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.

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 …

Franco marks 25th anniversary of debut  —  Ageless wonder singled in first at-bat with Phillies  —  NEW YORK — Twenty-five years has its way of blurring memories.  So it is with Julio Franco, who, on the silver anniversary of his big-league debut, can't dig out details of the night that became the intro to an epic.

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?

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 …

Rays put 3B Iwamura on disabled list (AP)  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Devil Rays placed Japanese third baseman Akinori Iwamura on the 15-day disabled list with a right oblique strain on Tuesday.  —  Iwamura was hurt in Monday's 10-8 win over the New York Yankees.

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 …

Best in the biz  —  Ranking the top managers in the game; A-Rod update  —  The news last week that Braves manager Bobby Cox received a one-year extension shouldn't surprise anyone.  He deserved it, and he should be allowed to decide when he goes out, if ever.

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 …

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 …

Monitoring Lewis  —  Indians lefthander Scott Lewis was rocked around at Double-A Erie on Monday, giving up five extra-base hits—including a first-inning, three-run home run to Sea Wolves second baseman Michael Hollimon—in just three innings of Akron's 9-4 loss.

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 …