Cardinals mourn loss of pitcher Josh Hancock  —  Reliever killed in tragic automobile accident Sunday a.m.; tonight's game with Cubs is postponed  —  ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Cardinals were informed this morning by the St. Louis Police Department of the tragic death of pitcher Josh Hancock …

Williams Makes Case To Stay in Nats' Rotation  —  Blown Save, 12-Inning Loss Spoil Effort: Mets 6, Nationals 2  —  Washington Nationals Manager Manny Acta didn't mince words when asked about the significance of Jerome Williams's start against the New York Mets last night.

Sources: Pats agree to trade for Raiders WR Moss … The New England Patriots have reached a trade agreement in principle to acquire wide receiver Randy Moss from the Oakland Raiders for a fourth-round round choice in Sunday's second day of the NFL draft.  —  There are still details to be completed …

Karstens fractures right fibula  —  Surgery ruled out, but no return date set for rookie hurler  —  NEW YORK — Yankees right-hander Jeff Karstens suffered a fractured right fibula on his first pitch Saturday, as he was struck by a line drive that forced him to exit the game.

Punchless Pirates see streak end, 8-1  —  Reds seize upon Paulino's lapse for four-run fifth inning  —  Pirates left fielder Jason Bay fails to come up with David Ross' line-drive in the fifth inning last night at PNC Park.  —  Fact is, it did not matter — not much, anyway …

SURVEY SAYS....If you were building a team from scratch, would you start with Jose Reyes or A-Rod?  —  It probably won't have the legs of "Willie or Mickey?" because they likely won't share the Big Apple spotlight for such an extended period.  But at the moment, New York baseball enthusiasts can debate this question:

Holy Francona  —  It's already been an amusing morning.  Probably has something to do with all of us being stir crazy — too many Yankees-Red Sox games in too short a period, I'd guess.  —  The session with Terry Francona was scheduled for 10 a.m., but when we arrived we were told …

Astros purchase Pence's contract  —  Randolph designated for assignment after Friday's game  —  HOUSTON — It took only 22 games — and one very deflating seven-game losing streak — for the Houston Astros to begin shaking up the team with hopes that a change of inventory may provide a boost in the win-loss column.

It's only fair that Fehr sees No. 756  —  It figured to be a pretty vanilla trading season, what with so many clubs expected to still be in contention come July 31.  But the sale of Tribune (which owns Newsday) to real estate mogul Sam Zell, and the announcement that Zell will sell the Cubs, has changed the horizon.

Tavarez's job in limbo vs. Yanks  —  Boston (15-8) at New York (9-13), 1:05 p.m. ET  —  Julian Tavarez may be pitching for more than just a win on Sunday against the Yankees.  His spot in the rotation could be in limbo.  —  Coming into the game with an 8.36 ERA in three starts this season …