Playing the slots  —  One of the usual exercises during baseball's collective-bargaining negotiations goes something like this: Owners ask for a system to pay draft picks pre-determined bonuses.  The union says no. And after that short dalliance, they discuss bigger, more important things.

Notes: Little holds closed-door meeting  —  Manager looking for Dodgers to snap three-week slide  —  LOS ANGELES — Manager Grady Little held a team meeting prior to Monday night's game against the Houston Astros in an attempt to get his team out of a three-week funk in which the Dodgers …

Source says Mets have no interest in Piazza  —  The Mets' pitching has been a question for most of the season.  But the question now is just who is going to catch?  Not Mike Piazza.  —  The Mets may reek slightly of desperation right now, but according to one source …

Notes: Polanco sets all-time record  —  Monday's errorless game gives infielder milestone  —  DETROIT — Despite the fact it was set in a loss, the record for most consecutive errorless games by a second baseman means a lot to Placido Polanco.  —  "This game has been around for a long time," Polanco said.

Just like that, Cubs lose their swagger  —  Everything in baseball can change so quickly for a team ... and, once again, it has.  —  Not so long ago, the Cubs could not have been sitting prettier.  They had scratched and clawed their way into first place.

Powerful Company  —  Right Off The Bat, The 500 Home Run Club Is Tough To Separate  —  Here we take the 22 members of the 500 home run club and rank them, not by how many they hit - you could do that yourself - but by how they hit them.  Who was most remembered as a home run hitter?

Sexson blasts away at funk  —  9th-inning homer wins it for M's, caps 3-RBI night  —  It was a dream matchup between the Venezuelan superstar pitcher of today and the man who many expect to be the Venezuelan superstar pitcher of tomorrow.  —  In the end, however, neither was around when the game was decided.

Pirates Notebook: Phelps fits into plans for 2008 in key way  —  The Pirates' 2007 season must run its course, but early hints about the makeup of the 2008 team are surfacing.  —  One arose in the second game last night against San Francisco when Josh Phelps made his first start at catcher since Oct. 5 …

Loud, proud and unbowed  —  Mets' Milledge says he can't help but be impetuous, spirited self  —  NEW YORK — Lastings Milledge might as well be a rock star.  —  The 22-year-old Mets outfielder struts into his office every day with a pair of sleek Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses fixed over his eyes …

Some think Gagné is thrown off by role  —  When the deal was made at the trading deadline, it was Dodgers bench coach Dave Jauss who first put a slight damper on the euphoria of Red Sox Nation in acquiring accomplished closer Eric Gagné.  —  "One thing to remember," said Jauss.

Home stretch good time to make a stand  —  If you're going to make a case for why the Red Sox will not lose their lead in the AL East, it was precisely what we saw last night: Their starting pitching is too good.  —  If you're going to make a case for why they might squander it …

PEDRO PROGRESS  —  REHAB START NO. 2 TODAY  —  With the rust perhaps gone, Pedro Martinez will have rehab start No. 2 this afternoon.  —  Martinez's second rehab outing will be with the Gulf Coast League Mets at noon in St. Lucie.  The ace has had five days' rest since his first rehab effort.

The Voice You Don't Hear on Fox Belongs to Joe Buck  —  Joe Buck ended his regular-season baseball schedule for Fox Sports on Aug. 4, having called eight games in 19 weeks and the All-Star Game, his lightest load since he was anointed the network's lead major league baseball voice in 1996.

Tigers agree to trade minor leaguer Hannahan to Oakland  —  The Tigers have agreed to trade Jack Hannahan, an infielder at Triple-A Toledo, to the Oakland Athletics, according to an individual with knowledge of the deal.  —  Hannahan is expected to fly to the West Coast with Oakland's big-league club …