Mets Ignore Negatives and Hope They Go Away  —  The television stationed above John Maine was spouting gloom and doom.  No Pedro Martínez?  No ace?  No chance.  And so on.  Maine glanced up, rolled his eyes and dismissed the talk by spitting a stream of tobacco juice before focusing on a chess match in front of him.

Red Sox close out season against O's  —  Baltimore (69-90) at Boston (84-75), Friday, 7:05 p.m. ET  —  The grind that the Red Sox began in mid-February under the soothing sun in Fort Myers, Fla., will wind down this weekend at Fenway Park, when the Orioles come to town for a three-game series.

'Adrenaline' prompts Giles' quick return  —  PHOENIX - Padres right fielder Brian Giles, emboldened by the power of adrenaline, returned to the lineup last night, one day after a sprained right ankle caused him to miss just his fourth start of the season.  —  "I know with the meaning …

Facing free agency, Nixon reflects on his stay  —  Like Bill Haselman , then the catcher behind the plate, now the Red Sox first base coach, Trot Nixon was wearing a Red Sox uniform Sept. 18, 1996.  You might have missed him, on the end of the bench during that night's game in Detroit, as Roger Clemens pitched.

Manager sees bright future after pitcher's 1-hitter  —  BOSTON (AP) — One day after Daniel Cabrera ended his inconsistent season with a near no-hitter, Baltimore manager Sam Perlozzo predicted a bright future for the 25-year-old right-hander — again.  —  "He's got a real good note to go home …

Yanks' Johnson has herniated disc, playoffs in doubt  —  NEW YORK — Yankees lefty Randy Johnson has a herniated disc in his lower back, an injury that could prevent him from pitching in the playoffs next week.  —  The injury was discovered during an MRI exam Thursday.

More Players Are Taking the Train to the Game  —  To Heath Bell, the term "subway series" describes his life this season.  That's how he goes home after a night's work at Shea Stadium.  —  An hour and a half after the Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on a muggy night this season …

Zito gets call in A's playoff opener  —  Loaiza is tabbed as the Game 2 starter, with Harden or Haren to follow in Game 3  —  ANAHEIM - From Vida Blue and Catfish Hunter in the 1970s, to Dave Stewart every time in the late '80s and early '90s, to Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson this decade …

Sure sign that Mets are tired of Milledge's antics  —  WASHINGTON - KNOW YOUR PLACE, ROOK!  —  The hand-scrawled message hung above Lastings Milledge's locker after Friday's 4-3 victory over the Nationals.  At the bottom of the two sheets of paper was written, "Your Teammates."

Champagne arrival inspires fiery Olsen  —  MIAMI GARDENS — Marlins pitcher Scott Olsen arrived at Dolphin Stadium on Friday just in time to see bottles of champagne being wheeled into the ballpark, just in case the Phillies win the wild card this weekend.  —  "I hate the Phillies …

Santana silences A's in final start  —  Righty's seven scoreless innings cap impressive year  —  ANAHEIM — If only this string of games had meant something.  —  So strong was the belief they would be a factor at the end of the year, the entire clubhouse had circled the closing stretch …

Ranking the closers: Regular-season finale  —  For our final regular-season edition of Ranking the Closers, we thought it would be a good idea to look back at the entire season, rather than just the last 30 days.  —  We simplified our formula a bit, taking out strikeouts/nine innings …

2006 Major League Baseball postseason ad campaign to star Tommy Lasorda  —  One of baseball's most beloved personalities is the ambassador for October baseball; Lasorda leads fans nationwide"To the TV!"  —  Tommy Lasorda, a legendary manager and one of baseball's most charismatic personalities …

Angels announce Minor League organizational awards  —  Sean Rodriguez, Joe Saunders and Jeff Mathis honored  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Angels today announced their minor league organizational awards for the 2006 season, naming shortstop Sean Rodriguez as Player of the Year …

GM doesn't foresee big changes for '07  —  Williams might do some "tweaking" to improve in offseason  —  MINNEAPOLIS — If you are one of the many White Sox fans who appreciated the 2006 version of this talented team enough to not tear it apart for 2007, then count yourself in the same support group as general manager Ken Williams.

Wild win leaves LA tied atop NL West  —  Martin scores winning run on wild pitch to cap rally in ninth  —  SAN FRANCISCO — This might be a new generation of ballplayers, but the Dodgers-Giants rivalry is still the Dodgers-Giants rivalry.  —  It's already a part of Russell Martin …