Should Girardi have used Mo in Game 3?  —  Lost in Cliff Lee's continuing wizardry was the Yankee bullpen's ninth-inning meltdown, which turned a 2-0 nailbiter into an 8-0 blowout.  And as It's About the Money notes, it didn't have to end that way:  —  Rather than bring Mariano Rivera …

Cubs Hire Mike Quade  —  The Cubs signed manager Mike Quade to a two-year deal with a club option for 2013, according to the team.  Quade, 53, became Chicago's interim manager on August 23rd after Lou Piniella retired.  He was the team's third base coach from 2007-10 after managing the Triple-A Iowa Cubs for four seasons.

Yu Darvish will stay in Japan next season  —  From Yu Darvish's latest blog entry:  —  A lot has been mentions about the Majors.  —  I received a lot of comments, both on Twitter and on my blog.  —  I don't know if this will match everyone's guess.  —  Next season...

Exclusive one-on-one with Bryce Harper  —  I had a chance to catch up again with the Nationals number one draft selection, Bryce Harper, as he embarks on his first game for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall league Wednesday.  —  Harper said he is pretty excited to get the invite to play in the AFL.

Braves release Melky Cabrera  —  When I arrived at AT&T Park for Monday afternoon's National League Championship Series workout, it seriously felt like it had been two months since Rick Ankiel drilled that 11th-inning pitch into the water and gave the Braves what proved to be their last win of the year.

Dodgers finalizing staff  —  Although the Los Angeles Dodgers still don't appear to be close to finalizing their coaching staff under new manager Don Mattingly, parts of it are beginning to come into focus.  —  Based on information compiled from various sources, all of whom spoke on the condition …

Nationals Sign Mike Rizzo To Five-Year Extension  —  The Nationals signed GM Mike Rizzo to a five-year extension and promoted him to executive vice president of baseball operations and GM, according to the team.  Rizzo, who turns 50 later this year, has been Washington's GM since August 2009 …

San Francisco Giants notebook: Edgar Renteria still expected to play shortstop despite a torn biceps tendon  —  Edgar Renteria is expected to start at shortstop again for the Giants today despite a completely torn biceps tendon in his left arm.  —  Renteria, who missed time in August …

Mets and K-Rod settle Contract 2010 Dispute  —  Francisco Rodriguez has told MLBPA not to challenge the Mets decision to withhold his salary for the remainder of the 2010 season.  —  In return, the Mets have told Rodriguez they will not seek to convert his contract to a non-guaranteed contract …

Harper: Joe's right to give ball to A.J.  —  Joe Girardi makes right call to start A.J. Burnett in Game 4, but Yankee offense must come to life  —  A.J. Burnett gets the ball from Joe Girardi for Game 4, but the Yankees need help from Mark Teixeira (below) and a struggling offense.

Female fans turned on by the Phils  —  Part of the draw, no doubt, is the team itself.  These Phillies are a bunch of really nice, good-looking guys of all stripes who come from behind, pitch perfect games, talk about things like courage and friendship, run through coaches' stop signs, and seem to genuinely like one another.

It's Official: TLR returns for 16th season as Cardinals manager  —  Tony La Russa will return in 2011 for a 16th season as Cardinals manager, the club announced this afternoon.  —  La Russa, 66, returns his entire coaching staff except for bullpen coach Marty Mason, whose dismissal was reported earlier today by the Post-Dispatch.