Nats ask Guzman to play second base in 2010  —  The Nationals may not be looking to sign a free agent like second baseman Orlando Hudson this offseason.  —  It was learned that general manager Mike Rizzo and interim manager Jim Riggleman had a private meeting with shortstop Cristian Guzman …

Four Yanks-keteers still together  —  ON Aug. 25, 1992, Derek Jeter was promoted from the Rookie Gulf Coast League to the Low-A Greensboro Hornets.  He didn't really want to be there.  He was exhausted, homesick and frustrated from a first dabble in professional ball at Tampa …

Minor League Player Of The Year  —  Heyward is the future for Atlanta  —  ATLANTA—The parallels between players are impossible to miss, yet it doesn't take long for Braves officials to try and distance Jason Heyward from former Braves phenom Jeff Francoeur.

Chipper may retire if next season disappoints  —  Braves third baseman Chipper Jones said he would consider retiring if he has another season in 2010 as frustrating and disappointing as this one has been.  —  He signed a three-year, $42-million contract extension in March that runs through 2012 …

St. Louis Cardinals to give Kyle Lohse first chance to start in three weeks  —  ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Kyle Lohse gets his first start in more than three weeks on Saturday.  It could be an audition of sorts for the postseason.  —  Lohse is 5-8 with a 4.62 ERA …

Countdown to Sizemore's departure is on  —  JIngraham@News-Herald.com  —  The dismantling of the Indians this season brings with it a heavy toll that goes beyond this season alone.  —  It means the Indians have effectively decided to forfeit the narrow window of opportunity they have left …

Prospect Hot Sheet: Sept. 11  —  It's over.  —  After 19 regular season Prospect Hot Sheets, it's time to wrap up another season.  We picked 20 prospects who we felt stood out from the crowd this season.  It was extremely hard to narrow this list down to 20—in fact, we could have written 40 prospects up just as easily.

It's a weak class of free-agent starters  —  Very few, if any, impact starting pitchers will be available in the Class of 2009-10  —  The doors of the Great Free Agent Starting Pitching Megamart haven't opened yet.  But when they do, sometime in mid-November, let's just say the scene won't resemble 8 a.m. on Black Friday.

Red Sox find strength in bullpen  —  Armed forces  —  + Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email  —  Some worriers may wonder why the Red Sox [team stats] bullpen simply cannot be perfect or why Jonathan Papelbon [stats] seems to be working harder than usual to earn saves.

THE BRADFORD FILES: IT'S NOT ABOUT THE MONEY FOR BILLY WAGNER … When it comes to what awaits, Billy Wagner knows the deal.  —  “I know [the Red Sox] are going to offer me arbitration and of course I'm probably going to turn it down,” said the Red Sox reliever.

Mets lighten 9/11 anniversary for families  —  Ten-year-old Nicholas Reda and his  —  8-year-old brother, Matthew, grabbed their baseballs and charged to the front of the room where Mets pitchers Tim Redding and Nelson Figueroa were just settling into their chairs.

Rest prescribed for Robertson  —  This from the Yankees: … That's good news for Dave.  He could start throwing around Sept. 14 and that would give him ample time to get ready for the playoffs.  —  UPDATE, 7:11 p.m.: I'm factoring in the days he has already been off, which is how the Yankees have done it in the past.

Lidge, Manuel on same page  —  Closer ready to be used out of bullpen in a variety of ways  —  WASHINGTON — Brad Lidge's role in the Phillies' bullpen has changed, and Thursday provided the first example of how much.  —  Charlie Manuel said before the Phils' 8-7 loss to the Nationals …

Rangers won't sit Millwood to save $12M  —  Veteran needs eight innings to guarantee 2010 contract  —  ARLINGTON — Kevin Millwood starts for the Rangers on Friday against the Seattle Mariners.  —  The question put to pitching coach Mike Maddux this week in Cleveland is if this will be Millwood's last start of the season.

Rockies' Contreras strains quad  —  The Rockies' injury bug has turned into an epidemic.  —  Starting pitcher Jose Contreras left today's game against the Reds in the third inning when he injured his right leg running to first base after hitting a grounder to short.