Flat Albert  —  Rips Glavine, despite taking 0-fer  —  Albert Pujols was less than impressive in last night's NLCS opener.  He was even less impressed with Mets starter Tom Glavine.  —  A peeved Pujols snapped at reporters following his -for-3 outing that included a costly baserunning blunder …

Piniella has Harrelson gushing  —  There are two managers who send Ken Harrelson to the land of superlatives: Ozzie Guillen and Lou Piniella.  —  Sure enough, Harrelson didn't hold back Thursday over the prospect of Piniella signing with the Cubs.  —  "We would have the two best managers in the same city," Harrelson said.

Replacing the Wild Card: The "Challenge Round"  —  There seems to be a pretty general consensus among sabermetric folks that baseball's current system of post-season eligibility and play is seriously flawed.  Rich Lederer's post here the other day is one indication, an on-going discussion …

Nats' Kasten Denies Credibility of Soriano Report  —  Washington Nationals President Stan Kasten said yesterday that he didn't give credence to a wire report saying left fielder Alfonso Soriano, a free agent to be, turned down a five-year, $70 million offer to stay in Washington.

Conditions turn frigid for ALCS  —  Detroit forecast calls for temperatures in upper 30s and possible snow flurries for Game 3 today  —  Robert Peary was such a celebrity in the fall of 1909, having completed an expedition to the North Pole, that the Detroit Tigers invited him to a World Series game.

Pujols left hitless and unimpressed with Glavine  —  With an expression of scorn and words of disdain, Albert Pujols was defiant in defeat last night.  —  The Cardinals' slugger, who went 0-for-3 with a walk, flipped his chair into the leg of a reporter gathered at his locker, turned his back …

5 QUESTIONS FOR MICHAEL KAY  —  This week, NYP TV Sports' Andrew Marchand spoke with Michael Kay.  Kay, 45, is the voice of the Yankees on YES and hosts his own 1050-ESPN radio show.  —  Q: You have been outspoken about Joe Torre.  What was your biggest beef?  —  A: I don't think he did a bad job at all during the season.

Cliff hurt, but catch makes for happy Endy  —  The Mets' decision to keep Cliff Floyd on their NLCS roster with his sore left Achilles proved to be a risky gamble last night, as the left fielder came up lame in his only at-bat and had to leave the game in the second inning.

Point is, the GM is in charge  —  For Jon Daniels, the free ride is over.  —  In a troubled season for the Rangers, the youngest general manager in the majors never had to walk point through the minefields and the media ambushes.  —  Buck Showalter was out there in front, taking the heat as the logical and easy target.

A meeting of the minds  —  Belichick hits it off with La Russa  —  NEW YORK — I was shelling peanuts and hardly paying attention as Tony La Russa delivered a rambling answer to a pregame question regarding the expanded format of today's baseball playoffs.

Tom may take 5th vs. St. Louis  —  The Mets asked Major League Baseball to let them resubmit their NLCS roster yesterday morning, after a Game 1 rainout resulted in games scheduled on five straight days.  MLB stood firm with its 10 a.m. Wednesday deadline, despite the series' first pitch being delayed by 24 hours.

Youth coach sentenced to prison  —  Downs offered kid money to bean autistic player  —  UNIONTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A youth baseball coach accused of offering an 8-year-old money to bean an autistic teammate so he couldn't play was sentenced Thursday to one to six years in prison.

Dodgers' VP of Scouting Quits  —  Hired by a previous general manager and uncertain of his role in the new regime, Roy Smith resigned Thursday as Dodgers vice president of scouting and player development.  —  Smith, who had another year on his contract, made the decision during a meeting with General Manager Ned Colletti.

Coliseum lease deal is ready for signing  —  ALAMEDA COUNTY: Terms of the agreement extend Athletics' contract to 2010, possibly 2013  —  Less than a month after team officials broke off talks to extend the Oakland Athletics' lease at McAfee Coliseum, a new deal seems all but complete.