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 …

Manny ineligible to join Dominican winter team  —  Manny Ramirez will have to scratch his plans to play winter baseball in the Dominican Republic.  —  Rob Manfred, Major League Baseball's executive vice president of labor relations, confirmed Thursday that Ramirez will not be able to play in the Dominican …

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.

Sports closer to art than science  —  I won't be going to see “Moneyball.”  The movie celebrates the plague ruining sports: sabermetrics.  —  That is not intended as a shot at Bill James, Billy Beane or Michael Lewis.  —  James (the inventor of sabermetrics) and Beane …

Cardinals reach deal with Berkman … ST. LOUIS (AP) — Lance Berkman has agreed to another one-year contract with St. Louis, giving the Cardinals a valuable bat for 2012 if this year's September charge falls short.  —  The 35-year-old Berkman is wrapping up a big comeback season with 31 home runs, 91 RBIs and a .300 average.

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 …

Yanks' Cano would vote for himself for AL MVP  —  NEW YORK — There's one candidate in the American League MVP race that sticks out to Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano.  —  “MVP is tough right now, you got a lot of guys, but I would give my vote to myself,” Cano said.  “You can see the numbers.

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.

Should the Rays trade pitching for hitting?  —  NEW YORK — The Rays have a chance in the wild-card race because their rotation is better and deeper than those of the big-money Yankees and Red Sox.  —  The Rays are at a serious disadvantage in the wild-card race because they aren't nearly …

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.

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.

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?