Staff at Arizona cryogenics lab Alcor used Ted Williams' frozen head for batting practice: book  —  Workers at an Arizona cryonics facility mutilated the frozen head of baseball legend Ted Williams - even using it for a bizarre batting practice, a new tell-all book claims.

Warrant issued for ballplayer Shawn Chacon over gambling markers  —  Onetime All-Star accused of failing to pay Caesars Palace $150,000  —  Shawn Chacon pitches for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the Atlanta Braves on Aug. 3, 2006, in Pittsburgh.  —  2 a.m.

South Atlantic League Top 20 Prospects  —  The Sally League had a number of power arms in 2009  —  Most years, the best teams are led by the best players.  In the previous two years in the low Class A South Atlantic League, for example, No. 1 prospects Desmond Jennings (Columbus in 2007) …

The 30 best moves of this year (cont.)  —  Source: Reyes didn't tear hamstring completely, but surgery still looks likely  —  Star shortstop Jose Reyes, who personifies the Mets' disastrous and injury-wracked season, now has received an initial recommendation to have the hamstring tendon that's …

Weiner elected by Players Association  —  Fehr's successor has been a member of union for 21 years  —  Michael Weiner has been elected as the new executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, the union announced on Friday.  He replaces Don Fehr, who gave notice that he intended to retire earlier this year.

Mariano Rivera: Another Appreciation  —  For my last post of the regular season I wanted to examine one of the most singular and interesting players in major league baseball, Marino Rivera.  I know I have written about him before but the amazing Sports Illustrated cover of him inspired me to look deeper into his pitchf/x numbers.

TBS covers Division Series completely  —  Veteran broadcasters set for postseason to begin  —  It is about to become a way of life again for baseball fans everywhere.  —  The Division Series on TBS.  —  It is the intense, unpredictable and always-eventful beginning of the road …

The Market For Jason Bay  —  Jason Bay admits that he had no idea what to expect from his first time in a free-agent walk year.  Now in the final season of a four-year, $18.25 million deal he signed while with the Pirates, he was curious whether he might start viewing his performance through …

Several Chicago Cubs have wish lists  —  And they're not all so obvious  —  Reed Johnson turns after striking out during the second inning.  (Nam Y. Huh, Associated Press / October 1, 2009)  —  Cubs manager Lou Piniella said last week that adding an RBI guy in 2010 is No. 1 on his offseason wish list.

Ascanio has shoulder surgery  —  CINCINNATI — Pirates pitcher Jose Ascanio had surgery this morning to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder.  —  It was performed by Dr. James Andrews at his office in Pensacola, Fla.  —  There is no timetable for Ascanio's return, general manager Neal Huntington said.

Tracking Ellsbury  —  Going into the Angels' playoff series with the Boston Red Sox next week, people will wonder how the Red Sox's catchers, who aren't the greatest throwers in the world, will slow down the likes of Chone Figgins, Erick Aybar, and Bobby Abreu.

Getting called up to the bigs  —  Friends, it is will enormous pleasure that I can finally share the news that has had me on pins and needles for the last few weeks:  —  It's About The Money, Stupid has been selected by Rob Neyer and ESPN to be a charter member of what will be a new blog network …

Future Shock  —  Trayvon Robinson  —  Dodgers outfielder prospect Trayvon Robinson isn't exactly living the high life yet—when I reached him on Wednesday afternoon he had just returned from Wal-Mart in Phoenix, and was in the middle of laundry cycles—but nonetheless, he's come a long way.

The Smartest Man in Baseball Is an Idiot  —  At least come playoff time, when Tony La Russa — self-proclaimed sports intellectual, wearer of effeminate T-shirts, blight on the otherwise chaste St. Louis Cardinals — is anything but Dr. October.  A case study.

Mussina applauds CC's hunt for 20  —  Mike Mussina won 20 games in his final season as a Yankee.  CC Sabathia has an opportunity to reach that milestone in his first.  —  But the comparisons between Mussina and Sabathia go much deeper than win totals.  They are the only two free-agent pitchers …

Old Hat for the Yankees, but a First for Hairston  —  The first and last time a Jerry Hairston participated in a major league playoff game was in 1983, when Jerry Hairston Sr. played for the Chicago White Sox.  Twenty-six years later, after years of toiling on bad teams …