Yanks have too much power for Tigers  —  NEW YORK - Tigers manager Jim Leyland all but conceded the difficulty of beating the Yankees before the Division Series even began, telling the FOX broadcasters: "This will be a great series for second-guessing.  I'm going to try some stuff."  —  FOX Bite

Nationals Could Try to Hire Girardi  —  Joe Girardi, fired yesterday as the manager of the Florida Marlins despite a season in which he became a leading candidate for the National League's manager of the year award, could become a prime target of the Washington Nationals, sources close to the situation said yesterday.

Hernandez expected to miss postseason for Mets; Maine to start Game 1  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Orlando Hernandez is expected to miss the entire postseason because of a calf injury, and Mets rookie John Maine will start Game 1 of the playoffs Wednesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Showalter won't manage Rangers in 2007  —  The Texas Rangers parted ways with manager Buck Showalter, Dallas media outlets reported Wednesday.  —  The Rangers did not make the postseason in his four years at the helm.  Texas lost the finale 3-2 Sunday at Seattle to finish 80-82 …

He is gripped by an ex-Dodger fear factor  —  I Have a couple of concerns here, although I don't believe any of them are big enough to keep our guys from winning the World Series.  —  First, they have to get out of this dump still healthy.  Shea Stadium is two years younger than Dodger Stadium …

Despite another bad record, McClatchy to continue running Pirates  —  PITTSBURGH (AP) -Kevin McClatchy will remain as the Pittsburgh Pirates' chief executive officer and managing general partner, even though the franchise hasn't had a winning season since he took control in 1996.

Bonds undergoes surgery on left elbow  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Barry Bonds had surgery to remove bone chips from his troublesome left elbow that caused the San Francisco slugger pain and swelling throughout this season.  —  Bonds, who had the operation Monday, said he expects to be ready to resume …

The Ledger Domain  —  Ticket Snub  —  While we're all getting ready to watch some great postseason baseball, an increasing number of fans who haven't invested in advance ticket packages are finding that the only way that they will be able to see games in person is with the help …

Rothschild, Speier could be back with Cubs  —  While none of the Cubs coaches are expected to return when a new manager takes over, pitching coach Larry Rothschild and third base coach Chris Speier aren't completely out of the picture.  —  Rothschild could be Lou Piniella's choice …

Q&A with new Cubs boss: In Hendry he trusts  —  When Tribune Co. was looking for a new man to put at the top of the Cubs' food chain, no one could have predicted they would turn to a lifelong White Sox fan to try to right the ship.  —  "I'm a Cubs fan," John McDonough protested.  "I grew up a White Sox fan."

State of the Mariners: Young M's must play like veterans in 2007  —  We turn today to legendary Mariners fan Jimi Hendrix as we examine the sunken ship that was Seattle baseball in 2006.  —  In the words of the late, great guitarist, the Mariners' season was like watching "the sunrise from the bottom of the sea."

AFL Preview, Part One  —  The first Baseball Abstract I purchased was in 1985.  One of my favorite pieces in that book was a comparison of the 1984 Detroit Tigers to other great teams of the last 25 years.  In the essay, Bill James compared the players on each position to each other …

Marquis keeps spot on roster, Reyes out  —  SAN DIEGO — Planning to go with a three-man rotation in the NL first-round playoff series, manager Tony La Russa chose the starter he kept on the roster and the one he left off based on versatility.  —  Righthanded starter Jason Marquis was kept active …

All-Brennaman booth  —  The Reds today hired Thom Brennaman to join their radio and TV broadcast teams and signed him to a four-year contract through 2010.  —  Thom will be in the radio booth for "selected" broadcasts alongside his father and also will do television.