Mets Fall Into Tie With Phillies  —  No matter how many losses piled up and no matter how poorly they had played at times over the last four months, the Mets could take comfort knowing one thing: First place in the National League East still belonged to them and them only.

Brace for departure of Marlins' star duo  —  Miguel Cabrera or Dontrelle Willis?  Who goes this winter?  Who stays?  Can we start a pool on whether both will be traded?  —  Yes, it looks serious this time.  And before you raise a voice in protest, understand you don't have a voice.  Nor do I.

Cooper gets permanent post as Astros' skipper  —  The Houston Astros announced on Friday that interim manager Cecil Cooper will be given the job on a permanent basis.  —  Cooper, who joined the Astros as bench coach at the start of the 2005 season, had served as interim manager since Phil Garner was fired Aug. 27.

Buchholz won't pitch this season  —  After consulting with pitching coach John Farrell and general manager Theo Epstein, Terry Francona announced this afternoon that Clay Buchholz, the rookie sensation who pitched a no-hitter Sept. 1, will not pitch for the remainder of the season and will not be on the postseason roster.

M's celebrate in win over Indians  —  A smiling Jose Guillen sat by his locker after a game in which his first-inning home run had put the Mariners ahead to stay.  —  But with his team's manager and general manager having been confirmed for 2008 earlier in the day, Guillen was already looking ahead to next year.

Nationals pick up 2009 option on Manny Acta  —  So this is fitting given our story this morning and our discussion today.  —  The Nationals announced that they have picked up the 2009 option on Manager Manny Acta's contract.  He has, as we discussed, a two-year deal with two one-year, club options.

Hal Steinbrenner elected chairman of the board of Yankee Global Enterprises LLC  —  The Board of Directors of Yankee Global Enterprises LLC announced today that Harold Z.  (Hal) Steinbrenner has been elected as Chairman of the Board.  —  Mr. Steinbrenner is the General Partner …

Are Pirates' players pulling for Tracy?  —  If the Pirates are in some win-one-for-the-skipper mode to save manager Jim Tracy's job, it is becoming increasingly difficult to detect.  —  It was one thing for starter John Van Benschoten to get chased with four runs in two innings yesterday at PNC Park.

Chilling reminder  —  Bubbly on hold; Sox' lead cut to 2  —  It wasn't for a lack of trying.  While Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter were given the night off by the Yankees, 20-game winner Josh Beckett threw 99 pitches for the Red Sox, David Ortiz reached base five times …

Opinion: Let Them Know  —  Willie Randolph, after last night's game, explaining to reporters how he can remain positive in the face of adversity...  Phillies RHP Brett Myers, as quoted by the Inquirer...

Rollins Has Been Doing More Than Backing Up His Words  —  It was an innocuous remark, really, but the Mets wasted no time twisting Jimmy Rollins's words into motivational origami.  —  The Phillies would be the team to beat in the National League East this season, Rollins predicted last winter.

Trade winds blow true  —  Padres' deals pay off nicely as former no-names keep team in playoff chase  —  MILWAUKEE - You wonder if other front offices will finally figure it out.  —  Trading with the Padres is risky.  Maybe even foolish.  —  For some four years running …

Games of the Day  —  As we go into the final weekend, unless you really care about the race for the best record in the AL, there are five series that matter.  The Phillies host the Nationals with Cole Hamels facing Tim Redding.  The two have identical ERA, although Tim's comes from throwing 2/3 …

Sounds like Andruw's good as gone  —  My phone rang while I was in the visiting manager's office this afternoon at Philly's corporate-bank ballpark.  I stepped out to answer, and 25 minutes later, the conversation with Scott Boras had ended.  —  I'm writing a lead note about it for my Braves notebook …

Wang and Pettitte are Bombers' 1-2 punch in playoffs  —  ST. PETERSBURG - The Yankees won't announce their rotation for the division series until the matchups are officially set, but Joe Torre stated the obvious yesterday, saying that Chien-Ming Wang and Andy Pettitte will pitch the first two games one way or another.