Is there clutch?  Or is it the reverse?  —  Pirates' view varied on whether hitting changes in tight situations  —  Last season, Freddy Sanchez hit .386 with runners in scoring position.  Only the Cardinals' Albert Pujols' .397 mark was higher in the league.

Author Halberstam dies in car crash  —  Pulitzer Prize winner wrote many famed baseball books  —  SAN FRANCISCO — David Halberstam, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author who chronicled the Washington press corps, the Vietnam War generation and baseball, was killed in a car crash early Monday, a coroner said.

Indians 7, Twins 3  —  Note: I'm still recovering from a busy weekend that included riding in a 15-person stretch limousine and eating a $125 "silver butter knife steak" at Murray's in downtown Minneapolis—trust me, the whole thing sounds more intriguing if I leave out some details …

Talk about long shots  —  Odds are stacked against 4-HR feat  —  Compared with Sunday night's battle against the hated Yankees, last night's game with Toronto was a day at the beach for Daisuke Matsuzaka.  (JIM DAVIS/GLOBE STAFF)  —  The probability of four consecutive home runs?

Tigers batter Weaver  —  Somebody should do a room check at the Seattle Mariners' hotel in Texas.  The team that departed Anaheim on Sunday after being swept in a three-game series by the Angels appears to have left Jeff Weaver behind.  —  One day after the elder Weaver threw three mediocre innings …

Top prospect Hughes to pitch for Yanks Thursday  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A day after getting swept by the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees said Monday they plan on having top pitching prospect Phil Hughes make his major league debut Thursday against Toronto.

First place in spite of things  —  They have been finding ways to win, folks.  The Braves are in first place and have been finding ways to win late in games, getting big hits from a variety of people _ almost every time by someone not named Andruw.  —  They have the National League's second-best record …

Delgado, Maine power Mets over Rockies (AP)  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Carlos Delgado hit his first home run of the season and John Maine pitched into the eighth inning, leading the New York Mets over the punchless Colorado Rockies 6-1 on Monday night.  —  Jose Valentin had a three-run homer and four RBIs …

Hunter's bubbly gift to Royals broke MLB rule  —  Maybe a thank-you note would have sufficed.  —  Torii Hunter's gift of expensive champagne to the Kansas City Royals has the Minnesota Twins outfielder in some bubble trouble.  —  Hunter's gift of four bottles of Dom Perignon …

Kahn should have no regrets  —  The boy who wrote "The Boys of Summer" will be 80 on Halloween.  At this stage of his life, the trick for Roger Kahn is to treat himself to writing projects that are comfortable and not consuming.  —  "I'm a consultant now," he says, from his home in Stone Ridge …

Braves offer financing plan for tickets  —  It works for furniture and appliances, so why not Braves tickets?  —  The Braves on Monday announced they have teamed up with GE Money to offer a 90-day same-as-cash financing plan on the purchase of full or partial season-ticket packages, which remain on sale.

Night of blowups at Wrigley  —  Cubs fail to hold 4-run lead, hitting coach shouts at umpires  —  Manager Lou Piniella was speechless Monday night after the Cubs blew a four-run lead in a 5-4, 12-inning loss to Milwaukee at Wrigley Field.  —  Piniella blew off his postgame interview session …

Wright's Swing Adding to Power Shortage  —  Through the first two full seasons of David Wright's career, he was a complete hitter.  In the second half of last season, he became a singles hitter, and now even the base hits seem to be disappearing.  —  This season, Wright has a modest average …

Cleveland 7, Minnesota 3, 12 innings  —  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Cleveland's bullpen was a major problem last season, but the Indians now have some relievers they can rely on.  —  Ryan Garko drove in the go-ahead run for the second straight game, blooping a soft single in the 12th inning that sent …

Under The Knife: No Excuses by Will Carroll  —  No Excuses  —  Injuries are never an excuse.  Yes, they're often used that way, whether it's a GM shrugging his shoulders and saying it's a "part of the game," or if it's the guy in your fantasy league saying he would have won …