By Mark Mix
Home day care providers would be forced into unions
Adding offense following a disappointing season, the Boston Red Sox have agreed to a $39 million, three-year contract with catcher Mike Napoli, a person familiar with the deal said.
Larry Lucchino cracked open a fortune cookie from the Chinese dinner that Red Sox officials and John Farrell shared during their final discussion about Boston's managerial job.
Back on June 1, the AP unveiled a list of 10 players who were off to slow starts but were likely to bounce back quickly _ some thinly veiled advice for fantasy players, if you will.
The Boston Red Sox found out too late that Bobby Valentine wasn't the manager to straighten out a clubhouse of coddled veterans.
The Boston Red Sox thought Bobby Valentine would restore order to a coddled clubhouse that disintegrated during the 2011 pennant race.
The Boston Red Sox thought Bobby Valentine would restore order to a coddled clubhouse that disintegrated during the 2011 pennant race.

The Boston Red Sox fired manager Bobby Valentine on Thursday after one season in which he failed to bring order to a clubhouse that disintegrated during the 2011 pennant race.
Here's how the pennant races look with exactly two weeks left:

The Washington Nationals came as close as they ever have to a playoff berth on Wednesday evening.
Boston Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington admits his current team "is hard to watch."
"He's an energetic guy, eager to get on the field, loves the game, always has a big smile on his face," Gonzalez said. "This isn't something he's not prepared for."
Yasiel Puig hottest star in L.A. and MLB after scorching start →
"I absolutely love the job of being a hitting coach," he said. "I love teaching and being around the game of baseball."