Johnson's Poor Fielding Has Taken Shine Off His Year  —  By nearly all measures, Washington Nationals first baseman Nick Johnson is having a career year — leading the National League in on-base percentage, flirting with hitting .300, already with career highs in homers, hits, doubles and games played.

Ortiz says he should still be considered for MVP  —  David Ortiz, the American League leader in home runs and RBI, says Boston's fall from the American League playoff race should not disqualify him from the race for the AL's Most Valuable Player award.  —  But Ortiz told reporters …

Team mired in difficulty, but Pierre on a roll  —  ATLANTA — In a mostly negative season, center fielder Juan Pierre remains the Cubs' most consistent positive.  —  ''Pierre's been playing great baseball, big time,'' manager Dusty Baker said.  ''He's done everything we've asked of him.

Buck's stop might end soon if some players' concerns aren't met  —  SEATTLE — About three weeks remain in this Rangers season, the seventh in a row that will end without postseason play.  —  Manager Buck Showalter shares the same disappointment as everyone affiliated with the Rangers …

Commentary: Pesky Marlins keep acting up  —  MIAMI GARDENS — The bratty little brothers of the National League, Florida's firesale-proof Marlins, refuse to behave themselves.  —  It's mid-September, for crying out loud, well past time for teams with tiny $15 million payrolls …

St. Paul Saints, Cats take fight from the diamond to the bar  —  Two members of the Fort Worth Cats baseball team were arrested this morning after they and dozens of people got into a fight at a St. Paul bar, police reported.  —  About a dozen officers responded to the fight at the Half …

Monday Morning Ten Pack, 9/11/06  —  To be perfectly honest, I wasn't sure a Ten-Pack would work anymore.  With all of the leagues either done for the year, or into the post-season, the numbers of box scores to rifle through every day goes from somewhere around 100 to less than 20.

Thomas cashes in on power ball  —  Notebook  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — With Frank Thomas homering in his fifth consecutive game, the A's might expect this to become a daily ritual.  —  "He's just been unbelievable," Barry Zito, Sunday's starting pitcher, said of Thomas.

Wells May Offer Glimpse of the Future  —  The Angels get a look this weekend at the one player who might help them the most next season.  Whether they get a chance to get him could be one of the intriguing questions of the winter.  —  The player in question is Vernon Wells, the star center fielder for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Branch traded  —  The Deion Branch holdout is over, but Branch isn't returning to the Patriots.  Branch, the fifth-year receiver, has been traded to the Seattle Seahawks for a 2007 first-round draft choice today.  —  The 5-foot-9, 193-pound Branch was entering the final year of the five-year contract he signed as a rookie in 2002.

Mariners Notebook: Meche willing to listen to M's  —  Potential free agent doesn't want to discuss deal during season  —  Gil Meche wasn't ready to talk contract when the Mariners attempted to gauge his interest in a new deal a couple of months ago.  —  At the time Meche was in a hot streak …

Vazquez strong, but Sox falter late  —  Homer off McCarthy opens gates as Chicago falls to Cleveland  —  CHICAGO — Forget throwing strikes to win.  Ozzie Guillen wanted his relievers to throw strikes so he could leave.  —  The White Sox bullpen gave up three runs on three hits and three walks …

Time for resolution of this Cliff-hanger  —  We can't fault our pro athletes when they open up to us about their pain, physical and otherwise.  We yearn for such full disclosure.  —  Yet there comes a time when the pity party must end, and for Cliff Floyd, last call came at about 11 yesterday morning.

Pirates Notebook: Sanchez's lead falls, but status climbs  —  CINCINNATI — Freddy Sanchez's lead in the National League batting race is down to a single point over Florida's Miguel Cabrera.  —  Sanchez (.340) went 1 for 3 yesterday, while Cabrera (.339) was 2 for 2 against Philadelphia.

Versus the Best  —  How do you get a feel for the possible success of teams in the post season?  One way might be to look how successful teams are against good pitchers.  Now, if a ballclub is facing one of the league leaders in ERA, you might not expect them to do very well.

Fan violence mars Ohio State's big win over Texas  —  COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio State University student accused of driving his car into three people, injuring them slightly, was among several people arrested during a raucous celebration of the No. 1-ranked Buckeyes' win over No. 2 Texas.

Going Deep: Going interactive  —  You've got procedural questions, we've got answers … Q: If he is able to come over this off-season, 25-year-old Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka may be the most anticipated free agent to enter Major League Baseball from Asia since Ichiro or Hideki Matsui.

How To Get Your Ballot Spiked  —  This is probably of faint interest to most, but I may as well give my side of the story in this minor BlogPoll brouhaha, since I'm getting comments claiming I'm a pre-emptively sore loser or something: … Oooooooh... so... irritated.

Valentine: It changed the priorities in my life  —  Bobby Valentine was the Mets' manager from 1996 to 2002.  He now manages the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan, and shared his thoughts on 9/11 in a telephone interview Saturday.  —  My emotion at the beginning was fear, fear for my team.