Willie Randolph opens up after his recent firing as Mets manager  —  Three and a half years and 555 games after it began, my dream of bringing a championship to the New York Mets officially expired a few minutes after midnight in Suite 1602 of the Westin Hotel in Costa Mesa, Calif.

Five ways for the Mets to stay alive  —  So now what?  —  On what has seemed like a roller-coaster ride to oblivion for these Mets, the only person whose season really is over is Willie Randolph.  And after Wednesday's comeback victory over the Angels, this team, now under the tutelage of Jerry Manuel …

Tavarez designated for assignment  —  Brewers want to hold onto reliever if he clears waivers  —  MILWAUKEE — Julian Tavarez was the odd man out when the Brewers activated reliever David Riske from the disabled list on Thursday.  —  Three weeks after he signed to plug a hole …

Blue Jays GM apologizes criticizing Reds' Dunn … J.P. Ricciardi, general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, apologized profusely for critical remarks he made about Cincinnati Reds outfielder Adam Dunn earlier this week, and indicated he is trying to reach out to Dunn …

Indians acquire Fasano from Braves  —  Veteran offers more experience than Haad, who's designated  —  DENVER — Kelly Shoppach is the Indians' everyday catcher, now that Victor Martinez is out for a while.  But Shoppach, of course, can't be counted on to play every day.

Chipper Jones' average falls below .400  —  Blanco wants bat leadoff  —  Arlington, Texas — Chipper Jones asked what the date was Thursday afternoon after the Braves' loss to the Rangers, while he was filling out a check to tip the Texas visiting clubhouse attendants.  —  He might remember it for a while now, actually.

Schilling to have surgery, done for season  —  Curt Schilling's season is over and there is a good chance he's thrown his last pitch in the major leagues as the Red Sox righthander is going to have surgery on his right shoulder Monday in Philadelphia.  —  “I'm not exactly sure …

Sox, Cubs fans get ready for Wrigley rumble  —  Judging by the numbers, this weekend's crosstown clash between the Cubs and White Sox should be a monster: Both teams stand atop their divisions, their TV ratings are up substantially and tickets to the series at Wrigley Field are fetching unprecedented prices.

Bad sports  —  While old and new media are mending many fences, they're still squaring off in jockland  —  When, sometime in the future, historians trace the rise of the blog as the dominant journalistic form of the 21st century, they'll pay close attention to two recent developments:

Suzuki's next hit: the road  —  The rap on Ichiro Suzuki and the Mariners: They're highly paid underachievers.  John Froschauer / Associated Press  —  Seattle fired general manager Bill Bavasi on Monday.  Manager John McLaren was let go Thursday.  —  Who's next?

Yanks' power mustache  —  But Kevin Long, the Yankees' hitting coach, told Giambi each day that he was doing nothing wrong.  Long studied every one of Giambi's at-bats on video from when the Yankee first baseman was hitting .150 in May and thought he was just mired in bad luck.

Seattle Mariners Manager John McLaren relieved of duties  —  Bench Coach Jim Riggleman promoted to manager for remainder of 2008 campaign  —  SEATTLE — Seattle Mariners Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Lee Pelekoudas announced today that John McLaren has been relieved of his duties as manager.