KC acquires power-hitting Jacobs  —  Royals send reliever Nunez to Marlins for first baseman  —  KANSAS CITY — The Royals acquired power-hitting first baseman Mike Jacobs from the Florida Marlins on Thursday for right-handed reliever Leo Nunez.  —  Jacobs, who turned 28 on Thursday …

Brewers hire Macha as team's new manager  —  MILWAUKEE — Ken Macha was hired Thursday as manager of the Milwaukee Brewers, taking over from Dale Sveum following the team's first postseason appearance since 1982.  —  The 58-year-old Macha, who managed Oakland to a pair of AL West titles, agreed to a two-year contract.

Tigers decline option on Renteria  —  The Detroit Tigers announced on Thursday that they have declined to exercise the 2009 option on the contract of shortstop Edgar Renteria, making the veteran a free agent.  —  Renteria batted .270 with 10 home runs and 55 RBI in 138 games last season, his first for the Tigers.

YANKEES MAY GUN FOR MANNY  —  PHILADELPHIA -Manny Ramirez doesn't fit the Yankees' desire to get younger and more athletic, but several industry sources believe the Yankees will make a serious push for the free agent to play right field next year.  —  Though GM Brian Cashman …

Herzog has an idea for weather issue  —  PHILADELPHIA — If you thought this baseball season has lasted too long into wintry weather — Wednesday's resumption of World Series Game 5 was the second-latest by date in history — this is nothing compared to what the potential is for next year.

White Sox decline 2009 options on contracts of Ken Griffey Jr. and Toby Hall  —  CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox have declined the club options for 2009 on the contracts of outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. and catcher Toby Hall.  Griffey and Hall will be eligible for free agency.

Burnett to decide on opt-out by Monday at latest  —  Toronto Blue Jays pitcher A.J. Burnett expects to decide whether to exercise the opt-out clause in his contract before the start of the Major League Baseball general managers' meetings Monday in Dana Point, Calif., his agent said Thursday.

Steelers Notebook: Safety is slighted by lack of playing time  —  Anthony Smith feels slighted.  He started 10 games last season after illness struck down free safety Ryan Clark, and he wonders why he likely won't get the job this week.  —  “Yeah, I'm frustrated,” Smith said yesterday.

‘Relieved’ Tazawa not drafted in Japan, eyes MLB  —  TOKYO — Junichi Tazawa, a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher who wants to play in the major leagues, was passed over by Japan's 12 professional teams in Thursday's amateur draft.  —  Tazawa, whose fastball reaches 97 mph …

Phillies fan robs bank to pay for gear  —  Phillies fans are known for their diehard, drastic and often drunken support for their team.  —  Crazed Phanatics paint the team's logo on their lawns or imbibe the same amount of shots as the number on favorite player's jersey.  —  It doesn't matter.

Nats cut ties with closer Cordero  —  Wagner, Orr also outrighted, decline Minors assignments  —  WASHINGTON — The Nationals outrighted right-handers Chad Cordero and Ryan Wagner and infielder Pete Orr to Triple-A Syracuse on Thursday.  All three declined the assignment and elected to become free agents …

Phillies Fan Takes Grey Goose Bottle Flush To Head  —  http://www.youtube.com/watch?  v=MufTb-D4AcE  —  We knew the moronic videos would be flooding YouTube and thankfully we picked this one off before it gets buried into the neverland of World Series celebration videos.  —  This speaks for itself.