The eyes of Texas upon CC?  —  A baseball source told ESPNNewYork.com today that the Texas Rangers, currently one win away from a second straight trip to the World Series but likely to lose starter C.J. Wilson to free agency over the winter, are preparing to make a strong bid to sign CC Sabathia …

SOURCE: SOX-CUBS NEGOTIATIONS HIT BUMP  —  WEEI's John Dennis is reporting that the initial day of negotiations between the Red Sox and Cubs regarding the compensation that Chicago would send to the Sox in order to hire GM Theo Epstein revealed a gap between the sides.

Berkman, Ellsbury earn Comeback awards  —  All-Star outfielders Lance Berkman of the Cardinals and Jacoby Ellsbury of the Red Sox were named the winners of the 2011 Comeback Player of the Year Awards on Thursday, as the annual rollout of Major League Baseball's individual hardware got under way.

Wolf goes seven strong, Brewers even series with Cardinals  —  ST. LOUIS - Randy Wolf outfoxed the St. Louis Cardinals for seven innings to earn his first post-season win at age 35 and the Milwaukee Brewers got two more hits from Ryan Braun in a 4-2 victory Thursday night that evened the NL championship series at 2-all.

Curt Schilling on D&C: ‘This is what happens when you piss people off that are really rich and powerful’  —  Former Red Sox pitcher and ESPN baseball analyst Curt Schilling joined the Dennis & Callahan show Thursday morning to share his thoughts on an article published Wednesday outing …

Jim Leyland: Valverde, Benoit unavailable for Game 5  —  DETROIT - Tigers manager Jim Leyland says relievers Jose Valverde and Joaquin Benoit won't pitch in Thursday's fifth game of the AL championship series.  —  Detroit trails the Texas Rangers 3-1 in the ALCS but sends ace Justin Verlander to the mound for Game 5.

Former Yankee Farmhand Finds New Life in Milwaukee  —  The phone call that would change the course of John Axford's career came in December 2007.  A little-known Yankees pitching prospect at the time, Axford was at home in Hamilton, Ontario, scanning the Internet in search of an offseason job …

Starting Them Young, Part One  —  Everyone missed on Mike Trout.  Don't get me wrong: Trout was a well-regarded player headed into the 2009 draft, a certain first-round talent.  But he wasn't—yet—a phenom.  Everyone liked Trout; it's just that no one loved him.

David Wright ponders his future  —  In the final days of the season, David Wright would prepare himself at his locker almost unnoticed as crowds gathered regularly just a few feet away.  Normally the face of the Mets' franchise and team spokesman, Wright dressed silently while Jose Reyes reluctantly held court.