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.

Twins' hopes resting on Radke's shoulders  —  OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Ron Gardenhire figured he had seen Brad Radke's final major league pitch six weeks ago when his player's injured right arm could barely throw 80 mph.  —  Radke had a torn labrum and stress fracture in his shoulder …

Postseason Insider, Oct. 6  —  SAN DIEGO - The first two games of the NL Division Series haven't been kind to San Diego, and its general manager, Kevin Towers.  —  Little else, however, has gone awry for Towers this year.  —  It's been one of those seasons in which even when Towers …

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.

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.

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.

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 …

Evaluating the Big 3 in Cubs' pursuit of manager  —  Here's how the main managerial candidates stack up  —  Joe Girardi, Lou Piniella and Bob Brenly are experienced baseball men with sound philosophies and good reputations.  The three top managerial candidates for the Cubs all have attributes …

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.

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 …

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.