Roaring and soaring  —  Red Sox head to mountains with a 2-0 Series lead  —  He endeared himself to New England last spring when he modestly let it be known he was willing to be a "hero in the dark."  —  But last night, in the brightest lights that baseball can offer, the shadows fell away forever for Hideki Okajima.

Yankees won't make decision on manager until next week  —  BY MARK FEINSAND in New York and PETER BOTTE in Tampa  —  Don Mattingly, Joe Girardi and Tony Peña will have to wait until next week to find out who will win the Yankees' managerial sweepstakes, as the club adjourned its meetings for the weekend without a decision.

Baker keeping tabs on Cubs' Prior, Wood  —  Both could be free agents, and Reds need pitching  —  BOSTON — Whether it's simply to catch up on the past or plot for the future, new Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker has been chatting with his former Cubs co-aces, Mark Prior and Kerry Wood.

LaMar lands scouting gig with Phillies  —  Position has former Rays GM working with Lakey, Gillick  —  PHILADELPHIA — Chuck LaMar, who most notably served as Tampa Bay Devil Rays general manager, has joined the Phillies' as a director of professional scouting.

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR  —  YANKS LEAN TOWARD KEEPING ABREU, UTILIZING DUNCAN  —  By GEORGE KING in Tampa, Fla., and JOEL SHERMAN in Boston  —  In a minor move - compared to selecting a new manager and negotiating multi-year deals with Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Alex Rodriguez …

Baseball close to catching NFL as top $ sport  —  Major League Baseball's sales will surpass $6 billion for the first time this year, double the amount from 2000, and putting the sport closer to passing the NFL.  —  NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — When it comes to sales, the National Football League used …

Speed and defense  —  Part I  —  In this two-part article, I am going to look at two things.  Part I examines the relationship between speed, as estimated by my own rough version of Bill James' speed score, and defense, as measured by Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR).

Braves claim Resop for bullpen depth  —  In corresponding move, Paronto designated for assignment  —  ATLANTA — Looking to enhance the depth of pitchers that will compete for bullpen spots during next season, the Braves have claimed right-handed reliever Chris Resop off waivers from the Angels.

Report: Negotiations between Hunter, Twins silent  —  Twins free agent All-Star outfielder Torii Hunter hasn't had any contract offers from Minnesota since the regular season ended, according to a media report.  "I'm kind of disappointed, but what can you do?"  Hunter told the St. Paul Pioneer Press.