Don't even try to predict NLCS outcome  —  Phillies Roy Halladay and Jayson Werth with Ken Rosenthal after Game 5.  —  Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since Aug. 2005.  He appears weekly on MLB on FOX.  Follow him on Twitter.  —  SAN FRANCISCO

Knee, toe led to Teixeira's hamstring strain  —  Tweet  —  ARLINGTON, Texas — Two weeks ago, Mark Teixeira's right knee began to swell and the first baseman began to worry it would lead to a blown hamstring.  He was already dealing with a broken right little toe that altered his running style and now his knee was filling with fluid.

Jays won't confirm that Farrell is new manager  —  TORONTO— From Friday's Globe and Mail  —  Boston Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell will be the next manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, baseball analyst Peter Gammons reported Thursday night, but sources with the Blue Jays say the report is premature.

October's heroes: Twenty-five who have stepped up in the playoffs … Several players have enhanced their reps this October, though none more so than the top two guys on this list — the unheralded Cody Ross and the much-heralded Cliff Lee.  Ross has done what no one expected …

Lupica: It's time for Alex to be Great  —  They are the Yankees, defending champions of the sport, best team money can buy, most expensive pitching staff ever assembled.  They are Mo Rivera, the greatest money player of them all, and Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano …

Odds and ends: Freeman and Kawakami updates  —  Now that everyone in the baseball world knows Cody Ross, it's time to reminisce about the day that Chuck James didn't.  —  Ross homered off James in the second inning of a July 25, 2006 game at Turner Field.  Two innings later …

Sandy Alderson tours Citi Field, remains favorite to fill Mets GM slot over other five candidates  —  The first round is finally over in the Mets' GM search.  —  Sandy Alderson remains a leading candidate after completing the second half of his interview with executives Jeff Wilpon and John Ricco Thursday.

Texas Rangers manager says he wanted to face Tampa Bay Rays in ALDS  —  Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington admitted in an ESPN.com interview with Howard Bryant that the Rangers were hoping the Tampa Bay Rays would win the AL East because they wanted to face them first in the playoffs.

Pete Rose on making Hall of Fame: 'Don't wait till I'm dead'  —  The 4,192 documentary about Cincinnati icon Pete Rose premieres Friday at the Esquire Theatre in Clifton, Ohio and will be there as long as customers keep coming out.  The full title is 4,192: The Crowning of the Hit King …

Sandy Alderson For GM  —  You know how newspapers will sometimes endorse a candidate for mayor or governor?  Well that's what I'm going to do here for the Mets next general manager.  I'm going to endorse a candidate.  Do I have all the information to make the decision?  Nope.  But then again, who does ...

More Evidence for the Three-Man Rotation  —  Effects of varying recovery periods on muscle enzymes, soreness, and performance in baseball pitchers, by Potteiger, Blessing, and Wilson, Journal of Athletic Training, 1992; 27(1): 27-31.  —  From the Abstract

Inge's Extension  —  Brandon Inge and the Detroit Tigers have agreed to an extension that will guarantee the third baseman $11.5 million over the next two seasons.  The contract includes a club option for a third year at $6 million, with a $500,000 buyout.  —  Over the term of his contract …