A-Rod & Yanks just looking  —  Series swings as Tigers strike  —  The last pitch whizzed by Alex Rodriguez at 101 mph, his swing a futile hack.  As the boos began to tumble down from above, Rodriguez leaned over and said a few words to home plate umpire Laz Diaz before trudging slowly out toward third base.

Glavine earns 13th career postseason win … NEW YORK — He's the last ace standing.  —  No more Pedro.  No more El Duque.  And nobody has spotted Tom Seaver lately, either, come to think of it.  —  But Tom Glavine goes on and on.  —  He hasn't come down with that runaway Flushing affliction, Mad Calf Disease.

"Mr. Clutch" comes through again for A's  —  OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Although Marco Scutaro is far from famous outside the Coliseum, the fans inside were screaming his name when the Oakland Athletics wrapped up their first playoff series victory in 16 years.

Former Negro Leaguer O'Neil dies  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Buck O'Neil, baseball's charismatic Negro Leagues ambassador who barnstormed with Satchel Paige and inexplicably fell one vote shy of the Hall of Fame, died Friday night.  He was 94.  —  Bob Kendrick, marketing director …

Time for Hendry to take off kid gloves  —  Cubs' GM must stop being Mr. Nice Guy if he's serious about rebuilding, writes Phil Rogers  —  Hey, look there.  —  The Los Angeles Dodgers badly overpaid to sign shortstop Rafael Furcal last winter, but the shame didn't seem to affect them too badly.

Former Reds exec Wagner passes  —  Big Red Machine architect served as GM and club president  —  CINCINNATI — Former Reds executive Dick Wagner, who played a part in the building and dismantling of the championship "Big Red Machine" clubs, died at the age of 78.

Dodgers-Mets Notebook: Garciaparra hurt  —  Dodgers first baseman Nomar Garciaparra left Thursday night's game in the sixth inning after reinjuring his left quadriceps.  —  His status for game three Saturday was uncertain.  —  Garciaparra strained his quadriceps Sept. 15 during a game against San Diego …

Prospectus Matchups  —  October Musings  —  By now, every baseball fan older than the age of six (and a few of the more precocious kindergartners) is asking the same thing: why isn't Joel Zumaya closing for the Tigers?  Or at the very least, why wasn't he allowed to finish off the Yankees yesterday?

Walk this way  —  Ever-patient Boggs looks back on birth of a dynasty … SI.com: In Sports Illustrated's 1986 Baseball Preview Issue, you sat down for a lengthy chat with Don Mattingly and Ted Williams.  Do you have any memories of the conversation you had that day?  —  Wade Boggs: Every bit of it.

Odd time to look ahead for Lugo  —  Dodgers infielder is entertaining thought of playing with Mets  —  Credit Julio Lugo for answering the question honestly.  Dock him for the timing.  —  Lugo, who received the start at third base for the Dodgers last night, was asked before the game about speculation …

WINNING EARNED DOUBLE-A MANAGER THE BOOT  —  The Yankees' Double-A Trenton manager, Bill Masse, says he has been fired for a reason that doesn't exist.  —  Minor league head Mark Newman told Masse on Tuesday that he would not be coming back for a seventh season as a manager in the organization following …