More important than just a win  —  A mix of magic and emotion made it simply one of the most memorable nights in Marlins history.  —  Florida continued to roar back in the NL wild-card chase with a 16-5 drubbing of the Mets that included a season-high 20 hits and a franchise-record five home runs — three by unsung Cody Ross.

Abreu gave Yankees a vital boost in spring away from AL East field  —  BALTIMORE — Johnny Damon says when the New York Yankees landed Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Bobby Abreu at the July 31 trading deadline "we were playing on fumes."  —  When you talk about the Yankees …

For Nats, Similar Themes Give Different Result  —  It could develop into a full-scale battle between the pitchers and the hitters if the Washington Nationals were to let it go that far.  In a four-game series over the weekend in Colorado, they hit and ran and sent balls all over the park …

A new home for Figgins?  —  ANAHEIM - Chone Figgins says he feels at home in center field, a residency that could be short-lived depending on offseason maneuverings that could wind up with the utility man getting traded.  —  "I'm starting to love center field a little bit because it's just fun to get out there and run," Figgins said.

Notes: Halladay healing nicely  —  Jays ace says he's not experiencing stiffness in right elbow  —  SEATTLE — Breathe easy Blue Jays fans — Roy Halladay is on the mend.  Toronto's ace sat at his locker inside the visitor's clubhouse at Safeco Field, wearing an ice pack on his right elbow prior to Monday's game against Seattle.

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.

Leader of the attack  —  On Saturday afternoon, Rangers center fielder Gary Matthews Jr. was asked about the possibility of scoring 100 runs this season.  —  At the time, it seemed an outside chance.  Matthews had scored 84 runs in 128 games played and would need to score 16 runs in the team's final 20 games to hit the milestone.

Minor honors for Rangers' prospects Hurley, Gold  —  Right-hander joins Rangers' top prospects; infielder excels in Frisco  —  DETROIT - The Rangers' trio of top pitching prospects officially became a quartet Monday.  —  Right-hander Eric Hurley, who moved up to Double-A Frisco …

Beyond Moneyball  —  Why A's Beane succeeds where others have failed  —  It's the man, not the methodology.  —  Moneyball was a superbly written tale, and while the book got it right in that the stunning achievements of the Oakland A's should indeed be attributed to their great general manager Billy Beane …

Barajas wants to be the No. 1 man  —  Catcher has split time with fellow backstop Laird this season  —  It could be really easy for Rangers catcher Rod Barajas to lose his cool.  —  Easy for him to blow his top, to lose his composure or spout off about the 2006 season.  —  But that's just not his style.

The Cubs GM tells Our Guy there have been few things to smile about this season  —  We played some bad baseball.  We had a bad stretch in May and June.  No excuses.  The loss of Derrek shouldn't have made the club go that bad.  You can spend a lot of time trying to figure it out, but we had a bad couple months.

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 …

Sox in own Futures Game: Play out string with eye toward next year  —  It is one of the oldest rules in baseball, and it goes something like this: You don't judge players during spring training, and you certainly do not judge them now, in September, assuming you are out of the playoff race.