Beer in the clubhouse is ‘nothing new’ and not the blame for the Boston Red Sox's September collapse  —  The finger-pointing in Boston began as soon as the regular season was over: The Red Sox, who had gone 7-20 in September, missed the playoffs thanks to yet another epic collapse, and somebody's head had to roll.

PADRES: Reports indicate Hoyer, McLeod are headed to Chicago  —  SAN DIEGO — A team source confirmed on Thursday night the Padres will receive compensation if general manager Jed Hoyer and assistant GM Jason McLeod join the Chicago Cubs as expected.  —  Reports earlier in the day indicated McLeod will follow Hoyer to Chicago.

Ortiz: ‘Of course I would like to come back’  —  ST. LOUIS — In the same city where he once helped reverse the Curse of the Bambino, David Ortiz accepted the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet before Game 2 of the World Series on Thursday and then said he is not looking to leave the Red Sox.

Cubs set to close the deal with Epstein  —  The Chicago Cubs are close to finalizing their hiring of Boston Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein, a source said.  An announcement could come Friday.  —  Epstein would take a high-level executive role, above the GM level.

Rangers rally in ninth to beat Cardinals, even World Series  —  ST. LOUIS — Down to their last three outs, and in danger of dropping into a serious World Series deficit, the Texas Rangers rallied against St. Louis' vaunted bullpen for a 2-1 victory Thursday night.

Without marquee teams in Series, who's watching?  —  Texas put runners on first and third with two outs in the fourth inning, but Cardinals starter Jaime Garcia got out of it.  He fell behind 3-1 on Adrian Beltre, then came back to get a swinging strikeout.