Francona expected to leave Red Sox  —  Terry Francona will meet with Red Sox management on Friday morning, and the expected resolution is that he no longer will be the team's manager, major league sources say.  —  While Francona's departure is not certain, it is the likely outcome …

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.

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 …

Dodgers need to swing for the fences on new deal with Matt Kemp  —  The Dodgers will probably need to pay close to $200 million to keep the star center fielder in Los Angeles.  And they'll need to move quickly.  The question is, do they have the resources?

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 …

Cardinals broadcaster McLaughlin again arrested for DWI  —  Cardinals broadcaster Dan McLaughlin has been cited for drunken driving for the second time after a stop by Chesterfield police on Sunday.  Police said McLaughlin, 37, was stopped at 10:13 p.m. on Baxter Road and Isleview Drive after he crashed his vehicle.

A's could hear soon on possible move to San Jose  —  OAKLAND, Calif. (AP)—Athletics general manager Billy Beane expects to hear “very soon” from Commissioner Bud Selig about whether the club will be allowed to move south to San Jose and build a new ballpark.

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.

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:

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.