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.

Tiebreakers could come into play  —  + Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email  —  Last night's game at Fenway Park [map] may not have been the last one of the regular season after all.  —  The chance is quite slim, but should the Red Sox [team stats] and Los Angeles Angels wind …

Guerrero chasing Dominican hits record; wants to play few more years  —  Orioles designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero is on the precipice of becoming the major league's all-time hits leader from the Dominican Republic, and he hopes to build on that record for another couple seasons.

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 still relevant for MLB today  —  The night the San Francisco Giants won the World Series, one of the team's senior advisers, Tony Siegle, told Kevin Kernan of the New York Post, “we've shown Moneyball is a bunch of garbage.”  —  Not exactly.  —  The Giants, to an extent, were playing Moneyball, too.

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 …

David Wright excited about likely changes to dimensions of Citi Field, Mets fall to Cardinals, 6-5  —  ST. LOUIS - Sandy Alderson brought his ballpark briefing papers to Busch Stadium Wednesday, and sat with several pitchers in the afternoon, engaging them in discussion at a round table in the visitors' clubhouse.

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.

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.

Debate: Ryan Howard  —  Ryan Howard is one of the most polarizing players in baseball.  Some fans see an elite slugger, while others see an average player who is paid like an elite slugger.  —  The purpose of this article is to host a debate on the topic.  Is Howard elite?

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 …