Harper: Yankee failure starts with A.J.  —  ANAHEIM - A.J. Burnett was at his dazzling best Thursday night as long as he was losing by four runs.  When it really mattered, however, he didn't look at all like the guy the Yankees saw as a big-game pitcher when they gambled $82.5 million on him last winter.

Dodgers owner fires wife as team CEO … Dodgers owner Frank McCourt has fired wife Jamie as CEO of the team, the first shot in what promises to be bitter battle over the storied baseball team, SI.com has learned.  —  Jamie McCourt was fired within the last two days, according to several sources.

Chat with Keith Law  —  Welcome to SportsNation!  On Thursday, MLB Insider Keith Law will be here to take your questions on anything baseball related.  —  Law is the senior baseball analyst for Scouts Inc. Before joining ESPN, Law served as special assistant to the general manager …

2009 Players Choice finalists announced  —  Pujols, Mauer highlight potential award winners  —  The 2009 Players Choice Awards will be announced exclusively next week in five daily segments of ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike in the Morning show.  —  Players in both leagues voted in mid-September …

Giddy Halos fan takes a dive into the waterfall at Angel Stadium  —  Why is this guy all wet?  Not because Angel Stadium has a pool.  No, he's dripping with “holy” water because he went for a frolic in the ballpark's rocky waterfall.  —  Because an Angels' four-run lead over the Yankees …

It's all about the leverage (or why Mariano should have pitched the 7th)  —  Leverage is a funny word.  A loaded word, if you will.  —  For one thing, it's more or less responsible for the financial collapse of America.  —  In baseball parlance, leverage refers to an on-field situation …

For Angels, Thrill of Victory, Then a Rush of Relief  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. — If it was going to end, this was not the way the Los Angeles Angels wanted it to.  Not with Manager Mike Scioscia wondering if he had handled a pitching change like Grady Little.  Not with John Lackey seething about a strike that the plate umpire said was not.

This is gonna hurt, but the Royals should at least look at trading Joakim Soria  —  Aside from a barstool, there may be no more emotional position in baseball than closer.  This is certainly true for Jonathan Papelbon and K-Rod, but more, it's true for the people watching.

AUDIO & VIDEO ON DEMAND  —  WEEI » Audio & Video On Demand » Theo Epstein, Red Sox GM  —  THEO EPSTEIN, RED SOX GM  —  PODCAST  —  Get Adobe Flash Player to see this content.  —  Theo joins D&C to talk JD Drew, Jason Bay and the post season

Braves Rumors: Soriano, Gonzalez, Hudson  —  David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution talked to Braves GM Frank Wren yesterday.  Hot stove highlights:  — Wren considers the Braves' biggest needs to be the bullpen and the offense.  — O'Brien is certain the Braves won't try …

Former ump says go to video  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. - Don Denkinger is living a quiet, peaceful retirement these days, playing golf in the Arizona sun.  But just like any former major league umpire, he still follows the game.  And as one, in particular, whose career was defined by a bad call …