in terms of team ERA compared …

Cabrera, Figgins team up on Twins  —  Shortstop's third hit of the night delivers 11-inning victory  —  ANAHEIM — Talk about situational hitting.  —  One moment the Angels' Orlando Cabrera was just trying to get Chone Figgins, who singled to open the 11th inning, to second base.

Expectations were too high, but Mazzone staff is too low  —  We believe in miracle workers because we see them every day.  We see them in classrooms, above operating tables, patrolling our streets.  They really do exist in this world.  —  The Orioles needed a miracle worker.  What they got was a pitching coach.

Jose's 2nd chance  —  The Mets signed Jose Valentin in the offseason because of his versatility.  But the veteran handyman is also showing he's pretty good with the bat.  —  Making his second straight start at second base, Valentin went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in last night's 8-7 win over the Diamondbacks.

Mailbag: Could Ray take over as closer?  —  Beat reporter Mark Bowman answers fans' questions  —  If Chris Reitsma continues struggling in the closer role, do you think Bobby Cox will turn to Ken Ray?  If not Ray, who else do you think might fill in the closer spot?