Lefties OK by Amezaga  —  Switch hitter has Girardi's vote of confidence  —  · Manager Joe Girardi is aware of the numbers, but he has his reasons for overlooking them.  —  Despite a .081 average (3 for 37) against left-handed pitching, Girardi has started Alfredo Amezaga …

Twins showing their teeth  —  MINNEAPOLIS - Some more free stuff came in the mail Saturday morning, and, per usual, it was gone in about 10 seconds.  Long before Ozzie Guillen called them a bunch of piranhas, the Minnesota Twins were scavengers of a different kind.

Notes: Robinson touts Soriano for MVP  —  Manager says slugger's season should not be overlooked  —  PHOENIX — Nationals manager Frank Robinson not only wants Alfonso Soriano to reach 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases, the skipper wants to see Soriano reach 100 RBIs, 40 doubles …

Tigers tail off in scoring, winning as playoffs suddenly in doubt  —  The Detroit Tigers' extended cold spell has them on the verge of trying to avoid a collapse of historic proportions.  —  On Aug. 7, the Tigers were 40 games over .500 and cruising with a 10-game lead in the American League Central.

Notes: Jeter focused on team, not MVP  —  Rivera's program pushed back; Matsui to return Tuesday  —  BALTIMORE — Derek Jeter is having one of the best seasons of his career, and with the Yankees owning the American League's second-best record and likely headed to the playoffs …

A Stealth Swinger Rewrites the Script  —  The day after Freddy Sanchez had surgery to repair his deformed right foot, his mother pulled him through the hallway of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles in a tiny wagon reserved for patients who could not walk.  —  Sanchez was 13 months old …

Will Chipper one day get Hall of Fame nod?  —  The Atlanta Braves, after a decade-and-a-half of dominance in the National League, are finally going to miss the postseason.  —  It's been a run that's exhausted the superlatives, and it's worthy of every fan's respect and admiration.  But it's over.

Wells puts Toronto first  —  Vernon Wells has been consistently non-committal when talk turns to his future with the Blue Jays.  —  Given that Wells has not begun discussions with the team about extending his contract which has a year remaining on it, that's understandable.

Moyer serves as a mentor for Hamels  —  PHILADELPHIA — Never mind that Jamie Moyer has the work ethic of a Tour de France contestant, or continues to get hitters out with a fastball that registers slightly faster than Jose Canseco's on the radar gun.  The thing that strikes Cole Hamels …

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.

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 …

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 …