Yanks stock up on arms in 11th hour  —  ALDS roster includes 11 pitchers; Gaudin, Joba make cut  —  NEW YORK — The Yankees finalized their 25-man roster for the American League Division Series on Wednesday, reversing course and opting to take an 11-man pitching staff to face the Minnesota Twins.

Never-give-up Twins win Central title  —  Casilla delivers walk-off hit; Minnesota to face Yanks in ALDS  —  MINNEAPOLIS — Over the past two weeks of the season, the Twins and Tigers battled each other so many times, every contest felt like a playoff game.

Oct. 7 — COLE: EARLY STARTS ‘NOT FAIR’  —  Good morning, all, from the Bank.  Lots to tell already, and it's only 11:30 a.m.  —  1. Cole Hamels feels the pain of all the Phillies fans who will be stuck at work, unable to watch Games 1 or 2 because of the early start times.

Dodgers' Wolf finally has playoff start  —  LOS ANGELES — After 275 regular-season starts, the second most among active pitchers in the major leagues without starting a postseason game, 33-year-old lefthander Randy Wolf will make his mark tonight when he faces the Cardinals.

Format in playoffs' opening round can derail juggernauts  —  The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers spent six grueling months posting the best records in their leagues and establishing themselves as the top teams in baseball.  —  When they step onto the field today to open the playoffs, it will mean virtually nothing.

Alex's ordeal  —  Red Sox shortstop keeps his eye on the ball, his heart with his ailing son  —  BOSTON — Minutes before each game, the ritual begins.  First, a prayer.  Then, the visualization of nine imagined innings: balls hit to him, time spent inside the batter's box, swings at fastballs …

2 Miles NE Harlem NY  —  Enter Your “City, ST” or zip code  —  This  —  Afternoon  —  Tonight  —  Thursday  —  Thursday  —  Night  —  Friday  —  Friday  —  Night  —  Saturday  —  Saturday  —  Night  —  Sunday  —  This Afternoon: Mostly sunny, with a high near 73.

Actions, not words, will put real pressure on Minaya, Manuel  —  After yesterday's media blitz by the Mets' front office, which included a morning news conference at Citi Field followed by a 90-minute propaganda session on WFAN, did the team really provide any plan for how to fix its current mess?

Projected Type A Free Agents  —  Eddie will take a final pass-through before signing off on his projected Elias Rankings, but all 2008-09 regular season data is included in the latest update.  Here's a list of the 31 free agents projected to have Type A status (an asterisk denotes an option):

Lowrie on, Velazquez here  —  Jed Lowrie will be the backup infielder on the Red Sox first round roster, manager Terry Francona said a short while ago.  The move did not come as a surprise given the status of Nick Green and Chris Woodward, the other two candidates.

Moehler to return to Astros in '10  —  Houston plans to pick up its half of mutual option  —  HOUSTON — Astros right-hander Brian Moehler said Tuesday that he plans to return next season after being informed by general manager Ed Wade earlier in the day that the club planned on picking up its half of the mutual option for 2010.

Hawksworth, Boggs get roster spots in 1st round  —  Friday July 31, 2009 - Cardinal's starting pitcher Mitchell Boggs throws out Astro's Kazuo Matsui in the first inning during a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Houston Astros at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Mo. (Emily Rasinski/P-D)

Former Detroit Tigers pitcher Brian Powell dies of self-inflicted gunshot  —  Brian Powell, who pitched for the Detroit Tigers in 1998 and again in 2002 as part of a six-year major-league career, died Monday of a self-inflicted gunshot.  He was 35.  —  Powell, a resident of Bainbridge …

Marlins pitcher Sean West's wild Saturday night  —  Marlins reliever Sean West had a wild Saturday night, being involved in one fight, nearly provoking another, then getting lucky with a groupie at his hotel.  West was leaving G Lounge (111 S. 17th) close to 2 a.m. Sunday morning …

Florida State League Top 20 Prospects  —  Stanton-Montero debate leads off the FSL list … The teams may play in front of smaller crowds and in bigger parks than most minor leaguers.  But the combination of good weather and proximity to team's training bases means that the high Class …