Yankees' Giambi makes early exit  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. — Jason Giambi told Joe Torre before the game that his battered body felt well enough to play first base.  —  But after going 1 for 2 with a two-run double, Giambi left the game in the seventh inning with body-wide cramps, the result of dehydration and being tired.

Call-ups could rotate Rangers' Volquez out  —  Addition of other pitchers in September may sideline rookie  —  ARLINGTON - The Rangers will push rookie right-hander Edinson Volquez as far back in the starting rotation as possible.  —  That is, if they keep him in the rotation at all.

Get ready ... aim ... fire  —  Which skippers' jobs are in the crosshairs  —  With Labor Day and the September stretch comes the second manager firing season - the first being right before the All-Star break - and so far all 30 Opening Day skippers are still on the job.

Mets see things they like in Perez  —  Lefty shows flashes of dominance in erratic outing  —  NEW YORK — For weeks, the Mets had guarded against looking too far ahead.  They had dealt successfully with the temptation to think about October before finishing August.

Phillies acquire Conine from Orioles  —  Club to send player to be named later to Baltimore  —  Outfielder Jeff Conine was acquired from Baltimore, along with cash considerations, for a player to be named later, Vice President & General Manager Pat Gillick announced today.

Beckett still pointed toward his next start  —  SEATTLE — Josh Beckett played catch yesterday and will again today as he hopes to stay on course to make his scheduled start Tuesday in Oakland.  —  The right hander cut his right middle finger with his own fingernail in the sixth inning Thursday …

Snyder aims to snap skid  —  Boston (71-58) at Seattle (60-69), 4:05 p.m. PT  —  After losing the first two games of this series to the Mariners, all the Red Sox can hope for is to go sweepless in Seattle.  —  The Red Sox suffered an agonizing 4-3 setback on Saturday, a game they led with six outs to go.

Dodgers Finally Catch Break on Kent's Homer  —  His ninth-inning blast is the difference in a 4-3 win over Diamondbacks.  Lowe is forced to leave early.  —  PHOENIX — This is what Jeff Kent is supposed to do, isn't it?  Hoist the Dodgers on his shoulders with one swing …

Reliever Speier returning to mound  —  With a new crop of prospects moving front and center in the Rockies organization, it might be difficult to remember pitcher Ryan Speier.  —  But three seasons ago, Speier was at the top of the futures list as he compiled a season of 37 saves for the Tulsa Drillers in the Double-A Texas League.

Howard making strong case for MVP  —  The race for the National League Most Valuable Player award isn't simply between Mets center fielder Carlos Beltran and Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols.  —  Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard, the NL leader in home runs and RBIs …

Pitching With No Pain, Glavine Is Feeling Giddy  —  Tom Glavine pitched a bullpen session without pain yesterday and said he was on target to start Friday against the Astros in Houston.  —  "I feel great," Glavine said last night before the Mets faced the Philadelphia Phillies at Shea Stadium.

Padres-Rockies Preview  —  The San Diego Padres are surging at the right time and so is right-hander Jake Peavy .  —  Peavy tries to lead the Padres (66-63) to their sixth win in seven games when they face the Colorado Rockies (60-69) on Sunday in the finale of a three-game series.

Tough love, then a tough loss  —  Dye's heroics in 9th wasted as Twins win a thriller in 11  —  The Twins took another big bite out of the White Sox's playoff chances Saturday night while chomping away at the Tigers' once-seemingly invincible lead in the AL Central.

Kendall, A's remain red-hot in Texas  —  Sizzling Oakland has won 18 of 23 games in August  —  ARLINGTON — Jason Kendall has so many superstitions that he can't for the life of him come up with the most bizarre of them all.  In fact, he wouldn't detail it anyway, because he's got a "Fight Club" mentality.

THEO  —  When I first sat down to write this article, I tried a systematic, reasoned evaluation of our GM.  I opened up transaction reports, Cot's Baseball Contracts, espn.com's stats page, baseball prospectus PECOTA cards... every resource I could think of to make my point.

This is one star that is in a wobbly orbit  —  SEATTLE — More news yesterday from the International Astronomical Union general assembly in Prague.  In the wake of their controversial decision to demote Pluto, the astronomers have agreed to officially recognize Planet Manny as the new ninth celestial body in our solar system.