KAAT'S CAREER ONE OF THE BEST  —  JIM Kaat's 23-year broadcasting career ends tonight with Red Sox-Yanks on Ch. 9.  With his departure, New York loses much more than a calm, clear and wise voice.  —  We lose a noise and nonsense filter, a fellow who never tried to dazzle us, talk down to us …

SoCal showdown  —  Plenty at stake in four-game Padres-Dodgers series  —  With an offseason that seemed to do more damage than triage, with an 8-15 record, a five-game losing streak and a 5- deficit heading into the bottom of the ninth inning on April 30, the San Diego Padres seemed …

Tigers claim Stairs off waivers  —  Outfielder/first baseman provides another left-handed bat  —  DETROIT — The Tigers announced on Friday that they've claimed first baseman/outfielder Matt Stairs off waivers from the Texas Rangers, adding another piece for the stretch run to what has been a struggling offense.

Free Agent Compensation Could Be in Jeopardy  —  Once Washington Nationals left fielder Alfonso Soriano becomes the fourth player to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in the same season — he needs just one more stolen base — the attention will likely turn to Soriano's future.

New York's runaway trains on a collision course  —  The next thing you know, they will try to make us believe that someone will pitch a perfect game in the World Series, which is what happened the last time the planets were aligned like this.  —  It has been exactly 50 years since …

Schmidt injury leaves pitching plans uncertain  —  As the Giants headed to the airport Thursday, bound for St. Louis, they did not know if Jason Schmidt, nursing soreness in his upper back, would make his scheduled start tonight.  —  Manager Felipe Alou said the team would wait until today to determine Schmidt's availability.

Plunking puts Posada in pain  —  One of the main goals for any first-place team simply cruising to the finish line is to get through each day without suffering new injuries.  —  Jorge Posada left last night's 7-4 win over Tampa in the seventh inning with a bruised left elbow after he was clipped …

Mets Lobbying to Get Cy Young Votes for Wagner  —  The Mets have gone into promotion mode, lobbying for Billy Wagner for Cy Young.  This E-mail went to at least one voter today.

Reality check: Buck looks a lot like Bill  —  The Rangers' final homestand of the season opened in Arlington on Thursday night.  Only the hardcore will care.  The vast majority will keep going east or west on I-30.  —  Although minimal local baseball intrigue will be involved over the next two weeks …

Bill Simmons vs. Stephen Colbert  —  Last night, my former ESPN.com colleague - and the Web's most popular sportswriter — Bill Simmons was on "The Colbert Report" to support the paperback release of his book "Now I Can Die In Peace."  —  In the most appropriate homage to Bill …

Let The Madness Begin  —  Before the affiliation shuffle has officially gotten under way, a major alteration could be taking place in the Appalachian League.  —  The Blue Jays have notified the league that they won't be back in Pulaski next year, and they apparently intend to drop …

From the Cubicle  —  Live play-by-play commentary of today's Cubs-Reds game from lonelyguy28932.  —  I'm coming up short on reasons why the Cubs are even still playing.  They've established themselves as the worst team in the National League.  End of story.

1 For 1  —  Chuck James is so The Man.  —  With the help of 1 or 2 vital Braves (it's the least they can do) taking advantage of a roster of decomposing Phillies — Randall Simon, Jeff Conine, Jose Hernandez, Jamie Moyer...is that Johnny Callison lingering by the bat rack? — the magic number is 1.

ESPN.com  —  It's starting to become a tired refrain each week, but yes, the New York teams occupy the top two spots in ESPN.com's Power Rankings again.  —  But this week we've decided to throw a Trevor Hoffman changeup at you (and no, Hoffman's Padres aren't challenging for No. 1).

MEET THE SPOILERS  —  Ramirez's HR rallies Cubs past Dodgers.  —  NOTEWORTHY PERFORMANCES  —  GOOD  —  Matt Cain continued his dominance in the Giants' 5-0 win over the Rockies.  Cain allowed two hits in eight superb innings to win his fourth straight start.

Skipper staying subdued  —  Hurdle spares his young club fire and brimstone … The Rox need a new manager who isn't afraid to chew some tail and light a fire when they aren't performing.  Clint Hurdle is well past his due date!  — Steve, Nashville, Tenn.

USC should forfeit the 2004 national crown after reports that Reggie Bush and his family appear to have accepted financial benefits from prospective agents.  —  LOS ANGELES - The would-be agents who provided the house, the money for the tricked-out car, the luxury hotel rooms and the tens …

A Bittersweet Taste of Reality for a Fantasy Baseball Expert  —  The St. Louis Cardinals are stumbling toward the postseason with a patchwork pitching staff.  Their closer, Jason Isringhausen, is out indefinitely with a hip injury, and Mark Mulder, who started the season as their No. 2 starter …

In TV booth, Cohen gets the picture  —  While the fate of Western civilization did not rest on whether Gary Cohen could make the transition from the Mets' radio booth to being the team's TV voice on SportsNet New York, inquiring minds were asking whether he could.  —  Cohen was talking about this the other day.