Nationals pay tribute to American military  —  WASHINGTON — The timing of the Nationals' annual Military Appreciation Night was fortuitous Monday against the Giants, falling one day after American troops killed Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Beckett, Lackey, Matsuzaka lined up for end of week  —  BOSTON — Theo Epstein and Terry Francona made the trek out to the right-field bullpens on Monday afternoon to watch Josh Beckett throw a 25-pitch side session, something he ordinarily wouldn't do.  —  But rather than it being a bad omen …

Clutch Performance Does Exist and is Tangible  —  One of the topics of debate on this site is “clutch” performance.  Often, the statistically inclined cite “small sample size” to excuse the poor performance of a player in key spots.  Alex Rodriguez was the center of this debate for many years …

Raissman: Fans, media on verge of mutiny against the Captain  —  When it comes to media attention there are now officially three baseball entities in New York: the Yankees, Mets, and Derek Jeter.  —  Whispers about the Captain losing his way at the plate have turned into screams.

Stanton's big night lifts Marlins over Cards 6-5  —  ST. LOUIS—Mike Stanton hit a tying home run in the fifth inning and tripled and scored the go-ahead run in the eighth to lift the Florida Marlins to a 6-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night.

Russell, Cubs lose to Dodgers  —  L.A.'s Ethier extends his hitting streak to 28 games  —  James Russell gave up five runs in 4 2/3 innings against the Dodgers on Monday.  (Stephen Dunn, Getty Images / May 2, 2011)  —  LOS ANGELES — There are a couple ways to look at the Cubs …

Los Angeles Dodgers' James Loney to be fined $1 for fly balls to left  —  LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman James Loney, who was out of the starting lineup against an opposing left-handed pitcher for the second time in the past four days on Monday night because of his .125 average …

Werth deflects talk of his return to Citizens Bank Park  —  WASHINGTON - On a dreary, drizzly Sunday morning, Jayson Werth moved through the pregame rituals in his familiar fist-bumping, hip-talking, wisecracking pose, a well-practiced baseball blend of insouciance and imperturbability.

Mets on Twitter  —  A die-hard fan does not want to be pragmatic.  The fan wants to be hopeful, maybe even delusional, especially when the calendar has just clicked from April to May.  —  It is still early enough to hold on to the best-case scenarios as a playbook, not a fantasy.

One game in the bigs: 10 short baseball careers  —  1. Moonlight Graham: This was probably the first name I knew on this list, seeing as Graham comes up in Field of Dreams.  The author of the book that inspired the film noticed Graham in The Baseball Encyclopedia and wrote of how he played …

Orioles pondering a Millwood return  —  CHICAGO — The Orioles are, at least, considering the possibility of bringing back veteran Kevin Millwood, although it remains to be seen if the right-hander — who opted out of his contract with the Yankees on Sunday — would accept a Minor League deal.

New York Yankees' Phil Hughes gets good news from specialist  —  Detroit — Yankees right-hander Phil Hughes got a clean bill of health Monday from a vascular specialist who tested him for thoracic outlet syndrome, a circulatory problem that has derailed the careers of several major league pitchers.

Pirates, McCutchen talking multiyear extension  —  Center fielder says he is ‘willing to be here my whole career’  —  DENVER — The Pirates and center fielder Andrew McCutchen are discussing a long-term contract extension, but there is no sign that an agreement is imminent.