Struggling in October, Rodriguez Finds It's All a Blur  —  Alex Rodriguez swung and missed, feebly, at Joel Zumaya's 101-mile-an-hour fastball and then behaved like a 7-year-old who had to put away his toys before dinner.  He neatly placed his batting gloves and elbow guard inside his helmet and gave them to a batboy.

Nats Contact Braves About Pendleton  —  The Washington Nationals' search for a replacement for ousted manager Frank Robinson has turned to Terry Pendleton, a former batting champion and the hitting coach for the Atlanta Braves, where he once played and worked under Nationals President Stan Kasten.

Kranitz may stay if he chooses  —  Joe Girardi is gone, but the Marlins want the pitching coach he brought to stay.  —  New manager Fredi Gonzalez spoke with Rick Kranitz on Wednesday, and indications are the Marlins want him back.  First-base coach Perry Hill and hitting coach Jim Presley are strong holdover candidates.

Rangers players aren't surprised  —  Players say they had a feeling Showalter's firing was coming  —  ARLINGTON - Hours after Buck Showalter was fired Wednesday morning, Rangers players spoke volumes about their relationship with him.  They did it with what they didn't say.

Rogers Hopes to Find Comfort Zone vs. Yanks  —  When Manager Joe Torre wrote about Kenny Rogers in his book in 1997, he called Rogers "one of the most difficult players I ever managed."  Torre did not put Rogers in what he called "the Ed Whitson category," but he said he felt Rogers lacked confidence.

The Hunt For The Precioussss: Division Series Day 3  —  Victory Through Superior Tigerpower: Tigers 4, Yankees 3  —  The Kittycats did that which the Dodgers could not, chasing their opponents off the field on the road with a victory in hand, ensuring a split going home to Detroit.

Glavine Pitches Like an Ace, Small Ball Does the Rest  —  José Reyes, who was 1 for 3 with a walk, after he hit a single in the sixth inning.  Reyes also had two runs batted in.  —  As the Mets started confronting life without Pedro Martínez and Orlando Hernández, a 290-game winner lurked in the background.

A's need one victory to end 0-9 skid of losing clinchers  —  Terrence Long lost a ball in the sun.  Jeremy Giambi didn't slide.  F.P. Santangelo muffed a routine grounder.  Practically the entire team contributed to the worst defensive inning of all-time.  —  Billy Koch served up a back-breaking, ninth-inning home run.

Martínez undergoes rotator cuff surgery  —  NEW YORK — Former Red Sox doctor Bill Morgan was present as an observer when pitcher Pedro Martínez underwent surgery yesterday to repair a torn rotator cuff.  Mets doctors David Altchek and Struan Coleman repaired the supraspinatus tendon …

Popgun Padres down to last gasp  —  Offense again MIA as Friars fall 2-0; head to St. Louis trying to avoid sweep  —  SAN DIEGO - Getting out of September intact was the hard part for the St. Louis Cardinals, who clinched a division title while stuck in reverse.  —  And the San Diego Padres?

After Game 2, all signs point to Detroit  —  Ladies and gentlemen, we have a series.  —  The Tigers prevailed Thursday in what was, at its core, a must-win affair for the Motown Nine.  Going down 2-0 against the demonstrably superior Yankees would've all but snuffed out their World Series aspirations.

Pirates Q&A with Dejan Kovacevic  —  Q: Fred-dy!  Fred-dy!  —  David Sculley of Sewickley  —  KOVACEVIC: Yeah, this just in: Freddy Sanchez is good.  —  Welcome, one and all, to the season-ending Q&A — a little longer than usual, so that it can be spread over several of the next few Fridays …

On a bad wing and a prayer … Minnesota fans — especially those who hung tough through those long, grim days of the Twins' not-so-recent past — will cross their fingers, knock on wood, toss salt over their shoulders and pray that Brad Radke's shoulder stays in place Friday afternoon.

A DIAMONDBACK IN THE ROUGH  —  SNAKES' BYRNES A TV HIT  —  The Diamondbacks' Eric Byrnes came across like a future TV star in his guest appearances on ESPN's Baseball Tonight this week.  Now the Phillies' Jimmy Rollins steps into the TV batter's box as a guest analyst on Fox Sports' weekend studio show.

Notes: Brewers claim Balfour from Reds  —  Righty spent 2005 and much of '06 recovering from surgery  —  SAN DIEGO — The Brewers have begun stocking arms for 2007, claiming right-hander Grant Balfour off waivers from Cincinnati on Thursday.  —  Balfour, who turns 29 in December …