Cool Brew  —  MILWAUKEE - The junk-bond investor sat in the middle of the room, a slight and bespectacled man surrounded by grizzled baseball lifers wired on snuff and coffee, sure that his new business would be little like his old.  —  About an hour earlier, Mark Attanasio …

Stats Geek: Don't always save the best for last  —  Has bullpen management devolved to the point that a team must bring in its worst pitcher at the game's most crucial point?  —  Pirates fans know what I'm talking about.  With the Pirates ahead by four runs in the seventh inning on Saturday night …

Redskins RB Portis: Vick can do what he wants  —  While prosecutors and the league try to find out if Michael Vick was involved in a dog fighting ring at a Virginia house that he owned, one NFL player says it doesn't matter if he did take part.  —  "I don't know if he was fighting dogs or not …

Pirates Notebook: Rogers recalled; Chacon likely to start  —  It will not be a starter, but a reliever, coming to the Pirates from Class AAA Indianapolis.  —  And, in all likelihood, it will be Shawn Chacon who becomes the new fifth starter.  —  Brian Rogers, owner of a 1.35 ERA …

Notes: Losing Crawford would be bad move  —  If the Devil Rays are thinking about trading left fielder Carl Crawford, they should think again, one rival general manager says.  —  "I don't think they will do it and I don't think they should," the GM says.  "He's getting better and better.

Quentin's HRs rally Arizona by Rockies  —  PHOENIX (AP) — Even after homering twice and driving in a career-high five runs, Carlos Quentin refused to declare his season-long slump over.  —  "I'm not going to say anything about anything at all," Quentin said with a smile after leading …

Indians improve to 17-4 at home, top M's  —  CLEVELAND (AP) — One hefty snowstorm and 45 days later, the Cleveland Indians and Seattle Mariners finally played nine innings.  —  Casey Blake homered and Josh Barfield had two RBIs as the Indians remained baseball's best home team …

Mets head to Atlanta  —  Can add to lead, confidence  —  The Mets and Braves have been neck-and-neck since the start of the season, neither team leading by more than the 2-1/2-game cushion the Mets currently enjoy.  —  Now the Mets hope to gain a little separation from their NL East rivals …

Team doesn't want fans spooked  —  Senior execs stress: 'It's business as usual'  —  New owners of sports teams usually like to come in with a splash.  But when the Braves play their first home game under Liberty Media ownership Tuesday night, they'll go out of their way to tell fans it's business as usual at the ballpark.

Around the Horn: Abreu washed up?  —  The way right fielder Bobby Abreu is going, the Yankees could pass on his $16 million option for 2008.  Without Abreu, the Yankees could play Melky Cabrera every day or pursue a free-agent center fielder such as the Braves' Andruw Jones, Twins' Torii Hunter or Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki.

Arizona's Valverde, Houston's Pence named co-winners of Bank of America Presents the National League Player of the Week  —  Houston Astros outfielder Hunter Pence, whose .591 (13-22) batting average led the Majors, and Arizona Diamondbacks righthander Jose Valverde, who led the Majors with four saves …

Ortiz activated, goes to Giants' bullpen  —  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Russ Ortiz came off the disabled list Monday and assumed a new role for the San Francisco Giants: as a reliever.  —  Ortiz, the right-hander who began the season as the team's fifth starter, returned after being sidelined since …

Mailbag: What will happen with Teixeira?  —  Beat reporter T.R. Sullivan answers Rangers fans' questions … What is it with everybody wanting to get rid of Mark Teixeira?  Yes, he has had a slow start to the season, but then again, who hasn't?  Last year, we watched him have a slow start …

Red Sox: No time to bury Bombers  —  Boston won't revel in rival's struggles  —  BOSTON - The Yankees are staggering enough to have everyone in the franchise concerned.  The Red Sox are confident, loose and boast baseball's best record.  And after defeating a solid Atlanta team, 6-3 …