Surprise, Surprise  —  There were many surprises and a few surprised people in the Mets clubhouse before last night's game with the Pirates.  —  The first surprise was the presence of John Maine, who was seated in front of a locker that once belonged to Jose Lima, among others.

Notes: Baker keeps faith in Dempster  —  Skipper aims to prevent doubt from affecting closer's approach  —  CHICAGO — Ryan Dempster is still the Cubs' closer.  —  Cubs manager Dusty Baker said he'll stick with the right-hander, who blew his fifth save on Saturday in the Chicago White Sox 8-6 victory.

Rangers really are boys of summer  —  Been thinking.  Head hurts.  —  I know.  I know.  I should do that less often.  But inside the old cranium, the voices are arguing:  —  Talk about something significant," the one little man says. "  This team is going nowhere.''

Arroyo excited about his first All-Star Game nod  —  Cincinnati — Bronson Arroyo made no attempt to downplay it after the Reds announced that the 29-year-old right-hander had been named to the 2006 National league All-Star team by the squad's manager, Phil Garner, and players and coaches.

Baseball's worst of the worst  —  I can't understand why people get so worked up about Major League Baseball's All-Star selections.  When home park attendance and how often a team appears on TV are the two most important selection criteria, you're bound to get plenty of horrendous snubs and shaky selections.

Top Latino prospects get major-league deals … The New York Yankees paid a $2 million signing bonus to Venezuelan catcher Jesus Montero on Sunday, a busy day for the best Latin American prospects.  —  Dominican shortstop Esmaily Gonzalez received $1.4 million from the Washington Nationals …

Canseco: Major League Baseball is the 'mafia'  —  Canseco: Major League Baseball is the 'mafia'  —  CHICO, Calif. (AP) — Jose Canseco wrote the book that helped persuade baseball to toughen its steroids policy, and he insists there's much more damaging information to come.

Interleague games draw record crowds  —  NEW YORK — More than 8.5 million fans attended interleague games this season, the most in the 10 years of play between the American and National leagues.  —  The average crowd for 252 interleague dates this year was 34,097, topping the previous record of 33,703 in 2001.

Top sluggers to showcase power  —  Pool of candidates for CENTURY 21 Home Run Derby is deep  —  Boston slugger David Ortiz and Philadelphia's Ryan Howard — the Major League leader in home runs — are among the five players tentatively scheduled to compete in the Century 21 Home Run Derby on ESPN.

Jones to Replace Choo on All-Star Team  —  Outfielder Adam Jones will be replacing outfielder Shin-Soo Choo on the 2006 PCL All-Star Team.  Choo, who was originally selected to be the Rainiers representative, was recently called up to Seattle to replace the injured Jeremy Reed.

Barry Bonds, Giants Left Fielder  —  Many words have been written about Barry Bonds, his use (or "alleged use" if you prefer) of performance-enhancing drugs, the morality of his passing Babe Ruth, and his chase of Hank Aaron.  Meanwhile, baseball games were also being played.

Weekend Buzz: Hometown Pirates get boost from ballot stuffers  —  The Weekend Buzz while you were aiming the fireworks AWAY from the children ...  1. Pittsburgh, city by the Bay: Every so often one of those cool stories comes along that makes you stand at attention and salute.