Mets rally, gain ground in NL East  —  NEW YORK (AP)—With a desperate rally in the rain, Carlos Beltran and the New York Mets kept their playoff destiny in their own hands.  —  Beltran singled home the winning run with two outs in the ninth inning and New York beat the Chicago Cubs 7-6 …

Jays manager Gaston extended 2 years  —  TORONTO (AP)—Cito Gaston signed a two-year contract extension with the Toronto Blue Jays before their home finale Thursday night against the New York Yankees.  —  Toronto has a 48-36 record since Gaston replaced John Gibbons on June 20.

Rivera Is Aching, but Yankees Can't Agree Where It Hurts  —  TORONTO — Mariano Rivera pitched four times in five days before the Yankees were eliminated from playoff contention this week.  On Thursday, he left the team to return to New York for a magnetic resonance imaging exam on his right shoulder.

Wet weather could impact races  —  Mets' farewell to Shea Stadium festivities in jeopardy  —  As if the National League East race and the Wild Card picture were not fuzzy enough, Mother Nature may deal Major League Baseball another dastardly card before the postseason begins on Wednesday.

Twins take first on Casilla's walk-off hit  —  Second baseman singles in 10th to complete sweep of Sox  —  MINNEAPOLIS — The jubilant way that the Twins jumped into a pile following Alexi Casilla's game-winning single on Thursday night made them look like a team that had just clinched a playoff spot.

Baseball's playoff teams start to map strategies  —  For the five teams already in the playoffs, this final weekend of the regular season is about preparation, strategy and auditions.  —  Managers of the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox …

Offseason Outlook: Cincinnati Reds  —  By Tim Dierkes [September 26 at 12:17am CST]  —  The Reds are next in our Offseason Outlook series.  Their probable commitments for 2009:  —  C - Ryan Hanigan - $400K  —  C - Wilkin Castillo - $400K  —  1B - Joey Votto - $400K  —  2B - Brandon Phillips - $4.75MM

Part 2: Winter moves may hit M's hard at plate  —  There is one distraction Raul Ibanez has been unable to block out as he puts together one of his finest seasons.  —  Ibanez compares himself to “a racehorse with blinders on” because of the way he can focus on nothing more than the task ahead.

Cakes on Moose  —  We debated last week, right here at The School of Roch, whether Mike Mussina belonged in the Hall of Fame.  —  Who better to ask than a Hall of Famer who's seen him pitch plenty of times?  —  I just got off the phone with Jim Palmer, not realizing that he's on the West Coast …