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.

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.

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 …

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 …

9/11 helped put sports in its proper place  —  They remain among the most vivid, stirring memories in sports history, those powerful moments that Major League Baseball delivered following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.  —  Mike Piazza's majestic home run on the night the Mets returned to New York's Shea Stadium.

Notes: Pedro could start on Friday  —  Ace has been sidelined since Aug. 14 with strained calf  —  MIAMI — Manager Willie Randolph said that right-hander Pedro Martinez might return to the rotation on Friday.  —  "He might pitch Friday if everything goes okay," Randolph said before Monday's game against the Florida Marlins.

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.

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.

Open Thread, Vikings at Redskins … Good morning.  —  In less than eleven hours, fans from Minnesota will join others from around the world.  And they will be watching our team launch the largest football battle in the history of mankind.  —  "Mankind."  That word should have new meaning for all of us today.

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 …

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.

Koskie will remain out  —  Infielder's physical status uncertain  —  thaudricourt@journalsentinel.com  —  There will be no official announcement by the Milwaukee Brewers but third baseman Corey Koskie is done for the season.  —  Koskie has been on the disabled list since July 6 …

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.

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.

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.

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.

Snakes sink Cardinals with late homers  —  Arizona takes finale as Clark, Byrnes go back-to-back in eighth  —  PHOENIX — If you take a look at one of Bob Melvin's lineup cards, you'll find a lot of notes and symbols.  For instance, written next to each hitter on his bench are the names …

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.