3UP: Yanks postseason, AL MVP, Bradley  —  Yes, I am on Twitter.  —  1. The Yankees are going to make the playoffs.  The Rays and Rangers have made sure of that by falling apart late and leaving no potential wild card trapdoor.  But the Yankees do not want to collapse out of first place late …

Joba gets touched up in Seattle  —  Griffey's three-run shot headlines early flurry vs. righty  —  SEATTLE — This was supposed to be the start when the rules that revolve around Joba Chamberlain's universe were going to relax, with the Yankees anticipating that he would finally pitch long enough to earn another victory.

Astros fire manager Cooper, saying change was in order  —  Astros manager Cecil Cooper has been fired by the Astros, the team announced today.  —  Third base coach Dave Clark will serve as interim manager the final 13 games of the season.  —  “Coop is a very solid baseball guy and gave …

Aroldis Chapman awaits ruling on MLB free-agency status  —  Aroldis Chapman, the Cuban defector considered to be one of the top pitching prospects in the world, petitioned Major League Baseball for free-agency status recently and is likely only weeks from becoming a free agent, according to his agent.

Mets' future bleaker than Nationals  —  THIS is the hard truth Mets fans must face today.  The Nationals have a brighter future than the Mets.  It doesn't get any worse than that.  Washington has the worst record in baseball at 51-97.  —  It's so bad that it may be easier for the Nationals to attract free agents than the Mets.

Pirates will pursue familiar faces in free agency  —  Grabow likely target this winter, as is St. Louis outfielder Rick Ankiel  —  The Pirates plan to be more aggressive in free agency than last year, general manager Neal Huntington said yesterday, and that could include a pursuit of recently traded players.

Best Fastballs in Baseball  —  A few weeks back, Jeremy Greenhouse presented a new method for evaluating who throws best pitches in baseball.  Building on work by Dave Allen and John Walsh, the principle is to evaluate pitches based on their outcomes.  Jeremy's innovation was to use regression …

A Stadium as a Work of Art  —  When Jeffrey Loria says that the Florida Marlins' new stadium will be a work of art, he means it literally.  Loria, the owner of the Marlins, who made his money as an art dealer, is overseeing many of the details of the design of the park …

Sox place Tazawa on 60-day DL  —  The Red Sox today placed righthander Junichi Tazawa on the 60-day disabled list with a mild left groin strain, ending his remarkable first season in the United States with the Red Sox.  —  Tazawa tweaked his left groin Sept. 4, while covering first base as a reliever against the Chicago White Sox.

Markakis: 'I'm in a funk'  —  Struggling outfielder says his timing is off at the plate; in Sept., he's hitting .203 with no homers  —  Orioles right fielder Nick Markakis is adamant that he has had much tougher stretches in the major leagues, regardless of what the numbers suggest.