Mets to retain Randolph despite epic collapse  —  The Mets' historic collapse won't cost manager Willie Randolph his job.  —  Mets general manager Omar Minaya announced at a news conference Tuesday that Randolph would return for the 2008 season.  —  "After thinking about this …

Young named NL Comeback Player  —  First baseman takes advantage of second chance by Nats  —  WASHINGTON — Nationals first baseman Dmitri Young is living proof of what a person can do if given a second chance.  On Tuesday, Young was rewarded for taking advantage of his second chance …

Padres on losing end of longest one-game tiebreaker in history  —  DENVER - Trevor Hoffman swallowed hard and answered question after question last night after the Rockies dealt him a blown save that could haunt Hoffman and the Padres for some time.  —  "The finality of it all just comes roaring down pretty quick," Hoffman said.

Injuries could hurt Angels' chances  —  LIKE THIS STORY?  —  The Angels are banged up, and it's a problem.  —  FOX Bite  —  Videos  —  Rosenthal: Sox 'darn good'  —  The Angels are banged up.  The Red Sox have pitching issues.  But Ken Rosenthal says those Boston bats are too much to overcome.

Keeping Pudge is a must  —  DETROIT — When the fun games end, the dangerous games begin.  And make no mistake — this is one dangerous offseason for the Tigers.  —  The Tigers slipped this season because of injuries and suspect pitching, and it's probably not a permanent slip.

25 man roster; Wake left off  —  Here's the news of the day, quickly, from Terry Francona's press conference.  —  Francona announced the 25-man roster for the first round of the playoffs, and it contained a surprise.  Tim Wakefield, who Francona announced yesterday would be coming out of the bullpen, has been left off the roster.

Braves, Andruw Jones to part ways  —  Schuerholz says team can't afford outfielder's contract expectations  —  Andruw Jones' career with the Braves is over.  —  General manager John Schuerholz said Tuesday he told Jones in a noon meeting in his office that the Braves could not afford …

Pitching rotation top priority in Marlins' offseason  —  For an organization that at this time last year appeared squared away with its starters for years to come, the Marlins will devote much of this offseason to improving that area.  —  President of Baseball Operations Larry Beinfest identified …

THE REGGIE STANDARD  —  The question of how the Yankees always get their man, how virtually all the world's great supermodels, chefs, actors, designers eventually gravitate toward New York, can be answered in one phrase: star power.  New York compared to anywhere else is like Broadway compared to Shakespeare in the park.

Scott Schoeneweis denies report of steroid shipments  —  Scott Schoeneweis, fingered by an Internet report that said he received six shipments of steroids from the pharmacy that is at the center of an ongoing investigation into illegal prescription drug sales, told the Daily News last night …

Has Johan Santana made his final start as a Twin?  —  The Twins have no plans to deal their ace.  But he's a year away from free agency, and he's willing to waive his no-trade clause if the team changes its mind.  —  As the Twins enter the offseason seeking to fill several holes in the everyday lineup …

We hear:  —  That Coco Crisp [stats] was telling fans at the post-Division Champs celebration that he fully expects to be traded by the Red Sox [team stats] in the off-season.  Apparently to make way for rookie phenom Jacoby Ellsbury.  —  That the woman holding up the line at Fenway Park …

Playoff Health Report, AL  —  I'll steal from myself for the format of this year's Playoff Health Report.  The color designation speaks to how much the player will be affected by his injury, with RED meaning that the player should be considered a non-factor, YELLOW meaning that the injury …

Glavine is not the answer  —  In a purely professional capacity, he's my all-time favorite athlete.  I was sorry when he left and happy when he won No. 300.  It's always a pleasure to see him wherever and whenever.  That said ...  I wouldn't bring back Tom Glavine.

MLB shatters attendance record  —  Fourth consecutive record year for baseball; Total surpasses 79.5 million  —  Major League Baseball announced today that the 2007 regular season has closed with a record attendance total of 79,502,524, breaking the overall single-season record for the fourth consecutive year.

Here's one fan ready to just Shea goodbye  —  The Mets have done it.  —  The team I have rooted for my whole life has accomplished the impossible: The Mets have played so badly and collapsed so totally that they've broken my heart, made me angry as hell and gotten me to root for another so-called team.