The Feed: I'm Not So Much Angry At You As I Am At The Whole Situation

Mclaren John McLaren was tabbed to manage the Seattle Mariners in the wake of Mike Hargrove's unexpected departure. For most of the summer it seemed like a charmed spot for the longtime bench coach because the Mariners were outperforming expectations and looking like contenders for a playoff spot. All they had to do was keep it up in September and, even if they fell short of playing in October, McLaren would seem a safe bet to keep the job next season. Alas, Seattle has gone into the kind of downward spiral that costs men their jobs, families, homes and sanity. They lost again last night, 7-4 to Oakland, and all the losing is starting to get to McLaren. He was ejected for yelling at the home plate umpire after a fourth inning walk, his third ejection since taking over the job and the latest sign that he's not long for the managerial world.

Down 8-1 after three and a half innings the Red Sox were staring down the barrel of some trouble. Their lead could be down to four over the Yankees just before the Bombers rolled into town for a three-game set, Tim Wakefield was slaughtered for the second straight start and, worst of all, it was the lowly Devil Rays doing the pounding. But since it was the Devil Rays on the other side all wasn't lost. The Sox scored four times in the fourth, three times in the fifth and finally took the lead in a six-run sixth inning. They even added two in the seventh to run their lead up to the same seven runs that Tampa led by earlier in the evening. There wouldn't be two comebacks, though, and Boston held on for a 16-10 win.
Jake Peavy was back on his normal amount of rest Tuesday night and it served him well. He allowed two runs over seven innings and the Padres regained a game on the Diamondbacks with a 9-4 win over the Dodgers. The Friars are two and a half games back of Arizona in the West but lead the Phillies by the same amount for the Wild Card.
You're doing a heckuva job, Ozzie! Ending speculation before it really had a chance to begin, the White Sox announced that Ozzie Guillen's contract was extended through the 2012 season despite lackluster on-field results for the Pale Hose this summer. They didn't celebrate the good news with a win, however. Paul Byrd earned a victory for the fifth time in six starts and the Tribe continued their march to a division title in an 8-3 victory.
Your daily NL Central update finds the Brewers back on top by a game after beating the Pirates 6-1. Prince Fielder hit his 44th home run and Yovani Gallardo threw six shutout innings to help them back to the top spot. The Cubs lost ground because they lost a big lead in Houston. They led the Astros 4-1 but Jason Marquis couldn't hold the edge and Luke Scott tripled home the winner in the 11th inning for a loss the Cubs really couldn't afford. Check back tomorrow when there's little chance that things will look the same.

(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)