He seems to be the real deal  —  Sanchez shows right stuff with no-hitter  —  The trade was made back in the days of the gorilla suit and Pearl Jam concerts in South America, when Jim Beattie was being courted by Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino as Theo Epstein's possible successor …

Bruney Shakes Past a Pitch at a Time  —  Brian Bruney knows the pattern from experience.  When a pitcher loses confidence in himself, he nibbles around the strike zone.  Then he gets behind in the count, throws a ball down the middle, and gets hit.  The confidence takes a hit, too.

Snyder can't complete sweep  —  After 1-2-3 first, right-hander manages only four more outs  —  BOSTON — The string of great Red Sox pitching ended with a bang Wednesday night.  —  Jim Thome and Jermaine Dye hit towering home runs while Jose Contreras limited Boston batters to four hits …

Atlanta fades, but Smoltz's anger only grows  —  It comes with the territory of a 15-game Mets lead that there should be such a decided absence of both passion and people for this September series with the Atlanta Braves.  —  And yet, if the Mets and their fandom were looking …

Green now a real toe-tapper  —  Shawn Green was in the batting cage in Houston last week trying to find the power stroke he used to hit 192 home runs between 1998 and 2002, when teammates Carlos Delgado and Julio Franco and Mets hitting coach Rick Down approached him with some strange advice - start tapping his toes.

Sanchez pitches majors' first no-hitter in two years  —  Anibal Sanchez restored a forgotten feat to major league baseball: a no-hitter.  —  The rookie ended the longest period without a no-hitter in major league history, leading the Florida Marlins over the Arizona Diamondbacks 2-0 Wednesday night in just his 13th career start.

No save, no dice, no win  —  WASHINGTON — If this was indeed a true pennant race, what happened to the Cardinals on Wednesday at RFK Stadium might wreck a season.  Instead, it reinforced a 5-month-old concern.  —  With Cy Young candidate Chris Carpenter working opposite a September call …

Lester: 'One of those feelings you can't describe'  —  BOSTON — Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester was shocked when he heard the diagnosis.  —  "It was one of those feelings you can't describe," he said.  "You're 22 years old.  You go in for back pain, and you find out you have cancer."

Hicks clarifies radio comments  —  OAKLAND, Calif. - Rangers owner Tom Hicks attempted in a phone interview Wednesday to clarify some comments he made in a radio interview on KTCK/1310 AM (The Ticket) on Tuesday.  The most important clarification Hicks made is that he never meant to criticize shortstop Michael Young.

Chronic cramping leaves Willis looking for answers  —  MIAMI GARDENS — For now, Dontrelle Willis will make his next start Sunday at home against the Phillies.  —  But that could change if he continues to feel lingering soreness from what has become almost chronic cramping when he pitches on muggy days.

Tigers unconditionally release Young  —  Club lists veteran's on-field performance as basis for decision  —  DETROIT — A three-hour, nine-minute rain delay left seemingly no end to the Tigers' afternoon on Wednesday.  By the time it was over, however, so was Dmitri Young's five-year tenure with the club.

Mulder will have surgery on shoulder next week  —  WASHINGTON — The Cardinals officially ended their wait for Mark Mulder on Wednesday.  —  The Cardinals' lefthander will have arthroscopic surgery next Tuesday after the second opinion confirmed that his season-long troubles could be traced …

Lies, Damned Lies  —  What to Do With Papelbon  —  Since 1946, there have been exactly 100 pitchers who pitched at least 80% of their innings in relief after having pitched at least 80% of their innings as a starter in the previous season (minimum 50 IP in year n and 100 IP in year n-1).