A closer look at the Phillies-Rays Game 2 matchup … Phillies at Rays  —  Series: World Series, Game 2; Phillies lead 1-0  —  TV: Fox  —  Starters: Brett Myers (2-0, 5.25) vs. James Shields (1-2, 3.72)  —  The Phillies did what they needed to do last night, winning Game 1 behind their ace, Cole Hamels.

GM says Braves' prospects not up for Peavy trade  —  ATLANTA — General manager Frank Wren insists the Braves won't trade their most valued prospects, apparently not even to bring Jake Peavy to Atlanta.  —  Speculation about the Braves' interest in Peavy has grown since the San Diego Padres confirmed …

Could Grace replace Brenly in Cubs booth?  —  Criticism could hurt odds of returning in TV booth  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Mark Grace is likely to be on the short list of candidates to replace Bob Brenly in the Cubs broadcast booth if Brenly gets the managerial job in Milwaukee.

Boras states his case for keeping Varitek  —  The Red Sox and Jason Varitek have not initiated contract discussions, which is not unusual this soon after the season, said Scott Boras, the agent who represents the catcher.  —  Boras did not offer any specific figures Varitek is aiming for …

With stolen base, Jason Bartlett is America's new taco hero  —  Oh, sweet taco thievery!  For the second year in a row, everyone in America is eligible for a free taco at Taco Bell, thanks to a stolen base in the first game of the World Series.  —  So who can we thank for being a tortilla …

Selig hopes to shorten postseason by 2-3 days  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Baseball commissioner Bud Selig hopes to shorten the postseason by two or three days next season by eliminating some off days.  —  MLB shifted the start of the World Series from Saturday to Wednesday beginning last year, adding four extra days off.

OK, but who's on first?  —  The Mets just announced that Razor Shines will replace Luis Aguayo as the third-base coach and Randy Niemann takes over for Guy Conti in the bullpen (bye Pedro).  Otherwise, Dan Warthen returns as pitching coach, Howard Johnson holds on as hitting coach and Sandy Alomar is back as bench coach.

How Bad It Was For Beckett  —  Josh Beckett wanted to keep it a mystery.  —  “It's the same thing I kept telling the coaching staff, the training staff,” said the Red Sox starter following his team's elimination from the American League Championship Series, “I just said, ‘Terrific.’ It was what it was.”

Madden: Met hate helped Phils  —  ST. PETERSBURG - It took a half-dozen under-the-radar player moves by Pat Gillick to produce the first Phillies World Series team since 1993, and the Phillie GM characteristically passes off most of the credit to his scouts and assistants.

Breaking Down the Draft: More Requests (Part 3)  —  Chatwood likely would have gone much higher in last June's draft if he had been two or three inches taller.  However, the Angels were able to snag him at 74, their first pick of the draft.  —  Chatwood's arsenal consists to two potentially plus pitches:

Video: The Shea Stadium Scoreboard is No More  —  The following video, sent in from a reader of MetsBlog.com, is of the scoreboard at Shea Stadium being knocked to the ground, and, I will not lie, it is sad and surreal to see:  —  Ouch...now that is a collapse.

Third-Annual AFL Rising Stars Rosters  —  The Arizona Fall League's third-annual Rising Stars game will take place tomorrow night (Friday Oct. 24).  The players were split into two teams, as chosen by scouting and minor-league directors for all MLB organizations.