Phillies' Howard, Yankees' Jeter win Hank Aaron Award  —  ST. LOUIS — Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard and New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter were honored Wednesday with the Hank Aaron Award, which is presented annually to the top offensive performer in each league.

Agent: Sheffield seeks multiyear deal  —  Unhappy about speculation Yanks will pick up option, trade him  —  NEW YORK — Gary Sheffield will be perfectly happy to play first base for the Yankees in 2007.  —  As long as he also does so in 2008 and 2009, that is.

World Series Prospectus  —  Game Three  —  The phrase "must win game" is a bit overwrought when it comes to Game Three of a seven-game series.  But this was a must-win game for the Cardinals.  —  And win the Cardinals did.  Chris Carpenter made it look easy, using just 82 pitches to get through his eight innings.

Busch Stadium radar gun readings a little slow on Zumaya  —  ST. LOUIS — The Detroit Tigers didn't accuse St. Louis pitcher Chris Carpenter of anything, but they sure did find the radar gun readings at Busch Stadium a little strange Tuesday night.  —  A few Tigers noticed …

Scuffling buddies: Dibble huge fan of Lou  —  Former closer cites Piniella's passion, love of the game  —  ST. LOUIS — Mention Lou Piniella and Rob Dibble in the same sentence, and ''The Scuffle'' immediately comes to mind.  It was one of those caught-on-tape moments that helped shape Piniella's public image — good or bad.

Mattingly to replace Mazzilli  —  Don Mattingly will replace Lee Mazzilli as Yankees bench coach, people with knowledge of the situation told Newsday Thursday.  —  The promotion brings Mattingly one important step closer to the manager's seat and solidifies him as the favorite to be Joe Torre's successor.

Giants start clock on Bochy  —  TEAM HAS ONE WEEK TO REACH AGREEMENT WITH PADRES MANAGER  —  The Giants and Bruce Bochy have determined that their interest in each other is genuine.  —  So Giants General Manager Brian Sabean on Wednesday called Kevin Towers, his Padres counterpart …

Nippon Ham earns Japanese crown  —  Club caps title run with 4-1 victory over Chunichi Dragons  —  SAPPORO, Japan — There wasn't much hope for the Chunichi Dragons to get the Japan Series back to Nagoya — not with the way the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters were playing.

Big league conspiracy  —  Collusion deal nets $12M  —  ST. LOUIS - It turns out that the labor negotiations that produced a new collective bargaining agreement between the baseball owners and players nearly two months ahead of the Dec. 19 expiration of the old one weren't entirely devoid of acrimonious, hot-button issues.

Musial tosses gutter ball over Garagiola split  —  Although it was quickly overshadowed by Chris Carpenter's pitching effort, Cardinal fans were wondering what happened to Stan Musial, who had been scheduled to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 3 Tuesday night.

Notes: Black to be interviewed by A's  —  Angels pitching coach in demand, finally feels he's ready  —  ANAHEIM — The courtship of Bud Black continues, and next week he will discuss the managerial opening in Oakland.  —  The Angels' pitching coach already has one interview under his belt …

Washout aids pitchers  —  Jeff Suppan is fond of saying he lives in the moment.  —  Wednesday night, he learned that his next moment has been extended at least another 24 hours.  —  When Major League Baseball postponed Game 4 of the World Series at 9:20 p.m., it also extended the wait …