Bill Buckner Strikes Again  —  The Boston Red Sox' odds of reaching the playoffs peaked on Sept. 3.  Following a 12-7 win against the Texas Rangers, they held a 9-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays with 24 games to play, giving them a 99.6 percent chance of making the post-season.

Splat  —  That's Red Sox owner John Henry's Tweet in the days just before his club inked outfielder Carl Crawford to a seven-year, $142 million contract, this despite the fact that Crawford's career numbers at Fenway Park were quite pedestrian ( .275 average, .301 OBP, .708 OPS) …

Petco Park claims another victim as Padres fire hitting coach Randy Ready  —  Earlier this season general manager Jed Hoyer tried to deflect criticism aimed at hitting coach Randy Ready for the Padres' offensive struggles, but today the team fired Ready after 2.5 seasons on the job.

Indians pick up Manny Acta's option  —  CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians have picked up manager Manny Acta's contract option for 2013.  —  Acta kept the Indians in contention for much of this season before injuries overwhelmed the young club, which finished second in the AL Central.

Braves Complete Colossal Collapse, Lose to Phils  —  ATLANTA (AP) — With the season on the line, the Atlanta Braves couldn't get the final three outs.  —  Now, they'll have the whole winter to ponder an unprecedented collapse.  —  Braves closer Craig Kimbrel surrendered the tying run in the ninth …

Kemp Makes History in LA's 7-5 Win Over D-Backs  —  PHOENIX (AP) — Matt Kemp hit a two-run homer to become the first Dodgers player in 70 years to lead the NL in home runs and RBIs, and Los Angeles held off a late rally to beat the playoff-bound Arizona Diamondbacks 7-5 on Wednesday night.

Royals fire McClure, Gibbons from coaching staff  —  The Royals took their first step toward next season Thursday morning by announcing pitching coach Bob McClure and bench coach John Gibbons will not return in 2012 on manager Ned Yost's staff.  —  The dismissals came roughly 12 hours …

Baseball Night in America  —  Baseball, like life, revolves around anticlimax.  That, in many ways, is the beauty of it.  I realize that's a hard thing to explain to someone who doesn't love baseball.  No, more than hard, it's an impossible thing to explain, because many people want sports to be more than life.

Phillies history lesson: Who is Gene Mauch?  —  He arrived in Philadelphia in 1960 at age 34, the youngest manager in the Majors.  An unknown name certainly made a name for himself in his nine years as the Phillies' manager.  —  Gene Mauch was in the Phillies' record book for most games managed …

Braves collapse, and the shine just came off Fredi Gonzalez  —  Fredi Gonzalez was quietly handed the Braves' managerial job before Bobby Cox ever stepped out the door in a wink-wink, nudge-nudge deal, and nobody really had a problem with it.  —  He had the resume and the personality.

Jose Reyes pulled after hit  —  NEW YORK — Fans at Citi Field got to see very little of free-agent-to-be Jose Reyes on perhaps his final day as a Met.  —  Reyes, in the lead for the National League batting crown, delivered a bunt single to lead off the bottom of the first inning and was pulled by New York Mets manager Terry Collins.