No Mets' magic  —  Fish pound out 16 runs, 20 hits  —  MIAMI - The clinching party figures to come this week, though it might have to wait until the Mets' arrival in Pittsburgh.  —  The Marlins bashed five homers, including three from Cody Ross, and routed the Mets, 16-5 …

Mailbag: Is Castro ready yet?  —  Beat reporter Bill Ladson answers Nationals fans' questions … With Jose Vidro expected to be traded in the offseason, do you view Bernie Castro as their second baseman of the future?  — Cliff S., Springfield, Va.  —  Not so fast about Vidro getting traded.

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

RIZZUTO FIGHTS ON IN LATEST BATTLE  —  PHIL RIZZUTO always has been a battler, the little underdog who made it all the way to the Hall of Fame.  —  The Scooter will turn 89 later this month, and this has been a difficult year for him and Cora.  Rizzuto couldn't make it to Yankee Stadium for Old-Timer's Day.

Notes: No worries for Pettitte  —  Astros not concerned by left-hander's ankle pain  —  ST. LOUIS — Andy Pettitte had his left ankle packed in ice for the better part of the last 48 hours, hoping he would not have to miss his start on Monday.  —  But a couple of hours before game time at Busch Stadium …

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.

Now, it's about confidence  —  ST. PETERSBURG - The Devil Rays have just 12 road games remaining this season heading into tonight's series opener in New York, which leaves them little time to reverse their troubles away from Tropicana Field since the All-Star break.

Bautista to meet Bonds in debut with Rockies  —  These are firsts that rarely have a pitcher lining up for seconds.  Denny Bautista makes his Rockies debut tonight, working for the first time in San Francisco, where Colorado melts like Ghirardelli chocolate.  He will also get his first encounter with slugger Barry Bonds.

Wellemeyer could close  —  Bell wants to see whether long reliever has ability to finish games as season ends.  —  Royals manager Buddy Bell is pondering the idea as the season winds down.  —  "His stuff is good enough," Bell said.  "For me, he's a guy who we have to figure out what we're going to do with him.

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.