Oh, how sweep it is  —  Mets get first three-game sweep at home, widen division lead to 14  —  It is a formula that helped deliver the Mets from the cellar of the National League East this time last season to the most wins in the league and a virtually insurmountable first-place lead with a 69-44 record.

Marlins Feast On Nats' Relievers  —  Loss Is Fourth In Past 5 Games: Marlins 9, Nationals 6  —  This is supposed to be happening in New Orleans or Harrisburg or some other minor league hamlet where pitchers can implode and it is labeled part of the learning process, not a disaster.

Players Shrug Off Lack Of Moves  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. — More than a week has passed since the July 31 trade deadline and Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein is still taking heat for not making a deal.  —  Gabe Kapler, who made his first start since July 23 in Wednesday night's 5-4 loss to the Royals …

The Shifting Swings of A-Rod and Andruw: Part 2  —  I started posting these comparisons of Major League hitters on my blog, and they usually show how a player's swing has changed or how player A might be better off if he could swing like player B, but with the opportunity to write a guest article here …

Notes: Patterson up for new challenge  —  WASHINGTON — With right-hander Livan Hernandez no longer on the Nationals, it means, starting next year, that John Patterson will be the ace of the pitching staff, and the right-hander welcomes the challenge.  —  With a younger staff expected …

Longshot Lo Duca  —  Sources: Bookies stalk Met catcher  —  At least twice during the past year, illegal bookmakers came out of the shadows and into the world of baseball to pressure Paul Lo Duca into paying gambling debts, several sources have told the Daily News.

Marlins: Outfield juggling act of necessity  —  WASHINGTON — Marlins manager Joe Girardi penciled in a different outfield alignment in each of the three games against the Nationals and used six players.  —  Outfield-by-committee has been necessary because no one has hit well enough long enough …

Rangers get away from Pineiro  —  Early duel turns into rout down the stretch in opener  —  ARLINGTON — It all seemed to be going so well for Joel Pineiro.  —  The fortunes of the Mariners' up-and-down starter were headed straight up after five innings, as he held the Texas Rangers scoreless on three hits.

Who Needs a Heart When a Heart Can Be Broken?  —  Like something from Mark Twain's imagination, the big, red paddle wheel on the Mississippi Queen slowly churned through the muddy Ohio River, just beyond the right-field seats of the Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

Handle pitchers with care  —  To play or not to play.  Once again, that was the question.  —  A lot of people want to blame the Minnesota Twins for allowing Francisco Liriano to pitch against the Tigers Monday night.  The prized young lefthander lasted four very ineffective innings.

Santana Injured; Angels Fall  —  CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians outscored the Cleveland Browns by a touchdown Thursday night, and that wasn't even the worst of it for the Angels, who suffered a 14-2 drubbing at the hands of the Indians in Jacobs Field.  —  Ervin Santana's season …

Liriano's absence indefinite after second MRI  —  MINNEAPOLIS — The Twins are optimistic, but not totally confident, that injured left-hander Francisco Liriano will return this season.  —  Liriano, 12-3 with a league-leading 2.19 ERA, had a second, enhanced MRI exam Thursday when a shot …

Position Breakdown: Center Fielders  —  The 2005 draft is looking like it could go down in history as the year of the centerfielder.  Half of the 12 players listed here were selected in the first round of last year's pickfest, and two of the five honorable mentions were selected later on.