Maine goes on DL; Niese likely to fill in  —  The Mets put sore-shouldered John Maine on the 15-day disabled list yesterday and are preparing to replace him in the rotation with highly regarded minor-leaguer Jon Niese, according to a person familiar with the club's thinking.

Marlins face costly offseason with 18 players eligible for arbitration  —  When it comes to stretching a dollar, the Marlins are pretty much the kings of Major League Baseball.  —  Yet their vaunted front office will have trouble making all (or even most) of the pieces fit this winter.  —  Eighteen.

As days wind down, A-Rod must step up  —  September starts Tuesday for the Yankees.  So let's see, starting Tuesday, if Joe Girardi's Yankees can be the same kind of finishers in the American League East that Joe Torre's Yankees always were.  —  Let's see if the Yankees can hit against a real team …

Monday pregame: Lamb designated for assignment  —  SEATTLE — To make room on their roster for Eddie Guardado, the Twins designated Mike Lamb for assignment.  —  Lamb was in the first year of a two-year, $6.6 million contract, so the Twins are eating $3.8 million with this move.

Delgado hits two homers as Mets top Astros, 9-1  —  Mets starter Mike Pelfrey delivers a pitch Monday night against the Houston Astros.  (Bruce Gilbert, Newsday / August 25, 2008)  —  The cheers rose out of the throats of 49,791 Mets fans at Shea Stadium last night as Carlos Delgado celebrated among …

Fukudome still making progress  —  PITTSBURGH —Just like that, Kosuke Fukudome might be on his way back to becoming an every-day fixture in the Cubs' lineup.  —  And if manager Lou Piniella has his way, back to the No. 5 spot in the order.  —  Just one day after Piniella …

Elias Ranking Update  —  By Tim Dierkes [August 26 at 9:56am CST]  —  Eddie Bajek has been doing great work reverse-engineering the Elias rankings over at his blog, Detroit Tigers Thoughts.  He's now ranked catchers, first basemen, outfielders, and designated hitters for both leagues.

Olympians watch Drillers fall in home finale  —  Olympic bronze medalists Dexter Fowler and Casey Weathers looked on as the Drillers (25-38 second half, 54-79) struggled in their regular season home finale, losing 14-1 to Northwest Arkansas.  —  Fowler and Weathers received a standing ovation …

From the Basement, It's No Wonder Radio Reception Is Poor  —  Ah, the dog days of summer.  Time to kick back, relax on the porch with a tall glass of lemonade and listen to the quintessential sound of the season: the ballgame on the radio.  —  These days, however, hardly anyone's tuning in.

Tulowitzki trying to adjust to sitting, hitting in No. 8 slot  —  SAN FRANCISCO — It has been a remarkable ride during the past year.  Troy Tulowitzki has gone from well-earned celebrity to overdosing on humility.  —  He has not started two of the past five games, and he hit eighth Monday for the second day in a row.

Perspective Time  —  In a 4-3 win over the Detroit Tigers last night, Grady Sizemore hit home runs number 30 and 31, pushing his season line to a phenomenal .271/.383/.532 mark.  Having turned just 26 three weeks ago or so, Sizemore has affirmed that his outstanding 2006 campaign (.290/.375/.533) was no outlier.

AL Contenders: Remaining Schedules  —  We are entering the home stretch and four teams in the American League are having it out for three post-season spots.  Presented below is relevant data pertaining to each contender's schedule make-up.  One note; WAOWP means Weighted Average Opponents' Win Percentage.

Sizemore joins 30-30 club with homer  —  First Indians player since 1987 to accomplish the feat  —  DETROIT — We now have a statistic that can sum up Grady Sizemore's offensive ability better than any scouting report could.  —  The stat is 30-30.  Sizemore reached that impressive home …