Rivera takes place in history with No. 500  —  Yankees' closer just second player to hit saves milestone  —  NEW YORK — Another save?  You'd have to excuse Mariano Rivera if that particular milestone didn't boost his excitement level — after all, he's been there and done that, now 500 times and still counting.

Yankees and Mets fans are unimaginative  —  sports, yankees, mets  —  Freakonomics — the book, the blog, the phenomenon — is basically about applying economic theory to non-traditional things.  Things like parenting and sumo and the Ku Klux Klan and what have you.

Sox hoping Lowell responds well to shot  —  Infielder could require DL stint if right hip doesn't improve  —  ATLANTA — The earliest that Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell will be back in the starting lineup would probably be Wednesday afternoon at Camden Yards against the Orioles.

Perfect time for Cubs to waive bye-bye to Carlos Zambrano  —  Carlos Zambrano covers his face as he listens to pitching coach Larry Rothschild.  (Nam Y Huh, Associated Press / June 28, 2009)  —  As Lou Piniella was saying on Friday, enough's enough.  —  Get Carlos Zambrano out of here, even if the Cubs have to give him away.

Pirates Notebook: Snell fans 17 for Indianapolis  —  Ian Snell found one good way to escape the “negativity:” Strike 'em all out.  —  In a superb return to Class AAA Indianapolis yesterday, he fanned 17 batters over seven innings, including his first 13 outs of a 2-1 victory against visiting Toledo.

Guest MMQB (cont.)  —  10 Things I Think I Think  —  1) I think with teams going pass happy, there will be at least 10 quarterbacks to throw for over 4,000 yards this season.  Seem like a lot?  I see six locks and seven more with potential.  Let's break it down:

Jimenez's improvements key vs. Dodgers  —  Colorado (40-35) at Los Angeles (48-28), 8:10 p.m. MT  —  OAKLAND — The Rockies are 1-8 against the Natonal League West-leading Dodgers this year.  But according to Rockies right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez, that was then.

Nationals activate Olsen for opener  —  Washington (22-51) at Florida (38-39), 7:10 p.m. ET  —  BALTIMORE — After Sunday's 5-3 win over the Orioles, the Nationals activated left-hander Scott Olsen from the 15-day disabled list and optioned right-hander Shairon Martis to Triple-A Syracuse.

Ken Rosenthal Joins MLB Network, Will Keep FOX Sports Duties  —  MLB Network today announced that Ken Rosenthal has joined its roster of on-air talent.  Rosenthal will join the cast of MLB Tonight beginning Tuesday, June 30 at 6:00 p.m. ET.  Rosenthal, who will continue his reporting …

Desperate Mets: Get us some help … Jerry Manuel keeps using terms like “tread water,” “survive” and “hold on.”  But even the Mets' manager admits that it soon may be time to make a trade.  —  “I think if we get below that (.500) mark and we continue to struggle offensively as we are …

Manny drops to 7th among OFs in All-Star voting … NEW YORK (AP) — Manny Ramirez dropped one spot to seventh place in All-Star voting among NL outfielders with four days remaining in balloting for starters.  —  The Los Angeles Dodgers star, whose 50-game drug suspension is slated to end Friday …

Nationals Insider: Determining his value  —  Lack of production means Kearns is hard to trade  —  The Washington Nationals have a valid list of reasons why they still value Austin Kearns, and it's a list that's publicly recited almost every time Kearns' worth is questioned.

Game 75: Yankees at Mets (updated with Girardi and Matsui pre-game audio)  —  YANKEES (42-32)  —  Pitching: RHP Chien-Ming Wang (0-6, 11.20).  —  METS (37-36)  —  Murphy 1B  —  Cora SS  —  Wright 3B  —  Sheffield RF  —  Tatis LF  —  F. Martinez CF  —  Schneider C  —  Castillo 2B