White Sox ‘fire’ interim manager Joey Cora by text  —  White Sox coach Joey Cora, who was told on Monday that he'd be the interim manager for the final two games, was informed by a Ken Williams' text on Tuesday that he's no longer needed.  —  The strange end to the White Sox' 2011 season …

Parts of Suit Against Mets' Owners Are Dismissed  —  A federal judge awarded both sides a partial victory Tuesday in the $1 billion lawsuit brought against the owners of the Mets by the trustee for the victims of Bernard L. Madoff — allowing the suit to go forward, but limiting how much money …

Setback may keep Cervelli out for October  —  ST. PETERSBURG — Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli has suffered another concussion-related setback and is all but certain to sit out the American League Division Series, if not the entire postseason.  —  Cervelli traveled with the Yankees …

Infante, Marlins reach agreement  —  MIAMI — For months, Omar Infante expressed how much he wanted to remain with the Marlins beyond this season.  —  Infante is about to get his wish.  —  According to a team source, the veteran second baseman and the team have reached an agreement on a two-year contract.

Mets blocked Yankees from bringing minor league team to Newark for a season  —  This is a baseball story — but not about the universal baseball feeling for a community that we used to know.  It is also about Newark, the city where I was raised to love baseball and where the Yankees' Triple-A farm team …

September Collapse of Red Sox Could Be Worst Ever  —  After beating the Texas Rangers on Sept. 3, the Boston Red Sox were 84-54.  Although half a game behind the Yankees in the American League East, the Red Sox had a nine-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays for the wild card and roughly a 99.6 percent chance of making the playoffs.

A's acquire Kila Ka'aihue from Royals for Ethan Hollingsworth  —  Last week the Royals designated Kila Ka'aihue for assignment, removing him from the 40-man roster, and today they traded the 27-year-old first baseman to the A's for minor-league pitcher Ethan Hollingsworth.

Game 161: Red Sox at Orioles  —  Here are the lineups:  —  RED SOX (89-71)  —  Ellsbury CF  —  Pedroia 2B  —  Ortiz DH  —  Lowrie 3B  —  Gonzalez 1B  —  Lavarnway C  —  McDonald RF  —  Crawford LF  —  Scutaro SS  —  Pitching: LHP Erik Bedard (5-9, 3.50)  —  ORIOLES (68-92)

Bryan Petersen's homer leads Marlins over Nats  —  MIAMI - Bryan Petersen homered with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and Javier Vazquez pitched a five-hitter as the Florida Marlins beat the Washington Nationals 3-2 on Tuesday night.  —  Petersen hit the first pitch from reliever Doug Slaten (0-2).

Kershaw looking forward to new contract  —  PHOENIX — Dodgers Cy Young candidate Clayton Kershaw is in line for a huge raise in his first year of arbitration eligibility, and he knows it.  —  “I've started to think about it,” said the winner of the National League pitching Triple Crown.

Mets Exercise Terry Collins' 2013 Option  —  The Mets have exercised Terry Collins' contract option for 2013, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter).  The manager signed a two-year deal for 2011 and 2012 last November, but GM Sandy Alderson has been pleased enough …

Making my awards picks (for now) … The ballots for the Baseball Writers Association of America major awards are due before the playoffs begin, which still leaves time to finalize the choices.  —  (Partial disclosure: I do have a vote for one of the awards, but will honor the request …

2011 Midwest League Top 20 Prospects  —  A 16-team circuit always will have prospect depth just because of the sheer number of teams, but the low Class A Midwest League Top 20 list lacked its usual star power in 2011.  Unlike recent years headlined by megaprospects such as Jay Bruce (2006) …

Q&A with Mets GM Alderson  —  The Mets dismissed Omar Minaya as their general manager on Oct. 4 of last year, and on Oct. 29, they hired Sandy Alderson to replace Minaya as the person responsible for their baseball operations.  —  Technically, therefore, Alderson has been on the job for only 11 months …

Coming soon to a front office near you ...  With two days left in the season, there's really just one question remaining at Camden Yards - besides whether the Boston Red Sox end up choking away their playoff berth.  What's happening with the Orioles' president of baseball operations position?