Cubs' Bryant Has MLB's Most Popular Jersey  —  Cubs rookie Kris Bryant had the most popular player jersey in Major League Baseball in 2015, the first rookie and the youngest player to have that distinction since jersey sales rankings began being made public in 2010.

CC Sabathia Checks Into Alcohol Rehab  —  Yankees lefty CC Sabathia released a statement today announcing that he has checked himself into an alcohol rehabilitation program and will not be available for the postseason.  His statement, via Yankees press release, is as follows:

Nationals Fire Matt Williams, Coaching Staff  —  10:45am: The Nationals announced that not only has Williams been fired, but the entire coaching staff has been let go as well.  Bench coach Randy Knorr, pitching coach Steve McCatty, hitting coach Rick Schu, third base coach Bobby Henley …

Mets NLDS tickets are sold out while many remain for the Yankees wild card game  —  Good luck trying to get into Citi Field this month during the playoffs — but if you're going to Yankee Stadium, there seem to be plenty of open seats.  —  Ticketmaster sales showed Monday morning that seats …

Astros earn playoff berth thanks to Rangers  —  PHOENIX — Forget all of the hype about this Texas Rangers and Houston Astros rivalry.  —  The Astros just became the Rangers' best friend Sunday afternoon, and certainly their biggest fans.  —  The Rangers knocked off the Los Angles Angeles …

2015 Eastern League Top 20 Prospects  —  EASTERN LEAGUE TOP 20 PROSPECTS  —  The Eastern League this year overflowed with talent.  Of the 20 players on this list, 16 were taken in the top two rounds of the draft.  Only one was selected later than the fifth round, and that guy …

Bears center Will Montgomery out for season … The Chicago Bears will be without veteran center Will Montgomery for the remainder of the season after he suffered a fractured left tibia in Sunday's 22-20 victory over the Oakland Raiders at Soldier Field.  —  Montgomery was rolled up from behind …

Giants tight end Daniel Fells spent weekend in hospital, season likely over, source says  —  Tight end Daniel Fells' season is ending prematurely. … While the Giants were taking care of business in Buffalo, tight end Daniel Fells was hospitalized back home.

David Wright, vets already have addressed the lack of playoff experience … Anthony Rieber  —  Rieber: NLDS to feature elite pitching

Average Time of 9-Inning MLB Game Drops 6 Minutes to 2:56  —  NEW YORK — Major League Baseball has managed to cut six minutes from the average time of a nine-inning game this season, when it adopted some speedup rules.  —  STATS said Monday that the season average ended at 2 hours, 56 minutes.

Giants notes: Offseason starts with focus on pitching upgrades  —  SAN FRANCISCO — The theme of Monday's season-ending press conference was an obvious one, with Larry Baer, Bobby Evans and Bruce Bochy all hammering home the same point.  —  This team needs starting pitching.

Mets rookie Steven Matz gets last chance to prove he's ready to pitch in NLDS  —  Steven Matz might be pitching for his playoff spot on Thursday.  The Mets' lefty, who is dealing with tightness behind his right shoulder blade, is tentatively scheduled to throw long-toss on Monday and a bullpen on Tuesday.