David Halberstam, 73, Reporter and Author, Dies  —  David Halberstam, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and tireless author of books on topics as varied as America's military failings in Vietnam, the deaths of firefighters at the World Trade Center and the high-pressure world of professional basketball …

Is there clutch?  Or is it the reverse?  —  Pirates' view varied on whether hitting changes in tight situations  —  Last season, Freddy Sanchez hit .386 with runners in scoring position.  Only the Cardinals' Albert Pujols' .397 mark was higher in the league.

Indians 7, Twins 3  —  Note: I'm still recovering from a busy weekend that included riding in a 15-person stretch limousine and eating a $125 "silver butter knife steak" at Murray's in downtown Minneapolis—trust me, the whole thing sounds more intriguing if I leave out some details …

Tigers batter Weaver  —  Somebody should do a room check at the Seattle Mariners' hotel in Texas.  The team that departed Anaheim on Sunday after being swept in a three-game series by the Angels appears to have left Jeff Weaver behind.  —  One day after the elder Weaver threw three mediocre innings …

Talk about long shots  —  Odds are stacked against 4-HR feat  —  Compared with Sunday night's battle against the hated Yankees, last night's game with Toronto was a day at the beach for Daisuke Matsuzaka.  (JIM DAVIS/GLOBE STAFF)  —  The probability of four consecutive home runs?

Hunter's bubbly gift to Royals broke MLB rule  —  Maybe a thank-you note would have sufficed.  —  Torii Hunter's gift of expensive champagne to the Kansas City Royals has the Minnesota Twins outfielder in some bubble trouble.  —  Hunter's gift of four bottles of Dom Perignon …

First place in spite of things  —  They have been finding ways to win, folks.  The Braves are in first place and have been finding ways to win late in games, getting big hits from a variety of people _ almost every time by someone not named Andruw.  —  They have the National League's second-best record …

Kahn should have no regrets  —  The boy who wrote "The Boys of Summer" will be 80 on Halloween.  At this stage of his life, the trick for Roger Kahn is to treat himself to writing projects that are comfortable and not consuming.  —  "I'm a consultant now," he says, from his home in Stone Ridge …

Delgado, Maine power Mets over Rockies (AP)  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Carlos Delgado hit his first home run of the season and John Maine pitched into the eighth inning, leading the New York Mets over the punchless Colorado Rockies 6-1 on Monday night.  —  Jose Valentin had a three-run homer and four RBIs …

Night of blowups at Wrigley  —  Cubs fail to hold 4-run lead, hitting coach shouts at umpires  —  Manager Lou Piniella was speechless Monday night after the Cubs blew a four-run lead in a 5-4, 12-inning loss to Milwaukee at Wrigley Field.  —  Piniella blew off his postgame interview session …

Wright's Swing Adding to Power Shortage  —  Through the first two full seasons of David Wright's career, he was a complete hitter.  In the second half of last season, he became a singles hitter, and now even the base hits seem to be disappearing.  —  This season, Wright has a modest average …

Braves offer financing plan for tickets  —  It works for furniture and appliances, so why not Braves tickets?  —  The Braves on Monday announced they have teamed up with GE Money to offer a 90-day same-as-cash financing plan on the purchase of full or partial season-ticket packages, which remain on sale.

Phil Hughes to Start Thursday  —  In a perfect world, GM Brian Cashman said, the Yankees would have let Phil Hughes pitch the entire season at Class AAA Scranton.  But things have been far from perfect for the Yankees' pitching staff this season.  —  So on Thursday at Yankee Stadium …