Pirates Willing To Stretch Payroll To Retain Martin  —  OCT. 1: Pirates owner Bob Nutting has now also voiced a willingness to stretch the payroll to retain Martin, writes Sawchik's colleague Rob Biertempfel.  He quotes Nutting: … SEPT. 24: While the Pirates have previously had a philosophy …

Royals-Angels ALDS: Did you know?  —  MLB.com looks ahead to the American League Division Series matchup between the Angels' power-packed lineup and Royals' speedy baserunners  —  When the Angels take on the Royals in the American League Division Series, it'll be a contrast of styles …

Miguel Cabrera turns down playoff bonus, just wants ring  —  BALTIMORE — You've heard it over and over, especially come playoff time: “It's not about the money.”  —  Detroit Tigers slugger and two-time MVP Miguel Cabrera might actually be backing up those words.

Baseball Will Test Out Six New Rules To Speed Up The Game  —  If every baseball game were as exciting as last night's, no one would mind if they lasted forever.  But most definitely aren't and even the most loyal fan ought to agree that there's a lot of downtime that could be eliminated.

Bumgarner-led Giants send Pirates packing  —  SF 8, @PIT 0  —  Scoring Summary  —  B Crawford homered to right (362 feet), P Sandoval, H Pence and B Belt scored.  —  6th  —  B Belt singled to right, H Pence scored.  —  7th  —  B Belt singled to center, B Posey and P Sandoval scored, H Pence to second.

Tim Hudson on Nationals-Giants: ‘What do you have between your legs?’  —  The building of narratives for the Nationals-Giants National League Division Series can officially begin, and the juxtaposition between the recent playoff success for each team is an easy place to start.

THE POWER OF JABO  —  I know you're busy, so I'll start with the important stuff ... A few months ago we launched a new microsite, Just a Bit Outside (JABO).  Now we're gearing up for a grand experiment: Game 1 of the NLCS, powered by JABO, and broadcast on FOX Sports 1 on October 11 at 8pm Eastern/5pm Pacific.

Not buying Cubs, Theo's song and dance  —  Looking at the tiny, futuristic scale model of Wrigley Field and the surrounding area made me want to shrink to fly size, dive in and walk around.  —  The model is in the back room at the Cubs' main office on Clark Street, and team president Theo Epstein gave us …

Yasmany Tomas Declared Free Agent  —  Yasmany Tomas is free to sign with a major league team, as Major League Baseball has declared him a free agent, according to a tweet from his agent, Jay Alou.  —  The 23-year-old Cuban outfielder will be exempt from the international bonus pools …

Seattle Mariners' contract statuses for 2015  —  So as we head into the offseason, it's always important to know what the contract statuses are for players on the Mariners.  Because those things affect offseason decisions.  —  Quick note: In my story in the paper the other day …

Wainwright, Lynn, Lackey, Miller to start Games 1-4 as 2013 NLCS MVP will pitch in relief  —  9/26/14: Michael Wacha pitches five-plus innings, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out four batters  —  ST. LOUIS — After aggressively pushing Michael Wacha through the month of September …