Padres-Cardinals Preview  —  With their lead in the NL Central rapidly disappearing, the St. Louis Cardinals hope the return of Jim Edmonds can provide the boost the team desperately needs.  —  Edmonds and the Cardinals continue a three-game series against the San Diego Padres on Tuesday …

Tee time stays same for Giambi  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Jason Giambi's hopes of speeding up his rehab schedule and swinging off a tee yesterday were put to rest not too long after he showed up in the clubhouse.  —  Joe Torre approached Giambi when he was in the trainer's room and told …

Tonight's start may be Jennings' last this year  —  Jason Jennings knows the end will come someday.  But will it be today?  There's a strong possibility Jennings will pull the curtain on one of the best years by a Rockies starter when he faces the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight.

Mailbag: Nats pulling out broom for '07?  —  Beat reporter Bill Ladson answers Nationals fans' questions … Where can we send a get-well card to Nick Johnson?  My entire family wants to wish him well.  — The Landa family, Washington D.C.  —  There are many who have expressed …

Girardi, not wild card, story of final week  —  PHILADELPHIA — With the Marlins all but eliminated from playoff contention, the only drama remaining for the club concerns the fate of manager Joe Girardi.  —  Not whether he will be fired but when.  —  "I don't think anything would shock …

Foul Performance Drops Red Sox Into Third  —  TORONTO — There was no doubt the ball David Ortiz hit in his third at-bat Wednesday night was high enough and had the distance.  But it hooked foul, landing in the second row of the upper deck.  —  That was the closest he came to hitting …

Turnbow blows control experiment  —  Adjusting his pitching mechanics backfires  —  thaudricourt@journalsentinel.com  —  Derrick Turnbow was so erratic with his control in 2004 that the Los Angeles Angels gave up on him after the season and placed him on waivers.

Tales of the Two Who Got Away: Minaya and Randolph  —  In leading their team to the playoffs next week, Omar Minaya and Willie Randolph are headed there with what is most likely a record.  —  The Elias Book of Baseball Records doesn't list it.  Neither Elias nor anyone else keeps track of it.

Beyond the Lunch Pail  —  As Dodgers GM, Ned Colletti is a long way from his working-class upbringing, but his blue-collar roots still run deep  —  FRANKLIN PARK, Ill. — Amid the mad swirl of a pennant race, all it takes for Ned Colletti to find his center is to tour his hardscrabble hometown in a rental car.

Baseball's Oldest Old-Timer Opens a Window on the Past  —  Silas Simmons was handed a photograph and asked if he recognized anyone in it.  He fixed his eyes on the sepia stares and moved his curled fingers over the glass and frame, soaking in the faces for more than 20 silent seconds.

Saito might be one and done  —  His stay in America could be short.  —  LOS ANGELES - Takashi Saito came halfway around the world to throw one pitch.  —  "From the beginning, it was my goal - the thing I wanted most - to step on a major-league mound and throw from a major-league mound just once …

Farewell week begins with a dud  —  Giants are eliminated from wild-card race in what is likely the final homestand for some players  —  SAN FRANCISCO - As the Giants began their version of Finals Week — a season-ending homestand that could serve as an extended goodbye for many of them …

Willie pitches in Trach talk  —  The games have grown so mundane that each passing day at Shea now is spent trying to read between the lines rather than dissecting what's actually happening between them.  —  Will Steve Trachsel or John Maine round out the playoff rotation?