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.

Offense drops to two-decade low  —  NEW YORK — If you thought the 2011 season seemed like a throwback, you were right.  —  Offense dropped to a level not seen since Greg Maddux, Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling were dominating on the mound.  —  Nearly two decades later, Justin Verlander …

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) …

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.

Playoffs ready to take flight for Yankees, Tigers  —  NEW YORK—After a long flight, a pre-dawn arrival and a workout that came all too soon, Derek Jeter is ready for the playoffs.  —  Almost.  First, a good night's sleep would be nice.  —  “Man, I got home at 4:30.

Marlins might not be interested in Ramirez  —  Aramis Ramirez's first choice is staying with the Cubs, but he admires Ozzie Guillen.  Denis Poroy~Getty Images  —  SAN DIEGO — Despite Aramis Ramirez's willingness to put the Florida Marlins on a short list of teams he'd consider signing …

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.

Quick news and notes after the 2011 postmortem with Brian Sabean and Bruce Bochy (18)  —  The sweet funk of formaldehyde is in the air, which means it must be time for the annual postmortem with Giants GM Brian Sabean and Manager Bruce Bochy.  —  I'll get to transcribing in a moment, but here is the short and quick breakdown:

Bucs' summer excitement ended too early  —  Club looking to build upon strides made in first four months  —  PITTSBURGH — There are myriad ways to reflect upon the Pirates' 2011 season, which, though stamped as another losing campaign, was certainly unlike the 18 that had preceded it.

Hitless in last 46 at-bats, Velez sets dubious mark  —  PHOENIX (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Eugenio Velez has broken a modern-day major league record for a non-pitcher by going hitless in his final 46 at-bats.  —  Velez grounded out to second as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning …