Mets' Glavine doesn't need surgery, will return soon  —  On Sunday it was feared Tom Glavine might miss the rest of the season.  Now, the veteran Mets left-hander might be on the mound as soon as next week.  —  Sources told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney that an angiogram performed Monday revealed …

Warning: These truths may hurt  —  You want the truth?  —  OK.  Let's see if you can handle the truth.  —  The truth is that at present the Red Sox have two reliable pitchers, Curt Schilling and Jonathan Papelbon.  —  The truth is that, while you cannot blame everything on not having Jason Varitek …

Nats' Clutch Hits A Long Way Off  —  It's as if they're playing basketball, and they go to the free throw line, where they haven't made a shot in a month.  Or perhaps they're golfers with the yips, unable to stride confidently to three-foot putts and knock them solidly into the back of the cup.

Lilly-Gibbons argument leaves manager bloodied  —  TORONTO — Blue Jays manager John Gibbons wound up with a bloody nose after tangling with Toronto pitcher Ted Lilly near the dugout during Monday night's game against Oakland.  —  It was not known whether any punches were thrown.

Phils' Rowand out 4-6 weeks with broken ankle  —  As the Phillies make their push for the NL wild card, they will have to do it without starting center fielder Aaron Rowand.  —  Rowand suffered a fractured left ankle in a scary outfield collision with teammate Chase Utley on Monday night …

Need a veteran lefty?  Red Sox's Wells clears waivers  —  After suffering a five-game sweep at the hands of the Yankees, the Red Sox might have to begin looking toward 2007.  If Boston does cut bait on this season, David Wells will be available to the highest bidder.

O'Malley to lure hometown flock  —  A caravan of Ryan O'Malley fans will be traveling up Interstate Hwy. 55 from Springfield on Tuesday to watch the Cubs' rookie make his Wrigley Field debut against ex-Cub Jamie Moyer.  —  O'Malley made a big splash in his major-league debut, throwing eight shutout innings Wednesday against Houston.

Willingham's hot streak defies explanation  —  · Josh Willingham hasn't spent much time looking for answers.  He has resigned himself to the fact that streaks are part of the game and trying to explain them is counterproductive.  —  He's hot now and can't pinpoint why.

U.S. dominates Puerto Rico again, 11-0  —  Americans to face Canada next before leaving for Cuba  —  KISSIMMEE, Fla. — You can't play much better than Team USA did on Monday.  —  The United States did everything right in an 11-0 win over Puerto Rico in an exhibition game at Osceola County Stadium.

Rangers' pitching plan set - for now  —  Volquez's blister could throw rotation into disarray again  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Rangers have a starting pitching plan in place for this week.  Whether it stays as scheduled depends on a small blister on Edinson Volquez's right thumb.

Mets get 'closer' to Green  —  The Mets are closing in on Diamondbacks outfielder Shawn Green, though sources familiar with the discussions cautioned that no deal is final until the sides agree to exact financial terms.  —  GM Omar Minaya and Diamondbacks counterpart Josh Byrnes …

Gimmicky wild card bad for baseball  —  Is this really what they had in mind?  —  Nine teams in the National League were within 5 1/2 games of the lead in the wild-card race through the weekend.  The composite winning percentage of the nine is .487, which translates to a team that finishes 79-83.