Source: Sox made play for Mets' Capuano  —  Their wild card lead evaporating, the Red Sox are on the hunt for reinforcements, even if only for a game, in an attempt to make the playoffs.  —  According to a source with knowledge of the talks, the Red Sox have spent the better part of a week trying …

Joe Girardi deserves a lot of credit  —  He may not get manager of the year love, but Bombers' skipper was key to season  —  NEW YORK — New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi likely won't win American League Manager of the Year.  —  In fact, he'll be lucky to finish in the top three in the voting.

Source: Ban foils Manny Ramirez's plans  —  Manny Ramirez will have to scuttle existing plans to play for a team in the Dominican Republic because his Major League Baseball-mandated drug suspension still has to be served, a source close to the situation told ESPN's Colleen Dominguez.

Cardinals Extend Lance Berkman  —  Headed for a potentially turbulent winter, the Cardinals made the rest of their offseason that much simpler today, agreeing to a one-year, $12MM extension with Lance Berkman.  The sides had been discussing a possible deal this month, though talks had appeared to lose momentum.

Sox, not free agency, on Buehrle's mind entering final start  —  CLEVELAND — The Chicago White Sox are the only team that Mark Buehrle has pitched for during his storied career that started in 2000, and he'll try to temper his emotions Tuesday night when he makes possibly his final start …

Moneyball The Movie  —  WARNING: I don't THINK there are any spoilers or plot giveaways here — I suspect most of you know that Moneyball The Movie is about the 2002 Oakland A's and their attempt to win with new baseball knowledge — but if you are the sort of person who likes to go into a movie …

Pitching repertoires and BABIP  —  People like trends.  I like trends, you like trends, heck, even your mom likes trends.  Why?  Because we are human, and viewing the world in trends is intuitive and makes the big bad world just a little less scary.  While tempting, this impulse does not always produce the best analysis.

2011 Pioneer League Top 20 Prospects  —  Despite its Rookie-advanced classification, the Pioneer League plays more like the short-season New York-Penn or Northwest leagues than its sister Appalachian League.  Whereas Appy Leaguers average about 20 years in age, the other three leagues come in just north of 21.

Yankees' Phil Hughes has MRI, may have herniated disc in back, could miss rest of season  —  CC Sabathia will take the ball to open the AL division series a week from Friday.  But to do so on regular rest, he will have to make his final start of the season on Sunday with just three days off after Wednesday night's 127-pitch outing.

Mariners Hand Twins 11th Straight Loss, 5-4  —  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Ichiro Suzuki stopped Kevin Slowey's no-hitter with a two-out infield single in the sixth inning and added an RBI double in the seventh, spurring the Seattle Mariners to a 5-4 victory Wednesday night in Minnesota, the 11th straight defeat for the Twins.

Phillies drop 5th straight, 7-5 to Washington  —  PHILADELPHIA — Danny Espinosa and Wilson Ramos each hit two-run home runs to help the Washington Nationals beat Philadelphia 7-5 on Wednesday, sending the NL East-champion Phillies to their season-worst fifth straight loss.

Bankruptcy doesn't mean Dodgers can't offer big contracts  —  Despite financial problems, Dodgers may be able to extend Matt Kemp's contract or attract a blue-chip free agent this winter — if it can persuade top players to sign.  —  The playoffs will go on without the Dodgers again this fall.

Royals Designate Kila Ka'aihue For Assignment  —  It wasn't long ago that Kila Ka'aihue seemed like a promising piece of the Royals' future.  But the Hawaiian first baseman doesn't appear to fit into their long-term plans any more, despite the career minor league on-base percentage of .390 …