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.

Cards broadcaster McLaughlin cited for drunk driving  —  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.

Unlikable Red Sox flunked chemistry  —  Somehow the team became what it once abhorred — arrogant, complacent and entitled  —  You can wring your hands all you want over whether Jonathan Papelbon served up the wrong pitch to Robert Andino or why Marco Scutaro hesitated just long enough …

Analysis: 2011 MLB Playoff Teams By Player Payroll  —  Baseball is broken.  That's what they say.  It's only teams with high payrolls that have a shot.  Well...  With heart-stopping excitement that the baseball gods gave us on the final day of the 2011 MLB season now in the books, the postseason is now set.

Berkman enjoys a return to form  —  To Lance Berkman, this season has been about meeting rather than exceeding expectations.  —  A player who came to the Cardinals as a well-worn free agent first baseman enters the postseason as one of the National League's most productive outfielders.

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?

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 …

NLDS Preview: Phillies vs. Cardinals  —  Why the Phillies Will Win: The Phillies boast the best pitching staff in baseball and can throw three of the NL's top 10 starters in four of five possible games.  Should they fail to sweep, they'll be forced to hold their nose, avert their eyes, and hand the ball to... Roy Oswalt.

Tampa Bay Rays pick rookie Matt Moore to start Game 1 of AL Division Series  —  ARLINGTON, Texas — Of course they are.  —  In picking among three potential starters for today's opening game of the best-of-five AL Division Series, the Rays made the most unconventional and boldest choice …