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 …

Deep In the Heart of...Hartford  —  I'm deep in the woods of West Hartford, dealing with a record number of phone calls and text messages while prepping for this week's "The Fantasy Show."  With a ton of football stuff happening with Thursday's kickoff game, I'm making sure that you keep getting …

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.

Chat, vroom: Hitters respond to Guillen  —  Hitters respond to Guillen's talk, head home on a winning note  —  BOSTON — Never has a pregame talk looked so effective.  —  Behind the rebirth of first-half ace Jose Contreras and a retooled offense, the White Sox snapped a three …

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 …

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.

Hermida's ankle injury diagnosed as stress fracture  —  Doctors have pinpointed the cause of the lingering ankle soreness that has mostly confined right fielder Jeremy Hermida to the bench: a stress fracture that could cause him to miss extensive time.  —  The injury to Hermida's right ankle …

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.

Hall nominated for Clemente Award  —  Shortstop tireless in spending time in Milwaukee community  —  MILWAUKEE — Up-and-coming Brewers infielder Bill Hall will be honored on the field Wednesday for the work he has been doing off it.  —  Hall is the team's nominee for the 2006 Roberto Clemente Award …

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.