Leave it to Phil Coke, in his finest hour, to still be a headache for Jim Leyland.

As St. Louis rides a deep and effective bullpen for a second consecutive season, it’s hard to miss the parallels between the 2012 relief corps and the one the Cards relied so heavily on in the ’11 postseason.

Competing is what the Giants do best, as general manager Brian Sabean has pointed out more than once. They lacked power, their once-dominant starting pitchers endured inconsistency and the offense needed more than half a season to gain a knack for situational hitting.

Buster Posey, without debate the Giants’ best player and possibly the National League’s most valuable, hasn’t done anything to help his club extend their postseason run.

Cards righty Jake Westbrook threw another bullpen session on Friday and spoke optimistically about his chances of being healthy enough to contribute by the start of the World Series.

The Cardinals are still mulling whether they’ll make starter Adam Wainwright available out of the bullpen for the remainder of the NLCS.

Cards outfielder Carlos Beltran reported to AT&T Park on Saturday to receive treatment on his left knee, which responded well the day after returning to action.

Though Billy Beane forecast an unusually quiet winter just last week, the A’s general manager was back to his old ways on Saturday, swinging an early offseason deal with the D-backs that brought him veteran center fielder Chris Young.

Miguel Cabrera may be lauded as one of the game’s best hitters but it was his move to third base that opened the door for the Tigers to sign Prince Fielder and create one of the more feared lineup combinations.

The Marlins on Saturday acquired Minor League infielder Yordy Cabrera from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for right-handed pitcher Heath Bell and cash.

The D-backs on Saturday made deals with the A’s for shortstop Cliff Pennington and with the Marlins for relief pitcher Heath Bell.

Prince Fielder knew he wouldn’t be the focal point in Detroit. The Tigers had the AL MVP and Cy Young Award winner in Justin Verlander, and the AL batting champion in Miguel Cabrera. But rather than approach it hesitantly, he approached it like a kid in his first day at a new school.

The National League Championship Series gets down to the nitty gritty on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET (FOX) when the scene switches back to AT&T Park for Game 6 between the Cardinals and the Giants.

Veteran Panamanian pitcher Ramiro Mendoza recently reported for the first day of training with his team. After a tiresome day in the sun and heat, the right-hander still had enough enthusiasm to express a love for his country and a desire to wear its uniform in the qualifying round for the World Baseball Classic, which will take place from Nov. 15-19.

The Red Sox got their man on Saturday night, agreeing to a deal with the Blue Jays that brings John Farrell back to Boston as manager, MLB.com has confirmed.

Yankees captain Derek Jeter underwent surgery Saturday to repair a left ankle fracture. The procedure was performed by Dr. Robert Anderson in Charlotte, N.C. Complete recovery is expected to take four to five months.

The Cardinals flew back to San Francisco as Friday night morphed into Saturday morning, without their fourth National League pennant in nine years and still seeking their third World Series championship in seven seasons. But this team, that is deep into October without Tony La Russa, Albert Pujols, Lance Berkman or Rafael Furcal, once again showed the baseball world that the culture that is the Cardinal tradition withstands exiles and injuries.