When he sets his mind to doing something, Ichiro Suzuki usually does it.

John Smoltz firmly believes that the Braves' run of 14 consecutive division titles from '91-'05 wouldn't have been possible without the constant presence of manager Bobby Cox.

In Major League Baseball, there is plus speed, plus-plus speed, and there is Carl Crawford speed. These are distinctly separate categories.

Miguel Cabrera spent the past several months learning how how to deal with pressure, on and off the field. If he ever needed a test on the field, the last couple weeks might have been a pretty good one.

The sale of the Texas Rangers gained unanimous approval from Major League Baseball owners at their joint meeting on Thursday, ending a year of financial instability for the franchise.

Eric Chavez remembers it well, that June weekend in San Francisco when he told himself he was ready for a Minor League rehab assignment.

Although Tuesday's benches-clearing scuffle between the Reds and Cardinals was started by Brandon Phillips and Yadier Molina, it was Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto and the two managers who were most severely punished.

Nothing's guaranteed yet. It's not even close, since the Cardinals could be back out of first place as soon as Saturday afternoon. But they'd sure rather be where they are now than where they were at the beginning of the week.

The Reds took it on the chin from the Cardinals, watching their two-game lead in the NL Central turn into a one-game deficit, but there's plenty of time for them to get back on track.

The circumstances under which Jonathon Niese left Wednesday night's 6-2 loss are still unclear, but manager Jerry Manuel said that Niese's hamstring is fine and he will be able to make his next start as scheduled.