Damon Sits, and Rest of Yanks Might as Well Have  —  MINNEAPOLIS — The Yankees have been hopeless lately with runners in scoring position.  Yet when Manager Joe Girardi filled out his lineup Monday, he decided to rest the American League's leading hitter, Johnny Damon.

DESPERATE MANUEL WANTS CHANGE  —  FORGET about Gandhi.  Forget about Martin Luther King.  Jerry Manuel, a disciple of their calm, rational thinking, has found something at which even the great pacifist would grow intolerant: the Mets bullpen.  —  Manuel dismissed any lingering patience …

Dunn too much to afford  —  Defense, demeanor, salary too costly  —  The Reds, who are exciting only when they're not playing, traded Adam Dunn to the Arizona Diamondbacks Monday for a 23-year-old Class-A starting pitcher named Dallas Buck who, in another life, died in old Western movies.

It's a joint decision as rotation turns to Zink  —  CHICAGO - Charlie Zink had long suspected that no team, even the Red Sox, would be able to justify having two knuckleball pitchers in the rotation.  So it would make perfect sense to him that, when Tim Wakefield goes on the disabled list today, it will be Zink who fills the slot.

These could be the unkindest cuts of all for Dodgers  —  Brad Penny gets a Mohawk, Manny Ramirez is about to lose his dreadlocks, and the Dodgers can't seem to stay above .500.  Coincidence?  —  T.J. Simers  —  Twenty-two home games remaining, the Phillies are in town, and these are hairy times for the Dodgers.

Jays' Stewart disappointed to be cut adrift  —  TORONTO - Shannon Stewart stopped mid-speech, searching for the right word to convey his emotions.  —  “Another way to end my Blue Jay . . . experience,” he said over the phone from Florida.  —  The 34-year-old Stewart was released …

Mailbag: Should the Nats spend more?  —  Reporter Bill Ladson answers Nationals fans' questions … Will the Nationals spend some money to acquire Major League players this offseason?  I appreciate them building the farm system, but I can't wait forever.  What do you think of trying to sign a big-dollar player?

Richmond to 'pen as Jays recall Litsch  —  Odd-man-out Parrish optioned to Triple-A to make room  —  DETROIT— The Blue Jays ruffled a few feathers across Canada when they summoned Scott Richmond from the Minor Leagues and added him to their rotation last month.

Williams figures M's lefty likely not the right move  —  Though general manager Ken Williams admits he is never satisfied with his roster, it's becoming increasingly clear the White Sox will fill Jose Contreras' spot in the rotation from within instead of making a waiver trade.

Olsen says sore ankle passes test  —  MIAMI GARDENS - Scott Olsen is naturally optimistic, but even he started to worry a bit about his sprained right ankle when he hobbled off the team's charter from New York on Sunday night.  —  “It hurt when I got off the plane,” Olsen said.  “It looked bad.

Carpenter will see doctor  —  MIAMI — Cardinals starter Chris Carpenter will skip his scheduled between-starts throw today and return to St. Louis to meet with a team doctor about the arm pain that forced him from Sunday's game.  —  After reporting minimal soreness in his right arm Monday …

Manny being hairy, and Torre won't budge  —  There's a showdown coming between the fairly-new manager and his brand-spanking-new superstar outfielder, and it's nothing a tree surgeon or a guy with a hedge clipper couldn't settle.  —  Call it the Dreadlock Deadlock, and it is playing nightly at Dodger Stadium until further notice.