Going deep (pockets)  —  They have pitching (or, at least, they appear to have pitching).  Shawn Hill, Jason Bergmann, Tim Redding, John Lannan, Joel Hanrahan, Matt Chico and a bumper crop of young prospects give the Washington Nationals hope for 2008 and beyond.

Baseball needs to lead this battle  —  LIKE THIS STORY?  —  There is only one solution, and trust me, it's not coming from the Mitchell report.  —  It's not coming from all those players who would have us suddenly believe that they are growth-hormone deficient.

Blogger Beat: Chop-n-Change  —  This season, at the beginning of each series, MetsBlog will attempt to get the perspective of the opposition and their fans.  From this, we hope to be better educated on the opposition going into a series.  It also gives us a fine opportunity to highlight some of our favorite team blogs.

Mets to launch online charity auction of authentic game-worn autographed 9/11 tribute caps  —  Auction on Mets.com to run through Nov. 1; Mets Foundation to distribute funds to benefit area charities  —  FLUSHING, N.Y. — The New York Mets, in conjunction with Mets-Steiner Collectibles …

Olsen: My future not up to Samson  —  PHILADELPHIA — Scott Olsen said he expects to pitch for the Marlins next season, even though team President David Samson has said the left-hander won't be welcome back if he is convicted of felony charges stemming from his arrest in July.

METS HIRE PEDRO'S TRAINER  —  Pedro Martinez's personal trainer is now officially a member of the Mets.  —  The Mets have hired Chris Correnti, who has been with Martinez during his rehab and has helped to oversee it, as a consultant for the remainder of the season.

Sizing Up Frank Coonelly to the Pirates  —  If there's one thing to be said about the Pittsburgh Pirates this year, at least they are riding the Titanic to the bottom of the icy blue while at least trying to rearrange those piloting the ship.  Faced with a 15th consecutive losing season …

Ramirez, Lilly lead Cubs past Cards 12-3  —  CHICAGO (AP) — The Cubs made the most of a brief stopover at Wrigley Field.  —  Aramis Ramirez homered twice and had four hits to help Ted Lilly earn his 15th victory, leading Chicago over the St. Louis Cardinals 12-3 on Monday.

Rangers' leaky pen makes mark in win  —  egrant@dallasnews.com  —  ARLINGTON - In case you had to tune into the Cowboys opening kickoff Sunday and missed the end of the Rangers game, which had been scheduled to start a mere five hours earlier, well, you missed another record-breaking win.

Delgado and playoffs  —  Carlos Delgado won't be playing on the rest of the homestand, and he'll be out longer than the 7-to-10-day span the Mets initially said.  —  Last Wednesday, the Mets said Delgado's strained right hip flexor would keep him out for a week to 10 days.

New York: The Hottest Corner in Baseball  —  Weekend News: Alex Rodriguez hit his 52nd home run of the season on Sunday, extending his consecutive games streak of going yard to five.  ARod has slugged seven homers during this span.  —  David Wright hit his 27th home run during Saturday's game, matching his career best in 2005.

Under The Knife  —  Glausgate  —  When Troy Glaus signed with the D'backs for four years and $45 million, he was actually taking a one-year pay cut.  He'd made $9 million in the last year of his deal with the Angels that had bought out his arbitration years, and although he'd been an All-Star …

Starters' ailments thorn in O's side  —  Oblique strain ends season for Bedard, likely Guthrie, too  —  The Orioles yesterday officially shut down pitching ace Erik Bedard for the rest of the season, ending his breakout campaign and sending a patchwork starting rotation into more flux.

Brawny arguments for top NL rookies  —  Brewers third baseman's season could net him hardware  —  The Milwaukee Brewers had a difficult second half until recently, but no one could blame Ryan Braun.  —  The 23-year-old third baseman is enjoying the kind of rookie campaign …