Elbow stiffness keeps Lidge out of ninth  —  Phils go with Contreras in final frame of Monday's victory  —  DENVER — Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said before Monday night's 9-5 victory over the Rockies that he was ready to turn Brad Lidge loose.  —  He then said after the game he wanted to stay away from him.

Hillman is failing  —  Trey Hillman hasn't failed.  Not yet, not final, not past tense.  There is still hope.  —  But Hillman is failing.  Right now, in Kansas City's conversation and the present tense.  Hope is fading, and school's not even out.  —  The calls for Hillman's job …

Commentary: For Griffey, Mariners, end is near  —  If life were as simple as fiction, the book on Ken Griffey Jr. and the Seattle Mariners would have closed late last summer, with him being carried around Safeco Field on the shoulders of his teammates.  Junior wanted one more year, the Mariners thought it might work and gave it to him.

Modern pitchers taken to task by legend Jenkins  —  MERRILLVILLE — During his keynote speech at Monday's Meet the RailCats luncheon at the Radisson Hotel, Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins lamented the lack of assertiveness on the part of modern pitchers.  —  “In my era, we knocked people on their butt …

Beckett's next start delayed  —  He has spasms in his back after BP  —  Manager Terry Francona announced Josh Beckett would be pushed back from tomorrow's scheduled start to Friday to give him a chance to throw a second side session, and to give Tim Wakefield a start.

Citi Field's Garbage Problem  —  At game time Monday night, the wind at Citi Field blew at 19 miles per hour, strong but not as gusty as it was Saturday and Sunday, when it blew trash in swirls across the field.  —  But trash was evident in the first inning, and it forced the grounds crew …

Glavine to have number retired by Braves  —  Left-hander to be inducted into club's Hall of Fame on Aug. 6  —  ATLANTA — The Braves will honor Tom Glavine with the same royal treatment that they provided Greg Maddux during a memorable ceremony last summer.

Final Pitch  —  It's with a great deal of excitement that I'm announcing today that I've taken a job as a Baseball Analyst in the front office of the Cleveland Indians.  I'm thrilled that I'll be joining the great Keith Woolner and Jason Pare in the Indians front office, and I'm excited to contribute to the club.

Angels regroup to top Rays in 11th  —  Rivera's walk-off sac fly overshadows Fuentes' hiccup  —  ANAHEIM — Angels manager Mike Scioscia knows there's no such thing as an easy win.  —  It certainly wasn't the case on Monday at Angel Stadium, when the Angels blew a four-run lead for the second …

Prospectus Q and A: Denard Span by David Laurila  —  Denard Span … David Laurila: Who are you out on the field?  —  Denard Span: Who am I on the field?  I'm definitely a confident ballplayer, a hard-working ballplayer.  It took a lot of hard work for me to get here …

Jurrjens aggravates left hamstring  —  Braves righty likely won't be activated from DL on Saturday  —  MILWAUKEE — Right-hander Jair Jurrjens suffered a setback on Monday that will likely keep him out beyond Saturday, when he becomes eligible to be activated from the disabled list.

Beltran is Jogging, & Chat with Will Carroll  —  Last week in Newsday, David Lennon said Carlos Beltran planned to try running on a baseball field yesterday in Port St. Lucie, Fla.  —  So far, there has been no news reported on how he did, or if he even tried to run.

NIX, ROLEN HELP REDS HOLD ON FOR WIN IN PITTSBURGH  —  The Sports Network  —  Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) - Laynce Nix and Scott Rolen each had a run- scoring double and Bronson Arroyo pitch seven-plus quality innings, as the Cincinnati Reds held on for a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates …

Note: David Wright's 9 to 10 Game Swings  —  ... David Wright is back to looking totally bewildered, be it in the batter's box or on the bases - but it appears it is a 9- to 10-game trend that has been going on all season...  - In his first 10 games of the season, Wright hit .290 and struck out 20 percent of the time.

Vazquez Shopped, Millwood and Mets, Johnson's Durability  —  On Monday afternoon I spoke with my main Yankees source down in Tampa, who informed me that the team has already received inquiries from several NL teams in regards to the availability of Javy Vazquez.