Versatile Craig will play more in Texas  —  When Cardinals right fielder Allen Craig, in vain pursuit of a foul ball, slid into the right-field fence in Houston's Minute Maid Park on June 7, it initially was suspected that he had suffered a bruised right knee and it was surmised that he would be out a few games.

Ortiz says he wants to stay  —  ST. LOUIS - David Ortiz, who last night was named winner of Major League Baseball's prestigious Roberto Clemente Award, backed off his comments to ESPN earlier this month about potentially playing for the Yankees.  —  “I never said I would sign with the Yankees.

Hoyer to join Epstein with Cubs, Byrnes new SD GM  —  The Red Sox-Cubs soap opera spins forward as the clubs haggle over compensation, but the general parameters of a deal that will affect three clubs are in place, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the negotiations:

Curt Young returns to Athletics  —  Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports reports that Curt Young has returned to Oakand.  Young was the pitching coach in Oakland for seven years before taking a two-year deal with the Red Sox.  —  His one year was not a successful one.

Kinsler's plate discipline  —  For the second year in a row, the Texas Rangers are in the World Series.  A big part of their success could be attributed to second baseman Ian Kinsler, who hit for a .370 weighted on-base average and contributed in many different ways.

St. Louis Cardinals' Mark McGwire receives less air-play than deserved during World Series broadcast  —  With Fox's cameras zoned in on Cardinals batting instructor Mark McGwire gazing out from the dugout in the second inning of Game 1 of the World Series, it was only a matter of time before his past would merge with his present.

Five years after last shot at Series, Mets face game-changing winter  —  Mets on Twitter  —  ST. LOUIS — The last time the Cardinals reached the World Series, they had to go through the Mets in the NLCS.  Yet the quirky element was this:  —  The organization that seemed best situated …