Instant replay to begin in series starting Thursday  —  MLB Instant Replay To Start On Thursday  —  NEW YORK — Major League Baseball reversed its long-standing opposition to instant replay and will allow umpires to check video on home run calls in series that start Thursday.

YANKS FACING ‘WILD’ PLAYOFF ROAD  —  EVEN SWEEPING THE SOX MAY NOT BE ENOUGH  —  Sweep dreams?  How about sweep and still weep?  —  With the Red Sox in Yankee Stadium's third base dugout for the start of a three-game series tonight, everybody is jazzed over the resumption of the greatest rivalry in baseball between blood rivals.

Report: With Maine on DL, Mets may call up Niese  —  NEW YORK — With John Maine back on the disabled list with a sore shoulder, the New York Mets are reportedly eyeing their farm system for pitching help.  —  Newsday reported that the Mets are preparing to call up top pitching prospect Jon Niese …

Kenny Rogers placed on waivers, could be traded soon  —  His experience in postseason is a plus  —  If a trade involving Tigers left-hander Kenny Rogers is going to happen before the end of this season, it likely will occur within the next several days.  —  The deadline to set postseason rosters …

RBI Algebra 101  —  Predicting RBI totals is a tough challenge for fantasy team owners.  —  Hitting ability plays a large part in driving in runs, the offensive context also matters.  A less powerful hitter with more opportunities may drive in more runs than someone batting behind poor offensive players.

Lamb's bat won't be silent for long  —  Look for third baseman Mike Lamb, designated for assignment Monday by Minnesota, to land somewhere.  Lamb could be a good fit for a few National League contenders looking for a left-handed bat off the bench.  —  The Twins signed Lamb to a two-year …

Marlins face costly offseason with 18 players eligible for arbitration  —  When it comes to stretching a dollar, the Marlins are pretty much the kings of Major League Baseball.  —  Yet their vaunted front office will have trouble making all (or even most) of the pieces fit this winter.  —  Eighteen.

Pirates Notebook: Getting antsy for Alvarez  —  The Pirates are running low on patience with Pedro Alvarez.  —  Ten full days have passed since the team and its first-round draft pick agreed to terms on a $6 million signing bonus, but Alvarez has yet to report for his physical or introductory news conference.

From the Basement, It's No Wonder Radio Reception Is Poor  —  Ah, the dog days of summer.  Time to kick back, relax on the porch with a tall glass of lemonade and listen to the quintessential sound of the season: the ballgame on the radio.  —  These days, however, hardly anyone's tuning in.

Fukudome still making progress  —  PITTSBURGH —Just like that, Kosuke Fukudome might be on his way back to becoming an every-day fixture in the Cubs' lineup.  —  And if manager Lou Piniella has his way, back to the No. 5 spot in the order.  —  Just one day after Piniella …

ONE MEANING-PHIL TWO-GAME SERIES  —  AMAZIN'S LOOK TO MAKE UP FOR '07  —  Johan Santana helped pitch the Twins into the postseason on four different occasions, so he knows what a team needs to do to get into the playoffs.  He also knows what happened between the Mets and Phillies a year ago …

Delgado hits two homers as Mets top Astros, 9-1  —  Mets starter Mike Pelfrey delivers a pitch Monday night against the Houston Astros.  (Bruce Gilbert, Newsday / August 25, 2008)  —  The cheers rose out of the throats of 49,791 Mets fans at Shea Stadium last night as Carlos Delgado celebrated among …