Mets 13, Marlins 0: For once, optimism abounds. John Maine struck out 14 and took a no-hit bid into the eighth inning -- he lost it on a bleeder up the third-base line -- to guide the Mets back into a tie for first place. For once, the Mets roughed up a pitcher they needed to rough up. If they hadn't gotten to Chris Seddon, they probably didn't deserve to make the playoffs. Even though......

Rangers 4 Atlanta 3: To say this was a physical contest is an understatement. The Rangers and Thrashers engaged in a heavyweight fight Thursday with New York surviving in the end. Jagr and Rozsival put the Rangers up 2-0 in the first before Eric Belanger cut the lead in half. The Rangers opened another two-goal lead in the second when Marcel Hossa made it 3-1, but Shane Hnidy cut the lead to 1 again midway......

Orlando Hernandez looks flat-out amazing these days. He may be the best pitcher on the Yankees pitching staff and right now is the only one that you can count on for a solid start. Last night Hernandez took his record to 5-0 with a 5-1 win over the hard-hitting Texas Rangers. The first inning got off to a rocky start and Hernandez was visibly upset with his performance after allowing a double, a walk......

If your favorite team was 55-31, 7 games ahead in their division and had the best record in baseball, would you be worried? Or would you be enjoying a great season? That is the huge difference between the Yankee fan and the rest of the baseball world. Yankees fans are worried, even though right now they are the best team in baseball. If you break the Yankees into three parts, you will find two......

Will Jason Giambi ever regain his form of 2001? Will the Yankees add a much needed pitcher? Will George Steinbrenner give us another one of his famous missives? The next 6 days will answer some of those questions as the Yankees dig in for the battle against Boston, and attempt to fend of the Mets, this time at Shea Stadium. Freddy Garcia, once a player named in trade speculation, is gone. The Mariners said that......

Continuing on the "how old is too old" thoughts, it looks like in baseball, you can keep playing until you're in your 40s. The Times looks at three examples: Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, and Barry Bonds. Clemens, 41, is pitching away as an Astro, Johnson, 40, just had a perfect game, and Bonds, 39 (but 40 in July) is swatting almost every ball he makes contact with for a home run. The Times notes that,......