History suggests Tampa Bay Rays fans should temper their hopes  —  It begins quietly, just an inkling that all is not lost.  —  A few victories in a row, perhaps.  Maybe a key injury on another team, followed by a walkoff homer at a time when few people are paying attention.

Umpires show ethnic bias in ball/strike calls—unless they're feeling watched  —  There's a lot of behavioral literature that indicates we tend to like people who we think belong to the same group as us, and behave favorably towards them—even though we're not aware of doing so.

Frank McCourt's attorney calls bid for Dodgers a ‘publicity stunt’  —  The Dodgers owner has not responded publicly to a $1.2-billion offer from a group headed by Los Angeles Marathon founder Bill Burke, but a court filing cites McCourt's choice not to accept the bid.

Kennedy Gets 19th Win as D-Backs Beat Padres 4-1  —  PHOENIX (AP) — Ian Kennedy struck out a season-high 11 over seven-plus innings for his National League-leading 19th win as the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the San Diego Padres 4-1 on Thursday night.  —  Kennedy (19-4) scattered seven hits and did not walk a batter over 7 2-3 innings.

Konerko hits grand slam to lead White Sox over Indians  —  CHICAGO — Brent Morel hit two homers and Paul Konerko had a grand slam, lifting the Chicago White Sox to an 8-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Thursday night.  —  Morel hit a solo shot off Indians starter David Huff (2-4) …

SF Giants' roster - who won't be back in 2012?  — In modern baseball, the stability of the Giants' roster from 2010 to 2011 was unique.  Juan Uribe left for Los Angeles and Edgar Renteria for Cincinnati.  Aside from that, the bulk of the World Series championship team returned.

Robertson setting up for Yankees' postseason push  —  Ask about Yankees reliever David Robertson and you will hear terms like “natural cut” and “long, loose extension” and “fastballs that have late life,” and you realize these are words that have been used for more than a decade to describe Mariano Rivera.

Hamels, Pence lead Phillies past Brewers, 7-2  —  MILWAUKEE (AP) — For only the second time in nearly seven years, the Philadelphia Phillies played a game without three of their biggest stars - Ryan Howard , Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins .  —  It didn't matter.

Twins go all in on Mauer, Morneau  —  Buster Olney writes that the Twins' offseason will consist of waiting for Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau to get fully healthy, then provides offseason blueprints for five other teams in need of improvements this winter.

Source: MLB wants Astros to move to AL  —  League would seek move pending new ownership  —  HOUSTON — As the Astros await approval of a transfer of ownership to a group led by Houston businessman Jim Crane, an industry source has confirmed for MLB.com that Commissioner Bud Selig has asked Crane …

Final: Blue Jays 7, Red Sox 4  —  Jason Varitek homered in the ninth.  But with two on and two out, Dustin Pedroia struck out.  He has one hit in his last 23 at-bats and was 1 for 20 in the series.  —  Bottom of 8th: Blue Jays 7, Red Sox 3  —  David Cooper tacked on yet another run …