Matsui and Sheffield: Future Is All in the Wrist  —  Hideki Matsui has told Japanese reporters that he wants to reclaim his starting position in left field because it is vitally important to him to help the Yankees on both offense and defense.  Gary Sheffield told everyone …

14 in a row: 'You knew the end was coming'  —  ATLANTA (AP) — It had to end sometime.  —  How about 1992?  The Atlanta Braves were coming off their worst-to-first season, surely a fluke if there ever was one.  They were perennially one of baseball's worst teams, the guys who passed …

Wakefield takes on Orioles in return  —  Boston (77-67) at Baltimore (62-81), 7:05 p.m. ET  —  After nearly two months of being sidelined, veteran knuckleballer Tim Wakefield will be back on the mound Wednesday night at Camden Yards, when the Red Sox play the second game of this three-game series against the Orioles.

Mariners fire bench coach Hassey  —  SEATTLE (AP) — Stuck in last place, the Seattle Mariners have fired bench coach Ron Hassey.  —  Hassey held the job for two years.  Told before Tuesday's 4-2 win over Toronto that his contract would not be renewed for 2007, Hassey decided not to finish …

Marquis' short day proves too costly  —  Cards can't recover from briefest start of right-hander's career  —  ST. LOUIS — For three months, Jason Marquis seemed to pick up a win whether he pitched well or struggled.  For the past two months, it's been just the opposite.

Lots of reasons why it ended for Braves  —  When you finish first 14 times over 14 completed seasons, you assume every year is your year.  For the imperial Braves, this one finally wasn't.  The Mets made it official Tuesday night, winning in Florida to eliminate the Braves from the NL East race.

Giants in control when it comes to Bonds  —  Let's start with an aggressive strategy, one that might be difficult for the Giants to grasp, considering the various ways in which they've caved to left fielder Barry Bonds over the years.  —  The Giants, not Bonds, will make the call on whether he remains with the team in 2007.

Transaction Analysis  —  September 5-11  —  American League  —  National League  —  Purchased the contract of C-R Raul Chavez from Bowie (Double-A); transferred LHP Kurt Birkins from the 15- to the 60-day DL.  [9/5]  —  Recalled RHP Sendy Rleal from Ottawa (Triple-A) …

Liriano exits early  —  Twins lefthander Francisco Liriano is expected to miss the rest of the season after injuring his left elbow on Wednesday for the second time in six weeks.  —  Liriano left the game in the third inning after throwing a pitch to Oakland's Bobby Kielty.

Cubs' Rusch hospitalized with blood clot  —  CHICAGO (AP) — Cubs reliever Glendon Rusch was diagnosed with a blood clot in his lung and will miss the rest of the season.  A team trainer said the condition was not life threatening.  —  Rusch was sent to Northwestern Memorial Hospital during Tuesday night's …

Izturis' walk-off single beats LA in 11  —  Cubs overcome six errors, seven-run deficit to beat Dodgers  —  CHICAGO — The Cubs' 9-8, extra-inning win over the Dodgers will never be replayed on ESPN Classic, but it might show up on the Cartoon Network.  —  Cesar Izturis hit a walk-off RBI single …

The myth of clutch  —  With the MVP races in both leagues going down the wire, you are going to hear and read a lot about "big hits" and "clutchness" in the next few weeks.  The eventual winners probably will have some type of signature moment — a walkoff home run, most likely — to hang his campaign on.

Notes: Schilling won't face Yankees  —  Red Sox ace to throw simulated game Thursday in Baltimore  —  BALTIMORE — Forget about the luster of a Curt Schilling-Randy Johnson matchup, which could have happened in Saturday night's Game 2 of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium.

One Enchanted Evening  —  As I was taking notes during last night's games, I was thinking that today's column would be about "a night at the races."  You had key games up and down the scoreboard, with the AL Central, AL wild card, NL West and NL wild card being contested, albeit not in head-to-head action.

Benitez done for the season with right knee injury  —  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco closer Armando Benitez is done for the season with inflammation in his right knee.  —  The Giants said they would place the right-hander on the 60-day disabled list Thursday, after the club said Tuesday …