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.

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: 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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.