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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

Mets general manager Sandy Alderson confirms 2012 payroll expected to fall between $100 million, $110 million  —  NEW YORK - It was cleanup day at Citi Field, and the Mets clubhouse was mostly empty.  But general manager Sandy Alderson did offer a 30-minute post-mortem on the season just passed.

Reyes proves once again, he's no Jeter  —  Mets' shortstop cheated teammates, fans by pulling himself out of team's season finale  —  No matter how you look at this, it stinks.  —  In the end, Jose Reyes decided it was truly all about him.  Not about the team.  Worse, not even about the fans.

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.

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.

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.