Cecil Cooper doesn't like the way the Astros are playing right now.

He is quite frustrated with the Astros' offense this spring, which makes sense considering they are hitting .224 this spring.

"I wasn't happy, totally not happy," Cooper said. "Heck no, I'm not happy with that, not at all. We're hitting .220 (.224) as a team in spring training. Nobody hits .220 in spring training as a team. Come on. Two hundred? Are you kidding me? I don't care if it's spring training. I don't care what it is, .220 is .220."

The team isn't very sure-handed either:

So, the defense hasn't exactly made Cooper happy either. Carlos Lee had one error Friday.

"We can't go one stinking game without making an error," Cooper said, "and they're easy errors."

This, unfortunately, reflects badly on Cooper. This strikes me as an unmotivated team. Ron Washington went through something similar at the start of the regular season in 2008. With luck, Cooper will find his answer before the games start to count.

The Washington Nationals put Mike Rizzo in charge of the team:

Saying that his team needed "a little bit of calming rather than more change right now," Washington Nationals President Stan Kasten has given Mike Rizzo control of day-to-day major league operations for the foreseeable future. Rizzo, an assistant general manager with the club since 2006, "will have primary responsibility for all matters relating to the major league team," Kasten said.

Rizzo did an impressive job of quickly putting a new Dominican Republic operation in place after the firing of Jose Rijo. He now gets a chance to permanently earn the job as GM.

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It appears Ryan Zimmerman's agent didn't like working with Jim Bowden, either.

Gaslamp Ball sees Sandy Alderson moving to the Cubs:

Alderson didn't have any comment on the rumor, that means it's totally going to happen. If there's one thing I know about Alderson after listening to his interviews is that when he's not answering questions in a really blunt and sometimes condescending manner, then something is afoot.

Having Sandy in Chicago might make a trade for Peavy a bit easier.

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Stan Kasten is acting general manager for the Nationals:

Q: If somebody called right now and wanted to make a trade, a deal, who's in charge?

It has happened. I'm in charge.

No, I've done this before. I'm doing what we need to do to keep the franchise moving forward, and I'm pleased to say that's exactly what has been happening. I met with the staff this morning, made sure everyone understood their roles, made sure all of our tasks were getting covered. Also made sure that everyone understood that adversity invariably creates opportunity, too. And everyone should view this as an occasion for opportunity, an occasion to demonstrate initiative. And to show the same enthusiasm that all of us around the team feel about the team itself; we should feel that way about the front office as well. I do think there are opportunities for renewed initiative. I'd like to see it. It would get rewarded.

It might be a very good time to be low-level staffer in the Nationals front office.

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Squawking Baseball sits down with John Coppolella, Director of Baseball Administration for the Atlanta Braves. The two talk about the arbitration process, how teams reach their numbers, as well as how the Braves look for talent.

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Jim Bowden stepped down this morning from his post as general manager of the Washington Nationals:

Bowden said, "It is an emotional decision that saddens me, but one that I feel is in the best interests of the two things I love most -- baseball and the Washington Nationals."

I can't agree more. Let's hope the Nationals bring in someone who knows how to build a team. Fire Jim Bowden decided in favor of gloating:

Then, I thought... screw that! Bodes is toast! Leatherpants is gone! No more ex-Reds! No more media showboating! No more toolsy outfielders who can't play! No more comparing B-level prospects to Tom Seaver and Mike Schmidt! No more Jim Bowden!!!!!!!!!!!!

Woo-hoo!! Happy Day!! Let's Party!!!

Bowden talked a good game but never delivered for the Nats.

Update: The full statement by Bowden is here. Stan Kasten also issued a statement on the matter.

The New York Times profiles Billy Eppler, the Yankees top scout for professional talent. Billy likes to stay in the background, so you may not have heard of him. There seems to be some confusion as to his stance on stats:

Yet Eppler emerged as a supporting player in "The Yankee Years," the book by Joe Torre and Tom Verducci that chronicles Torre's 12 seasons as manager. It is not a flattering portrayal. Eppler is presented as a "stats guru" and symbol of a front office that, to Torre, ignored the heartbeat of the game.

Cashman has not discussed Torre's book, and Eppler would not comment on it specifically. But the notion that statistics guide Eppler is inconsistent with his background and passion.

"Unfortunately in this game, if you're under the age of 35 and you didn't play in the big leagues, it's kind of easy to get classified," said Eppler, who pitched for the University of Connecticut until a shoulder problem ended his career. "And it's fine, I understand, but it's not something I'm real versed in."

Cashman has a statistician, but it is not Eppler. Michael Fishman, 30, is the Yankees' director of quantitative analysis, filtering reports from scouts, trainers and staff -- "plus every statistic pipeline that you have," Cashman said -- through a program the Yankees designed.

"Is Billy a stats guy? No, and I joke with him about it," said Bill Schmidt, the Colorado Rockies' vice president for scouting. "But does he use it as a tool? We all do. Billy is a well-rounded scout, and any well-rounded scout is going to look at stats."

He does understand OBA:

As much as Eppler is a product of the Rockies' executive factory -- which has spawned the future general managers Josh Byrnes, Jon Daniels and Michael Hill -- he is a descendant of Livesey's.

They would talk about tools, Eppler said, and, yes, statistics. One day in 2003, the year Michael Lewis's book "Moneyball" was published, Livesey asked Eppler what he considered a good on-base percentage. Eppler answered .360. To his delight, Livesey agreed.

"From that point forward, if he was in the park, I was sitting next to him," said Eppler, who still relies heavily on Livesey's advice.

The story is well worth the read.

The Nationals sent Mike Rizzo to fix things in the Dominican Republic, and he put their players in a new facility in three days:

While in the Dominican, Rizzo visited that facility - which the team had rented from recently fired employee José Rijo. After scouting eight new locations, he settled on a complex in Boca Chica. The 2-1/2 fields at the new site are "gorgeous," Rizzo said, and the eight pitching mounds are "beautiful," and the players will be housed in a "beautiful resort," three to a room, with "air conditioning, cable TV, bathroom, four meals a day, 24-hour security." Washington's prospects were "exuberant" about the relocation, and received a pep talk about making it to the United States and helping the Nationals win a World Series.

"It's something that doesn't compare to anything I've ever done," Rizzo said on Friday. "It was - when we landed today, I said, 'Do you believe what just happened?' "

That success moves him up the ladder as a likely replacement for Jim Bowden.

If they ever make a movie about this, Harvey Keitel should play Rizzo:

Jim Bowden still has his job, but, "They're Just Making Bowden Endure As Much Pain As Possible." The Washington Post summary of the Nationals scandal notes Jose Rijo owned the diamonds used by the club in the DR and rented them for $40,000 a month. There seems to be just a bit of a conflict of interest there.

Like Joe Girardi, Trey Hillman is trying to make adjustments to his managerial style in his second year with the Royals.

It continues to look like Fire Jim Bowden will get his wish.

With rumors flying that the Nationals will hire Tony LaCava to replace Jim Bowden, Fire Jim Bowden rounds up all the information he can find on the Blue Jays assistant general manager.

I don't understand why the Rays made this public:

Prinicpal owner Stuart Sternberg did about 20 minutes with area media after getting a look at the new spring facility, touching on a number of subjects.

The biggest news was the he confirmed what executive VP Andrew Friedman suggested during the off-season, that with their payroll creeping above $60-million, they have lost any flexibility to made in-season acquisitions - though he did leave the caveat that "you never say never" and his answer could be "a little different" come June or July.

Even if it's true, why give the Yankees and Red Sox that information? If it comes down to a three-way race for the AL East and the Wild Card between these three teams, the two rich teams will know there's one less bidder out there for any players they want to acquire. That should make their costs a little less.

Of course, given the "never say never" line, maybe it's all an elaborate ruse!

Fire Brand of the American League also sees John Henry's call for a salary cap as a money grab by the Red Sox.

The Nationals Enquirer rounds up the latest news on Jim Bowden, especially this story about how he's part of a federal investigation:

A federal investigation into the skimming of signing bonuses given to baseball prospects from Latin America is looking at Washington Nationals general manager Jim Bowden as far back as 1994, when he was GM of the Cincinnati Reds, according to a baseball executive familiar with the investigation.

Two sources inside baseball say that a long-time scout in Latin America, Jorge Oquendo, 47, is the man who links the FBI's investigations of Bowden and his special assistant Jose Rijo to that of former Chicago White Sox senior director of player personnel David Wilder. Last May the White Sox fired Wilder and two Dominican-based scouts after allegations surfaced that they had pocketed money earmarked for player signing bonuses. Oquendo worked for Wilder in 2006 and 2007, as well as for Bowden with the Reds in 1994 and again with the Reds from 2000 through 2003. Oquendo left Cincinnati in 2005, two years after Bowden was fired. (Bowden became Nationals GM in 2004.)

It's time to get your GM resumes in order. Turning around the Nationals will be a challenge.

Peter Abraham looks at how Joe Girardi is trying to improve as a manager of the club house. I thought his take on questioning lineups was interesting:

"Players have to believe in their mind that you want to do what's best for them in their life. I was a player that never asked why I wasn't in the lineup that day. My thought process was that a manager isn't going to put a lineup out there he thinks is going to lose. Some guys are more inquisitive. I understand that not everyone is the same and you have to sometimes step out of your comfort zone to get to a player. I think I understand them better."

Girardi trusted his managers. Then again, he was never a star with the supporting ego. A team wants hitters and pitchers who want to play every day, or at every opportunity. Balancing that with the needs of the team to win is never going to be easy for any skipper.

The Rays are moving to in-house, video and computer scouting:

The theory, executive vice president Andrew Friedman said, is to provide manager Joe Maddon and staff with more extensive information -- trends, stats, tendencies, etc. -- that can be more easily applied.

With unlimited resources, Friedman said, they might try to do it both ways. But for this season, anyway, they're going to try it the new way.

"We feel like net-net, this will provide us with the best information, up-to-date information and thorough information in a cost-effective way," he said.

If the Rays don't do well this year, the media will pillory them for the change.

Jose Rijo becomes the first Nationals front office casualty of the fraud scandal:

Jose Rijo, the Washington Nationals front office member linked most closely to the fraudulent signing of a Dominican prospect, has taken a leave of absence from the team.

Rijo, who has worked for the team since 2005 as a special assistant to the general manager, remains a team employee, but there is no timetable for his return.

My money is on this leave becomes permanent at some point.

Redleg Nation presents the Dusty Baker hitting flow chart.

Fortune Magazine looks at how sports are being hurt by the downturn. Professor Zimbalist thinks teams won't be as recession proof as in previous bad times:

Historically, teams haven't had to go to such lengths because the bond between team and town was so strong. The National Basketball Association grew its attendance during both the 1973-74 and 1980-81 recessions. And Major League Baseball enjoyed record attendance in the summer of 1983, when the U.S. unemployment rate was 10%. "The old adage is that people need distractions when times are tough," says sports economist Andrew Zimbalist, a professor at Smith College. "So they go to ball games."

Nevertheless, Zimbalist is one of many sports-business experts who think this recession will be different. Sports leagues today are more dependent on economically vulnerable sources of revenue such as corporate sponsorships, luxury suites, and other premium seating. Even if attendance doesn't nosedive, teams could still find themselves swimming in red ink.

Not even pro sports' richest franchise, the Yankees, seems immune. General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) - once baseball's biggest corporate sponsor - has canceled its sponsorship deal with the team. And even before superstar third baseman Alex Rodriguez was caught up in a steroid scandal, the Yanks were having trouble selling premium seats in their new stadium - so much so that they hired a Manhattan realty firm to market unsold club seats and luxury boxes.

The article, however, holds up the Arizona Diamondbacks as a team that is going the extra yard to keep its fans:

And yet last summer, with the economy tanking and her income shrinking, Smiley began thinking seriously about giving up her beloved seats. The bear market had halved her IRA, and spending $5,000 a year on baseball tickets was a luxury Smiley was no longer sure she could afford.

Torn, Smiley sent D-backs CEO Derrick Hall an e-mail asking him if he could help. Five minutes later the phone rang, and shockingly, it was Hall was on the other end. "Basically, he said that they'd do whatever they could to keep me as a season ticket holder," says Smiley. "I was surprised." The eventual solution: The D-backs arranged for Smiley to share season tickets with someone else in her section. The D-backs kept a customer happy while also managing to preserve a few thousand dollars in revenue. "They did a nice thing," Smiley says.

It's probably more important than ever to win. Losing gives people a good excuse not to spend money.

After reading the latest from Chico Harlan, my guess is that Jose Rijo is not long for the Nationals organization:

To sign Gonzalez, the Nationals depended on another employee, Jose Rijo, the link between their scouting department and the Dominican streets. Since January 2005, Rijo has served as a special assistant in the Washington front office, operating the team's player development facility in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic.

Rijo fostered a relationship with Gonzalez for at least two years before the signing. To get close with Gonzalez, though, he dealt with Gonzalez's buscone, a street agent named Basilio Vizcaino, who just so happened to be Rijo's childhood friend. During periods before he turned pro, Gonzalez even stayed with Vizcaino, hoping to improve his living conditions and his profile as a prospect. There was never a question about how Gonzalez should repay his debt: Once he earned a signing bonus, Vizcaino would keep 20 percent.

We'll see how this plays out, if Rijo was fooled about this kid's age for two years, there's something wrong. There's a big difference going from 14 to 16 than 18 to 20.

Jon Weisman gives us his thoughts on Joe Torre retiring after the 2010 season. However, after reading the original article, Torre didn't seem to definite. It's one thing to talk about retirement in the future, it's another to actually make the decision, especially if you're still winning.

Stan Kasten talks about the Nationals (and MLB) being taken by the fake Esmailyn Gonzalez.

You know, to say I'm disappointed doesn't begin to describe how I feel. I'm angry. I am very angry. We've been defrauded, and make no mistake -- this wasn't a college kid with a fake ID that came in and did this. This was a deliberate, premeditated fraud with a lot more to this story, and we are going to get to the bottom of it. There were many, many people involved in this premeditated fraud.

Kasten later noted that these frauds do get signed, but MLB usually catches them before the contract becomes final. We'll see how the story goes, but I wonder if Jim Bowden is on the hot seat now?

Update: Fire Jim Bowden notes Jose Rijo could use A-Rod's crisis management team.

The early lead on the Rays new slogan is:

'09 > '08

At some point, I hope Maddon works in the ≈.

Joe Maddon gave his players their motivational slogan for 2009, and will tell the press later today. I wonder if it will include more bad math? :-)

Fredi Gonzalez received a two-year extension from the Florida Marlins. Barring a firing, that should keep him in Miami through 2011.

Brian Cashman make a frank statement about Alex Rodriguez after the news conference:

"I don't think Alex is very good at communicating, to be quite honest."

Right. That's the difference between Jeter and Alex. Jeter can get up in front of 54,000 people after the last game at Yankee Stadium and give an unrehearsed speech that hits all the right notes. Alex can't write one down and make it sound sincere.

Do give the man a bit of credit, however. Some superstars completely shut out the media. Alex at least tries to speak with them, although he might be better off if he just kept quiet.

Don Wakamatsu not only has to prepare the Mariners for baseball, but he's also trying to improve the culture of his clubhouse:

Don Wakamatsu knew before he took the job as Seattle's manager that this 101-loss team's chemistry was toxic. It's been polluted by issues with and jealousies of Suzuki, Seattle's All-Star and Gold Glove outfielder and most marketable asset. The first-time manager is trying to change that environment by fostering trust through one-on-one meetings with every player that go beyond just baseball.

"I did my homework. I talked to several players from last year," Wakamatsu said Monday. "I am fully aware of the rumblings, or people's perception of it.

"I want to focus on creating that environment where maybe we bring the favoritism a little bit close to equality."

Good luck to him. Of course, the best thing he can do is get the team winning again. It's easier to tolerate jerks when your team is in contention. We didn't hear about these problems two years ago when the Mariners were over .500.

Fire Jim Bowden prints the list.

Dodger Thoughts notes Joe Torre's line on gay ballplayers during his Larry King interview:

Ventura, Calif., Viewer: Billy Bean, after he retired, he announced he was gay. Do you foresee a time in the future when an active player can safely announce he's gay and if he did, what effect would that have on Major League Baseball?

Joe Torre: Well that's a great question, I don't know. But I just hope that an active player, if that's the case, can feel free to do that. That's all I can say. But I don't know. Obviously, you have 25 players in the clubhouse, and, you know, it's going to be tough for everybody to feel as maybe I do. But I'd like to believe our country is turning in that direction.

Larry King: You'd have no problem?

Torre: I'd have no problem.

Good for Joe. I'd like to see more managers and ballplayers come forward and say this.

The Giants would rather wait until the trade deadline to get a big bat than sign Manny Ramirez, or one of the other outfield bats now. They're depending on a weak division, but if the Dodgers do sign Ramirez, Los Angeles might run away with things. Signing Manny now prevents the Dodgers from that runaway.

Fire Jim Bowden criticizes the Nationals for taking a player to arbitration over a very small amount of money:

In Hill's case, the last thing we need is for him to enter the year with damaged confidence. He's always been known as a thoughtful guy who tends to beat himself up over every little thing. And I know he's been frustrating for fans, but just think what it's like for him going through surgery after surgery and rehab after rehab. Ultimately, Hill's still a pretty talented guy, with a power sinker that could make him a solid #3 or maybe even a 2. It's just not worth messing with his head or damaging your relationship with him over such chump change.

I really wonder if the amount of money spent on the hearing is really worth it. It must be 10s of thousands of dollars and time wasted by your statistical staff that could be used evaluating players for the future. Worse, this is the second year in a row the Nationals took a low difference player all the way through the process.

Derrick Goold pens an excellent article on the Cardinals propensity to promote minor league players quickly. The Cardinals understand a fundamental truth:

"When you look at the age at which the best players in baseball reach the big leagues, it's younger than most people think," Luhnow said. "The Scott Rolens, the Jim Edmondses, the Yadier Molinas -- all of those players -- they make it to the big leagues at 21, 22 or 23. So, that has to factor into it a bit. What it means more importantly is we're drafting younger players, we're developing them ourselves. And, we're pushing them aggressively through the system."

"Young is good," Luhnow continued. "There is no doubt. (Players) who make it in their late 20s are often serviceable guys, a bench guy, a late bloomer, but stars tend to make it young. ... We differentiate ourselves as a system if we're producing stars at the big-league level -- average to above-average performers, and those guys tend to be younger guys when they get here."

My only worry here is that they mistake success in a small sample size for talent. However, I agree that if a player has nothing to prove at his current level, he should move up. Younger players are just as good as older players, and come at a much lower cost.

This team won't make the mistake the Red Sox made with Wade Boggs and the Mariners made with Edgar Martinez.

Correction: Fixed link.

I agree with this post 100%.

Hanley Ramirez is the only Marlin getting a long term contract for a while. FishStripes questions the placement of blame for this, however.

John Brattain criticizes the Toronto Blue Jays for being Selig loyalists:

To be a Selig loyalist one must view players as an expense (something to keep to a minimum) rather than an investment (a vehicle that can be used to increase profits). Right now, the Jays' current payroll is based (they say) on projected revenue. However, little thought is given to how wise expenditure might improve that projection.

The reason for that is because an expenditure is viewed as just that--an expense, a loss; it is not viewed as something that might bring a return.

If teams want fans to come out, they need to win. Sometimes, that means spending more money than a team takes in. It worked for the Jays in the early 1990s. No reason it can't work again.

Registration is open to the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. I've attended the conference the last two years and enjoyed it each time. I hope to see you there.

Leo Mazzone says he made a mistake leaving the Braves, and takes down the Orioles while he's at it:

To hear Mazzone tell it, his firing was a relief. "Once I got there and saw how they operated compared to the Braves, I knew I made a mistake the first week of spring training," he said, before chuckling and adding, "I said to myself, 'You know what? I done messed up.'

"The lack of organization. The lack of discipline. The lack of overall professionalism. I was shocked, and I couldn't believe it."

The Twins seemed to time the opening of their new stadium correctly:

With the lure of seats for the first year at Target Field, Minnesota Twins fans are on pace for a franchise record for season tickets in 2009.

Combine the new stadium with a successful season in 2008, and fans are buying tickets even in a recession. Maybe they should use the extra money to buy one of the remaining quality hitters to serve as their designated hitter. Adam Dunn might fit very well between Mauer and Morneau.

Mike Scioscia gets a ten-year extension from the Angels.

"It's a significant commitment from myself, (Angels owner) Arte Moreno and (general manager) Tony Reagins," Scioscia said Monday. "I think it reflects on their confidence that we're moving in the right direction and will continue to move in the right direction until we get back to the World Series and win a championship. That's our goal."

The Angels announced last Monday that the parties agreed in principle on a multiyear extension. Previously, Scioscia was under contract through next season with a club option for 2010 for about $2 million per season. Reagins would only say the extension "goes well beyond" 2010.

I'm all for long-term contracts in general, but a team's view of their manager can change quickly. Look what happened to Joe Torre in New York. Four years seems enough for any manager given the turn over. Still, Mike and that organization have been in sync for quite some time, and it's nice to see his success rewarded.

Gaslamp Ball agrees that Sandy Alderson's tenure with the Padres will be short if Jeff Moorad buys the team:

There are too many people in charge in the Padres front office. If and when Moorad arrives, there will be at least one more person in charge. A business does not operate well that way. Empowering employees is one thing. Having 10 different bosses is Office Space.

That statement leads me to belief others will go along with Alderson. The DBacks just cut staff, and the Padres will likely follow suit.

It appears the Brewers are seeing revenue growth despite the down economy:

The Brewers announced a presenting sponsorship agreement with Potawatomi Bingo Casino on Thursday, part of the team's expected double-digit percentage gain in sponsorship revenue. And despite the economy, other areas of the Brewers' business are looking up too.

"We are very sensitive to what's going on, and we're very careful in what we're looking at," said Rick Schlesinger, the Brewers' executive vice president for business operations. "But I will tell you that ticket sales, suite sales, sponsorship -- we're seeing growth in all areas."

Winning gets fans interested, and the advertisers want to capture those eyeballs. Maybe they could have offered Sabathia $25 million for five years and kept him. Then they'd have a better chance of keeping this winning way alive. I wonder if they'll try to resign Ben Sheets at this point?

Congratulations to Tom Tippett, the new Director, Baseball Information Services, for the Red Sox.

Manny Acta doesn't seem to be too worried about his job security. I would suggest that because Manny is a good manager, if the Nationals fire him he'll land a plum job somewhere else. If I were in his position, I'd almost want the Nationals not to extend my contract.

Mike Scioscia received a long term contract extension from the Angels. He'll be under contract through 2014. No word if there is a no-squeeze clause in the document. :-)

This is a good move by the Angels. I like teams that reward success, and Mike certainly helped turn LAnaheim into perennial contenders. He gets the most out of his pitchers, and "put the ball in play" philosophy on offense works for this group of players.

South Side Sox looks at how and why Ozzie Guillen developed a fast hook for his starting pitchers in 2008.

Tom Tango will be consulting for the Mariners this year. Excellent news for Seattle fans. Congratulations to Tom!

Nick and Nick are running out of patience with Twins general manager Bill Smith:

I've gone out of my way to go easy on Bill Smith, but even I'm starting to lose patience. As bad as his trades and free agent signings from last winter are looking, and as stunning as his inability to upgrade the bullpen over the course of the 2008 season was, and now as pathetic as his display on the DeRosa bidding war (if we can even call it that -- it certainly doesn't seem like the Twins made much of an effort here) has been, Smith is running out of slack.

Coming within a game of making the playoffs earns a GM slack, especially after trading away the best pitcher in baseball. The team could use another big bat in the lineup, and there are a few of those still available via free agency.

U.S.S Mariner compares Bill Bavasi and Jack Zduriencik in terms of process.

East Coast Bias suggests a new luxury tax scheme. The element I like is that the teams receiving aids must put it back into salaries. The author suggests this is done by signing free agents, but I would be happy to see the payroll of the team rise by the amount of the tax received.

Matthew Cerrone asks, why don't the Mets spend like the Yankees?

I understand why they had to spend less 10 years ago. But, now the Mets also have a successful regional sports network, they also have a new stadium, they also play in New York City, and also charge a fortune for tickets and hot dogs.

So, what is it? What's the difference? Is it a lack of capital, is it outside forces we are unaware of, is it the team's minority owners, is it personal preference?

The thing is, I'm fine with any answer, because it's their answer, their money and their decision. I won't argue against it, judge or criticize it, because what do i know.

However, as a fan, as a customer, who spends a ton of time and money helping to support their business, spending money on tickets and TV time, popcorn, pretzels and parking, only to drive myself crazy every fall, I believe you and I have earned some sort of response.

The Yankees are taking advantage of being a rich team in a down market to stock up on very good players. However, there is a potential downside. If the economic situation gets so bad that the stadium attendance goes down, and advertising on YES goes down, the Yankees might find themselves in a situation in which they are bleeding money. The probability of that happening may not be that high, but I'm guessing it's more like 10 or 20% than 1%. The Yankees are taking a gamble, probably to get the Boss one more championship before he dies. It's a good gamble, but I can see where lots of teams in this environment don't want to be caught three years down the road with a bloated payroll and reduced revenue.

Maury Brown compares the salaries of the Yankees three signings to the salaries of some teams.

Squawking Baseball notes that the next innovations in baseball earnings are going to need to come from a new crop of CEOs.

No new jobs at MLB.

Via Lone Star Ball, the Braves are furious with Arn Tellem's agency:

"Having been in this business for 40-some years, I've never seen anybody treated like that," Schuerholz said. "The Atlanta Braves will no longer do business with that company -- ever. I told [agent] Arn Tellem that we can't trust them to be honest and forthright. I told him that in all my years, I've never seen any [agency] act in such a despicable manner.

"It was disgusting and unprofessional. We're a proud organization, and we won't allow ourselves to be treated that way. I advised Arn Tellem that whatever players he represents, just scratch us off the list. Take the name of the Atlanta Braves off their speed dial. They can deal with the other 29 clubs, and we'll deal with the other hundred agents."

Tellem counters that they did everything by the book. However:

Schuerholz said he phoned Tellem on Wednesday night.

"I expressed my great disappointment to him," he said. "I watched as Frank shared with me the circumstances of his negotiations with Furcal -- negotiations to the point where we increased our offer, and he [Kinzer] then asked for a signed term sheet to be sent over. We never got that signed term sheet faxed back to us, and we later found out why -- because they took that offer and shopped it."

I wonder if other clubs will back away from Tellem now. I suspect they will at least be very careful in future negotiations with his agency.

I thought Dave Dombrowski was smarter than this.

Squaking Baseball looks at how NASCAR troubles might hurt the Red Sox, while Michael Schmidt examines Fred Wilpon's finances to see if the Madoff fraud might impact the Mets.

The Mariners move their advance scouting operation to their home office.

Grover at Athletics Nation blasts Billy Beane for not signing Rafael Furcal when he had the chance:

Enough with the "buts", if there's one thing the A's have right now is the financial flexibility to spend a little more on Furcal if they have to. If there's one thing the A's don't have is a quality SS, or even anyone who projects to be an average SS in the next few years. Don't blame me for that, blame the guy who traded Haren, Blanton, Harden and Gaudin and didn't get one damn SS prospect back in the exchange. Quite simply, the A's need Rafael Furcal because he's the best free agent SS on the market this year and next and the A's are in a position to add talent through monetary means and not lose talent via trade. The quicker the A's sign Furcal the better their chance to sign Randy Johnson. If Beane can add those two talents to his roster it could mean 4-5 extra wins for Oakland in the 2009 season. That would give them a strong chance to win the division and that could lead to a better chance at retaining Matt Holliday in 2010 and beyond. I'm not saying that signing Furcal guarantees the A's sign Johnson, win the AL West crown and keep Holliday beyond 2009 but he'd go a long way towards making all those things happen.

I get it. Beane's trying to save a couple bucks on Furcal.

But at what cost to the A's?

Rays index on the Rays front office:

The Rays have the quietest front office in baseball. Even though the Rays were talking with the Tigers for three days, we never heard a peep. Is that by design? Maybe. Most of the Rays trades seem to come from out of left field (so to speak). Did we hear anything before the Gross trade or the Willy Aybar trade or the Chad Bradford trade?

Do the Rays make it a point to keep everything under wraps as tightly as possible? Or is the front office still young enough, and the Rays still a relatively new player, that the national media has yet to establish connections within the front office?

One thing that is becoming very clear. No matter who we, as fans, think the Rays are targeting, most of the time they will get somebody we were not even thinking about. We don't know about the rest of you, but we love it.

I just think the media get less readership/viewership/hits talking about the Rays than talking about the more famous teams. If the Rays continue to win, however, that will change.

Davey Johnson gets to skipper the United States WBC team. Davey's my favorite manager of all time so I'm always happy to get a chance to see him manage again.

The Phillies rewarded Charlie Manuel's success with an extension through 2011. Since the start of the 2005 season, when Manuel took the helm, the Phillies are 354-294, a .546 winning percentage. That's fifth best in baseball and second in the National League, three games behind the Mets.

The Twins are looking to increase payroll in 2009:

"We have finalized the budget for 2009, and we believe that the budget allows us some flexibility to improve our baseball team," Twins President Dave St. Peter said.

The Twins had a payroll of roughly $56 million last season, down from $71 million in 2007. Using rough estimates for arbitration-eligible players and players with fewer than three years of major league experience, the Twins already are looking at a 2009 payroll over $60 million. Their interest in signing free agent Casey Blake shows a willingness to push the payroll toward what it was in 2007.

Good. The team came very close to the playoffs in 2008. They should spend some money to push themselves to the next level. After all, they're not paying Johan Santana $20 million a year.

Kat O'Brien sums up the Yankees news of the day. On Sabathia:

Interestingly, Cashman said he had never spoken to Sabathia before last night. Cashman called it an informative meeting, for Sabathia in particular.

Maybe Brian can convince Milliliter to play in the Big Apple.

Update: He'll have to, as CC wants to play in Los Angeles:

According to Los Angeles general manager Ned Colletti, he bumped into Sabathia on Sunday at the Bellagio Hotel, where baseball's Winter Meetings are being held, and he told him that he wants to be a Dodger.

Update: The Yankees also met with Ben Sheets.

Frank Wren nearly makes JC Bradbury crash his car!

Scott Boras and Brian Cashman met today to discuss Broas's free agents. This was interesting:

"They will go all offense," a baseball official predicted of the Yankees if they fail to land two of the top three free agent pitchers.

That could mean bringing switch-hitting Teixeira to play first base or signing Ramirez to play the outfield or DH. Both are expected to command in excess of $20 million a year.

Maybe they should go all offense anyway. Offensive players tend to be a better bet than pitchers.

Lookout Landing compares Bavasi and Zduriencik and likes the result.

First the Diamondbacks reduced the size of their front office, now the Blue Jays are cutting their sales staff:

Rogers Communications, owner of the Toronto Blue Jays, announced plans Tuesday to lay off an unspecified number of employees in its media division, with about a third of those losses coming from the baseball team's sales staff.

A team employee familiar with the cuts said the number of jobs to be eliminated was "probably in the 30s." The spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the layoffs.

The Blue Jays are hit particularly hard due to the drop in the Canadian dollar.

Today (Monday) is the day teams decide which free agent players get offered arbitration. Some decisions are fairly easy, as Sox Machine describes. The toughest ones are for a veteran player who is likely to make less if he goes to free agency, but will still deliver a draft pick if another team signs him. That's the Andy Pettitte situation right now. In fact, it also might be the Abreu and Giambi situations as well. The Angels are in a similar situation, but as Halos Heaven points out having arbitration accepted by any of those players won't hurt the club much.

I wonder, in what may be a down year for free agents due to the economy, if we see more accept arbitration this season. Most would make at least what they made in 2008, probably more. It would give them a year to see how things go, and maybe make a killing next winter.

Of course, it would also increase the number of free agents available for 2010, and increased supply tends to put a damper on salaries paid to these players as well. There's a lot of strategy to think about for both sides this off season.

Neal Huntington speaks on the way the Pirates are approaching the off-season:

"We are not throwing 2009 to the wind and saying, 'Well, we'll win again sometime in the future.' We know we need to win, and sooner rather than later, and we're going to show up, work hard, prepare, teach and go out to win every game" Huntington said. "But, if we can trade a veteran player and it brings us 12-18 years of control instead of one or two, and we don't take that large of a step backward, that's just good business."

And that is why, according to multiple sources, no fewer than of the Pirates' five veterans -- shortstop Jack Wilson, second baseman Freddy Sanchez, first baseman Adam LaRoche, reliever John Grabow and catcher Ronny Paulino -- already have been part of trade talks, to some degree or other.

To me, this is an approach to keep payroll low. I'd rather see the Pirates pick their weak link position and improve it as much as possible. Looking at the team stats by position, they can pick third base, shortstop or second base as their area of improvement for this season. Even just bringing one of those position above league average will help them score more runs. Given that the Pirates have such a log way to go, addressing two of those is probably needed. Just trading veterans to get more years of control, however, is not the way to build a winner unless the players acquired are good, too. Jack Wilson isn't going to bring much.

Squawking Baseball posts an interview with Manny Acta, who is not afraid to talk sabermetrics:

SB: You're obviously a very statistically-inclined manager. How do you think that gives you an advantage over managers that aren't as progressive? MA: I want to win. More than being statistically-inclined, I'm very open minded. If someone can show me things that I didn't already know, I am willing to change. I'm not stubborn. If the statistical evidence shows I'm wrong, and it helps me and my team win baseball games, then I would be a fool not to listen.

SB: Looking back, have there been any decisions that you made that perhaps you wouldn't have if you had not been so aware of sabermetrics?
MA: I would have bunted less when I managed in the minors. I still would have had the minor leaguers run, because winning isn't the most important thing down there, and most players have the green light to work on their baserunning skills.

I hope the Nationals someday get Manny talent he can exploit. He seems like the kind of manager I'd like to put in charge of my team.

Dan Wakamatsu let go two of the Mariners coaches, including pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre. That appears to pave the way for Seattle to hire former Atheltics and Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson.

In anticipation of an eventual move to a new stadium and the name changing to the Miami Marlins, you can now reach the Marlins web site at marlins.com, not floridamarlins.com. Adjust your bookmarks!

The Newark Bears named Tim Raines manager. This will mean a trip to Bridgeport to see the Bears play the Bluefish.

Waiting for Next Year was surprised by the choice of Chuck Hernandez as the Indians bullpen coach.

Jack Zduriencik probably won't announce his pick for the new Seattle manager until tomorrow:

"What I did today and plan to do [Tuesday]," he said, "is continue to touch base with dotting i's and crossing t's, in terms of background and history, so there are no surprises in the final selection."

What he is trying to avoid, no doubt, is any semblance of the Wally Backman debacle in Arizona after the 2004 season. Hired by the Diamondbacks on Nov. 1, Backman was fired on Nov. 5 after revelations of legal and financial problems surfaced.

It's also a good idea from a publicity standpoint. People will be focused on the AL MVP vote today, but tomorrow the Mariners should get all the attention.

Update: Don Wakamatsu appears to have the inside track.

Doug Melvin doesn't understand the Yankees bid for CC Sabathia:

"It sounds like they're overbidding," Melvin said. "If the speculation is true that we've offered CC $100 million, why would you offer $140 million? Why wouldn't you offer $110 million?"

Because, Doug, if they offered $110 million you might bid again. This way, they drive out all of the teams that can't afford $140 million, and see who's left. This leaves the Yankees with a lot less work to do. Since Sabathia is probably worth around $27 million a year, or $162 million over six years, the Yankees just took the bidding up to a decent level where it will move along faster.

Melvin should bid $150 million for six years. In all likelihood, the Yankees will top that. So Doug gets to look like a hero to the Milwaukee fans for being willing to spend top dollar on Sabathia without shelling out any money, plus he forces the Yankees to bid higher.

If all the other teams are scared away by New York's offer, the Yankees get Sabathia cheap. If they take part in incremental bidding, however, there's a chance another team breaks it's limit on CC. If someone bid $125 million, then $135 million, maybe they feel they've invested so much time in trying to obtain Sabathia's services that they are willing to break their $140 million limit and go to $145 or $150 million. If, however, that limit is met with the first bid, there's no reason to even get started. So by trying to drive out all the other bidders, the Yankees might actually save money over using Melvin's rational strategy.

The Mariners are adding a statistics department:

The department will fall under the auspices of Tony Blengino, a longtime baseball stats analyst and a special assistant to new Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik. Details of the department's mandate and size are still to be worked out, but the move could vault the Mariners from their perceived Stone Age approach to stats to one in which they're seen as one of the game's more progressive franchises.

"We want to take all the information at our disposal and combine it with our scouting," Blengino said Friday.

Good for them. They've used Matt Olkin as a consultant, and it's not clear if that relationship will continue. If you're looking for a job in this area, it's a good time to send your resume to the Mariners!

Ducksnorts offers an FAQ on the Padres fire sale.

R.J. Anderson makes a nice attempt at putting a number on managerial choices. It might make Yankees fans feel a bit better about letting Joe Torre go in favor of Joe Girardi.

The Twins extended Ron Gardenhire's contract two years today. Unless something goes wrong, he'll be managing when Minnesota opens their new ballpark in 2010.

The 51-year-old Gardenhire, who was runner-up to Tampa Bay's Joe Maddon in the AL Manager of the Year voting, took over as Twins skipper before the 2002 season. He has led the team to four AL Central titles in his first seven years, posting winning records in six of those seven campaigns.

Only Tom Kelly, with 1,140 victories, has more wins than Gardenhire with the Twins.

It's good to see success rewarded. Ron's also one of the longest tenured managers right now, only trailing Bobby Cox, Tony La Russa and Mike Scioscia.

Gaslamp Ball laments the Padres lack of grace in getting rid of players.

The San Diego Padres promoted three front office personnel:

Winfield was Vice President, so I guess being made Executive Vice President/Senior Adviser is a promotion. Paul DePodesta was Special Assistant of Baseball Operations and Executive Vice President sounds a little more official, but from what I can tell, everybody will be basically doing the same thing.

Yes, I've gotten promotions like that in the past. Same job, same pay different title.

Given this list of managerial candidates, the Seattle Mariners appear to be looking for new blood, rather than someone tried and true.

The Brewers hire Willie Randolph as their bench coach. It's not managing, but it's close. Randolph may turn out to a person who is better off coaching than managing. Given how things went down with the Mets, he might not have the people skills for the top job.

After 17 seasons as the bullpen coach, Bill Castro takes over as the Brewers pitching coach. Why now? In all the previous times the team had a chance to make Castro the pitching coach, why didn't they? There was a rumor that Rick Peterson would be up for the job, but obviously the team decided to stay in house. It's nice to see Castro's loyalty to the team finally rewarded.

Paul DePodesta writes a short post about the GM meetings, including this teaser:

We had many discussions over the course of the past four days at the GM's meetings, some of which have been productive and even unexpected. At this point, however, there is nothing to report.

Unexpected. Maybe some team that's under the radar is looking to acquire Peavy. Maybe another team offered a very creative deal that helps both sides now. We'll see if anything unexpected some out of San Diego soon.

Joe Strauss gives us an idea of how the Cardinals think about developing their roster:

For several hours, Mozeliak, assistant general manager John Abbamondi and vice president of scouting and player development Jeff Luhnow briefed manager Tony La Russa, who traveled back and forth from his Bay Area home. The presentation included numerous possibilities listing players from within the organization as well as free-agent and trade targets.

Some of the models did not include Ludwick or Ankiel.

"We have a good core of outfielders. But we also have some needs," La Russa said. "I think they're doing it exactly right. You try to look at your priorities and how you would fill them. You don't want to make any deal ... but with free agency you have to get involved with money and years. There's no free lunch."

Wary of perceptions that he is shopping Ludwick and Ankiel, Mozeliak added, "Not to be coy, but it's probably one of 100 variables that are factoring into this."

It looks like communications in the Cardinals hierarchy are very open and complete. This led to them putting a surprisingly good team on the field this year. We'll see if they can do it again in 2009.

A fired Fenway groundskeeper writes an open letter to Larry Lucchino:

It isn't about food, or getting yelled at for the littlest things. It's about the lack of respect that the Red Sox have for some of its "unimportant" workers. I hope this level of treatment is limited to the grounds crew; I would hate to think it permeates more of the organization and is indicative of an overall cultural program. I would hate that if it were true.

I think that you and senior management need to take a hard look at the treatment of its grounds crew. An organization is only as stable as its bottom rung, and things aren't working too well for you on the bottom rung right now.

I have no idea if his story is true or not. We'll see if the Red Sox respond.

It turns out Jack Zduriencik already interviewed a number of managerial candidates:

Melvin's top assistant at the time was Jack Zduriencik. Randolph later told confidantes that he knew Zduriencik was up for the Mariners general manager's job and that he might be, in essence, interviewing for two jobs at the same time.

Zduriencik eventually landed in Seattle. Monday at the general managers' meetings, he talked about the Randolph scenario without specifically mentioning Randolph.

"I sat in on some interviews Melvin had in Milwaukee," Zduriencik said. "And I was privy to what went on in some other interviews I didn't sit in on.

"So when I'm going through the interviews, for some it will be like a second interview."

That should make the managerial hiring process easier, since Zduriencik should already have a good idea who he likes.

Update: Included link.

Theo Epstein inked a contract extension:

Terms of the deal weren't disclosed, but Epstein told the Boston Globe on the first day of the annual GM meetings that he signed the deal "a while back." Terms of the contract weren't released.

Good thing the Red Sox didn't make the same mistake twice and let Theo twist in the wind this time.

It looks like the Tigers don't have much room to play with the payroll:

Dombrowski also revealed that the 2009 payroll would not see "a significant difference" from 2008. With the team already committed to spending a little over $100 million on 11 players, that means the Tigers have about $25 million left to find a shortstop, a catcher, resign Justin Verlander, bolster the bullpen and rotation, and fill in the rest of the spots with league-minimum players under club control (like Matt Joyce).

Peter Abraham prints the latest on the Yankees hot stove plans:

The Yankees are out to acquire two starters. "We won't be one and done," Cashman said. The plan is to have a rotation of New Guy 1, New Guy 2, Wang, Chamberlain and then Pettitte/Hughes/Kennedy/Aceves/assorted bums.

This seems to imply that they see Wang as their third starter. I take that to mean they'll be going after pitchers on the talent level of Sabathia and Dempster. Do you want both Lowe and Wang in a rotation, or do you want more strike out pitchers? Lots of strike outs covers for a poor defense.

The Texas Rangers made Mike Maddux an offer he couldn't refuse:

Melvin told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last night that Texas has "overwhelmed [Maddux] with a huge deal" that dwarfed the multi-year contract the Brewers had offered him, and that Maddux couldn't afford to turn the Rangers down. No terms were even guessed at in the story, but Melvin said "he's probably going to be one of the top-paid pitching coaches" in baseball.

Why was Mike offered such a lucrative contract? He's a known quantity to the Rangers:

The younger* brother of future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux, Mike pitched the final game of his 15-year big league career on July 4, 2000, pitching the sixth and seventh innings of a 10-4 Astros loss to Arizona (for whom rookie Vicente Padilla pitched the eighth). Houston released him the next day. He retired a week after that.

And then came a move that probably led to this day. Maddux had barely cleared his Houston locker out when he agreed to take a job as the pitching coach for the organization's AA affiliate, the Round Rock Express.

Which was owned by Nolan Ryan.

And managed by Jackie Moore.

*This is a mistake. Mike Maddux is older than Greg.

The story also points out a number of Rangers pitchers who moved to Milwaukee and florished.

I assume that Maddux is on board with Ryan's vision of how to rework the Rangers pitchers from the ground up. Certainly, the use of CC Sabathia in Milwaukee shows that Mike isn't married to pitch counts.

The Texas Rangers might end up being a test bed for different ideas in how pitchers are developed and used. I don't know if Nolan Ryan is correct. Baseball strategy, both on the field and in player recruitment and development evolves over time, and mostly in the right direction. Ryan is betting that the evolution of how pitchers are used went wrong at some point. If Nolan is right, will he be able to pull the rest of the majors back to his way of doing things?

The general managers start meeting Monday, and Peter Abraham is there to bring you all the action.

Dale Sveum will stay with the Brewers as the hitting coach. I'm surprised by this. I would think Ken Macha wouldn't want his replacement sitting that close by.

Via Balls, Sticks and Stuff, the Phillies are set to name Ruben Amaro, Jr. their new general manager on Monday.

The decision to hire Amaro, 43, is hardly a shock. There was strong speculation when Pat Gillick was hired three years ago that he was brought in, in part, to mentor the young assistant.

Amaro, who was often presented as the public face of the Phillies front office as Gillick preferred to operate of the spotlight, is heavily involved in many aspects of the organization, including contract negotiations. It was Amaro who introduced closer Brad Lidge and spoke for the organization when the Phillies announced his contract extension earlier this season.

Amaro has strong Phillies ties. His father, Ruben Sr., played for the Phillies and then worked for the team in a number of capacities. Ruben Jr. was a batboy for the Phillies from 1980 through 1983, and also played for the Phils in 1992-93 and 1996-98. He is also bilingual and a graduate of Stanford.

As BSS points out, however, the hiring comes with a loss:

What is of more concern is the loss of Arbuckle. He is the man predominantly responsible for the developing of most of the Phillies core -- Utley, Hamels, Howard, Rollins, Burrell, and Ruiz. That's six of the nine players in the starting lineup that just won the World Series. And not only will he be missed, but what of the people he might take with him when he goes?

Congratulations to Ruben Amaro. With Arbuckle's resume, I'm sure he'll wind up in an important position with another team.

The Brewers hired Ken Macha as manager today:

The 58-year-old Macha, who managed Oakland to a pair of American League West titles, agreed to a two-year contract. He replaces Sveum, who became interim manager when Ned Yost was fired with 12 games left in the regular season.

"It means a tremendous amount to me," Macha said. "The players are the guys that go out there and win or lose the games for you, and I think the job of a manager and a coach is to get these players as prepared as you possibly can."

Macha is famous for being fired and rehired by the Athletics between the 2005 and 2006 seasons. Jeff Sackman at Brew Crew Ball is happy:

f the three finalists, Macha is by far my favorite. We may have been able to do better, but if we're choosing only from experienced big-league managers with recent success, there aren't many guys I'd rather have.

Ken inherits a good group of hitters, but with both Ben Sheets and CC Sabathia possibly leaving, he'll need to depend on young pitchers developing quickly to keep the team in contention.

It looks like Mike Maddux and Rick Peterson will be pitching coaches in Texas and Milwaukee, we just don't know which will be where.

Willie Randolph said he was never offered a job with the Nationals because Jim Bowden knew Randolph was interviewing for a managerial position. Therefore, he did not turn down an offer.

Phillies Nation links to an article indicating Ruben Amaro will be named the new Phillies general manager soon after the World Series ends.

That's not surprising. He's served as assistant GM for ten years and probably knows the team as well as anyone right now. If the Phillies win the World Series, however, he'll be taking over a team at a high point. It's tough to look good after that.

By the way, it seems Pat Gillick always knows when to leave an organization. He builds a winner, leaves, and lets someone else take the blame when the organization falls apart. Pat builds teams, not management culture. He has a gift for putting winning teams on the field, but he doesn't appear to teach or pass on that knowledge to whoever follows him. We'll see if Amaro is any different.

The Marlins are raising payroll for 2009:

The Marlins have decided to raise their payroll to the $30-$35 million range and have been in serious talks to trade Mike Jacobs, officials in contact with the team's front office said. They're also expected to deal Scott Olsen (to make room for Andrew Miller in the rotation) and Kevin Gregg. But there is internal support for keeping Dan Uggla.

The Marlins, who had a $22 million payroll in 2008, wanted to deal Jacobs to Kansas City, but the deal died last week because of a medical issue involving the minor-league pitcher that Florida would have received. The Marlins also spoke to Toronto and San Francisco about Jacobs.

So there's a chance the team will earn more than Alex Rodriguez next season. Maybe Loria was visited by the ghosts of Baseball Past, Present and Future.

Derek Zumsteg expresses his concern over the Mariners' new general manager.

The Mets hire Razor Shines to coach third base for 2009. How cool is that? "Razor sends the the runner, and he's cut down at the plate! Not a shining moment for the third base coach!"

It looks like the Blue Jays made a poor bet concerning the strength of the US Dollar:

"The nightmare is starting all over again," said Godfrey, who took over as team president when it cost $1.49 Canadian to buy one U.S. buck.

He said the formula is pretty simple: On a $100 million (U.S.) payroll, each dime of difference between a lower Canadian dollar and the higher U.S. greenback costs the Jays about $8 million. So based on a 2008 payroll of $97.8 million and an 80-cent Canadian dollar, down 20 cents from the almost-at-par buck of a couple of months ago, the Jays need to make up about $16 million to maintain both payroll and the same place on the balance sheet.

The team typically purchases vast amounts of U.S. dollars, out of which to pay the players, when rates are favourable, but did not buy enough to cover the entire payroll this time. (Godfrey would not say exactly how much they didn't buy; other sources indicate less than half.) All minor-league, travel and spring training expenses are in U.S. dollars, while local revenues arrive in Canadian.

Of course, this means a trip to watch your favorite team play at the Rogers Center will be really cheap.

The Mariners named a new general manager just before the start of the World Series moritorium:

Seattle Mariners CEO Howard Lincoln and President Chuck Armstrong announced today that Jack Zduriencik (zur-EN-sik) has been named the Mariners new Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations.

USS Mariner has more:

Apparently the key was his record with young talent. Not just identifying it - Engle and Fontaine have done fine with that, though depending on whether they stick around, his ability would be crucial there as well. But more importantly, developing it, which has been an area of frustration with the organizational philosophy.

Here's Brewers Blog's point of view:

Zduriencik was very instrumental in helping to build the Brewers into a playoff team in 2008. Since 2000, he has been running the Brewers' drafts, producing the likes of Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, Corey Hart, J.J. Hardy, Yovani Gallardo and Manny Parra.

Sounds like the Mariners made a good decision here. He won't make a splash in the media like Kim Ng would, but long term he may be just what the Mariners need.

The Cubs signed general manager Jim Hendry to a four year extension. He did a great job putting together his team and deserved to be rewarded.

The New York Yankees and Dallas Cowboys combined to form a company to control concessions at their ballparks:

"The old model of stadium concessions is broken," stated Hal Steinbrenner, Co-Chairman of the New York Yankees. "Fans want and deserve a better experience for their sports entertainment dollar. Working with Legends to leverage the talent and experience resident in the Yankees' and Cowboys' organizations will enable us to set a higher bar for sports franchises while delivering greater value to fans. When the new Yankee Stadium opens for the 2009 season, our fans will be able to experience first-hand the enhancements to our menus, concessions, retail operations and fan spaces that Legends has overseen."

The teams should also make more money:

The Yankees and Cowboys borrowed $100 million from Goldman Sachs and will form their own company to handle food, team stores, etc. at their new stadiums. Much of this will be to enhance the atmosphere in the suites. The company hopes to branch out to other teams, arenas and colleges.

By cutting out the middleman, the teams theoretically should make more money. This seems like a smart move by the Steinbrenners. Hal Steinbrenner spoke about a year ago about such ventures and Hank Steinbrenner, you may recall, once predicted the Yankees could work with the Red Sox. This is the kind of thing they were talking about.

Just another revenue stream to bring in or keep high quality ballplayers.

The Pittsburgh Pirates hired Joe Kerrigan to coach their pitchers:

"Joe Kerrigan brings to the Pirates, a long and successful track record of developing and maximizing the performance of the pitchers on his staff," said Pirates general manager Neal Huntington. "His teaching ability, work ethic and game planning will pay immediate dividends. Joe's passion, knowledge and experience will make a quality impact on our organization."

Joe was miscast as a manager but I always thought he did a good job as a pitching coach. I like this move by the Pirates.

The Milwaukee Brewers interviewed Ken Macha for the manager's job:

Don't forget, GM Doug Melvin originally offered Macha the job before the 2003 season but he turned it down and took the managerial job in Oakland instead. Melvin then went to his next choice, Ned Yost.

How bad are things with the Nationals? Not even Al Pedrique wants to coach there.

Joe Maddon describes how he uses Bill Walsh's glass wall to keep his emotions under control during a game.

The Milwaukee Brewers won't bring Dale Sveum back in 2009:

The team announced Friday that interim manager Dale Sveum is no longer under consideration. Sveum took over after Ned Yost was fired with 12 games left in the regular season.

Melvin says the next manager must have had success at the major-league level.

I find it interesting that Sveum manages to get the Brewers in the playoffs and loses his job, while Jerry Manuel presides over another Mets debacle and stays on.

Fire Joe Morgan provides tips that Jerry Manuel can use to teach the Mets batters how to hit in the clutch:

4. Kidnap Carlos Delgado's kids and hold them at gunpoint while Carlos takes BP. "You like pressure, Carlos? This is what the playoffs feel like." Then, after Carlos strokes a home run, shoot one of the kids. Just in the leg, though. Remember, it's just a game.

Once he shoots the kid in the leg, maybe Jerry can go all Clint Eastwood on him.

The Mariners announced their final four candidates for the general manager position. Kim Ng makes the cut.

Hat tip to 6-4-2.

It looks like the Nationals are going to hire Willie Randolph as bench coach. Nationals Enquirer believes this sets up a Manny Acta firing, which will be fine with Acta as he then gets the Mets job when Jerry Manuel finishes his contract. Sounds like a lot of traveling on the Acela Express.

The Nationals medical director resigns:

In 2008, almost every significant Nationals position player spent time on the disabled list. A few of those injuries were originally diagnosed as day-to-day problems and proved more serious. Shaffer, when asked late in the season if he saw a common thread in all the ailments, saw bad luck as the only link. "You know, honestly, that's probably what I would attribute it to," Shaffer said. "The injuries don't have much in common."

The Yankees fired third base coach Bobby Meacham today.

The other interesting aspect to this move is that Meacham was one of the two choices Joe Girardi made for his staff, the other being bullpen coach Mike Harkey. Firing Meacham takes away an ally of the manager. Girardi, you may recall, was stunned at questions about whether his staff would he changed, saying he saw no reason. Obviously Brian Cashman felt differently.

Rich Monteleone was also fired. I don't think it's a good sign for the manager when his coaches get replaced. That said, was there anything wrong with Meacham's performance at third base? I don't remember many criticisms of his sending or holding runners during the regular season.

Update: River Ave. Blues thought Meacham did blow obvious calls.

Dale Sveum is traveling to Arizona to talk about his future managing with Doug Melvin. Melvin himself may get a contract extension during these meetings.

Joel Sherman suggest Joe Girardi follow the path of Tom Coughlin as he makes adjustments to both the way he handles the press and his players.

Girardi needs to improve how he conducts himself as Yankees manager - something even he concedes must occur. But the template should not be Torre. It should be Tom Coughlin. Because Girardi has so many more similarities to Coughlin, notably a Type-A personality.

Remember where Coughlin was after the 2006-07 season? He had a disenchanted locker room and a media corps painting a negative picture of his personality. Coughlin's bosses demanded he address these issues.

Coughlin did by meeting with the Giants' traveling press corps individually to glean a greater insight into why the relationship was so toxic. And he formed a player leadership council and met with it regularly as a way to better understand the temperature of the locker room. Coughlin did not forfeit his core values.

Problems with the press over injury reports were well covered during the season. Problems with players seem to be coming out only now that the season is over. They seem minor right now. The honeymoon is over, however, so if they aren't addressed, then they may spell trouble for Girardi in the future.

Hat tip, Replacement Level Yankees Weblog.

Patrick Sullivan wasn't too happy with Terry Francona Saturday night/Sunday morning.

The Mariners bring in five general manager candidates this week for interviews. I like the fact that they are looking at people with experience in places like Arizona, Cleveland and Toronto, organizations all with a good understanding of statistics.

Three Colorado Rockies coaches lost their jobs:

Hitting coach Alan Cockrell, third base coach Mike Gallego and bench coach Jamie Quirk were not offered contracts by the Rockies on Tuesday. Pitching coach Bob Apodaca and first base coach Glenallen Hill will return for the 2009 season.

When I hear about these firings, I always wonder if the manager is on the hot seat. Usually, managers get to pick their coaching staffs.

Rich Hoffman sits down for a private moment with Charlie Manuel after the division series clinching game:

He is 64 years old, the prototype baseball lifer, and the people in his profession know what he does and how well he does it. The proof is in the way his teams approach their business, how hard they play and how they play to the end. This year, the proof is in the champagne spray.

Manuel knows it, too. He could not stop smiling as he sat there and talked, amused by his exploding cell phone. The guy is a fascinating character. He has a

really hard shell but he also has a quiet

interest in vindication. He does not admit it, not exactly, but you can tell sometimes that the people who dismissed him early on as some kind of a bumpkin did draw blood, at least a little. And when you ask him what he would want people to say about him today, he does not hesitate.

"You know?" he said. "Know what I'd like people to call me? A winner, that's what."

I think he's more John McNamara than Davey Johnson, but the McNamaras do their share of winning.

Daniel Drezner disputes the argument of Dan Shaughnessy and Jack Curry that Red Sox fans don't appreciate Terry Francona as a manager:

As a Red Sox fan who talks to other Sox fans, I have rarely, if ever, heard an unkind word directed at Francona during his tenure as manager here. In fact, most Sox fans think Francona excels at the three biggest challenges a Red Sox manager faces: a) keeping the players on the same page; b) handling the media; c) never panicking during the season.

If anything, it's the national media -- I'm looking at you, BBWAA -- that underrates Francona. Consider that he's never won Manager of the Year. In the miracle year of 2004, he finished fifth in the voting, receiving zero first-place ballots. In 2005, he managed to get a team without a true #1 or #2 starter and no established closer into the postseason and finished sixth in the voting, receiving zero first-place ballots. Last year, despite helming the team with the best record, he finished fourth in the voting and received zero first-place ballots. Oh, and he's not going to win it this year, either -- Joe Maddon will.

If the Red Sox win another World Series this year, shouldn't everyone hold Francona in the same high regard we hold Joe Torre? I'd argue at this point Terry manages the personnel as well as Joe, and might even manage the actual game better.

With the Mariners looking for a new GM, Bleeding Blue and Teal reviews the career of Kim Ng.

Ng has never carried the title of GM, but she has just about all the experience you could hope for from a non GM. She's been in the professional game for nearly 20 years, is highly regarded and well rounded, and has worked for other Mariner GM candidates Brian Cashman and Paul DePodesta. She's structured contracts, stared down intimidating agents, initiated trade talks and been in charge of player development. When she worked for the American League she even learned the ins and outs of various rules and the loopholes that go with them, knowledge that the typical GM candidate wouldn't possess.

Her biggest knock is that she lacks scouting experience, something that many GMs and other candidates have. Some will insist that Seattle hires someone with this experience, but how important is it?

Bill Bavasi came from a scouting background and some of the work he did in the minor leagues was great because of it, but he was awful when it came to making trades, structuring contracts and other vital GM functions. Wouldn't you prefer to have someone that can successfully perform these functions, handing off the scouting to others? Seattle have highly regarded people in charge of scouting, including the Vice President of Scouting Bob Fontaine, Vice President of International Operations (and apparent Seattle GM candidate) Bob Engle, and others. Besides, she has experience as a minor league director with the Dodgers despite her lack of scouting experience.

Her hiring would likely be a plus for the Mariners. Not only would they get a person experienced in all aspects of the front office, but they would receive a great deal of positive publicity from the move.

The Mets signed Jerry Manuel to a two-year contract with an option for a third. I haven't seen the price tag yet.

Brian Cashman, in a news conference to announce his new contract, describes the criticism he faces:

In turn, Cashman's critics have begun popping up, questioning his new emphasis on retaining talented but unproven younger players, even it means that the Mets and not the Yankees ended up with Johan Santana.

"The story line that's going to be written, if I left, I didn't agree with," said Cashman, in what was clearly a reference to the criticism being tossed his way. "I wasn't going to let that story be written."

He added: "For a long time we've been old and everybody knows it. And for a long time people have pointed it out. Now when you start to fix it, 'Oh my God, we've missed the playoffs! Off with his head!' That's fine, I accept it."

The old team isn't the only criticism leveled at Brian. More people cite a number of signings that didn't work out.

The Mets called a news conference for tomorrow to announce a new contract for Omar Minaya. John Delcos discusses the high and low points of Omar's tenure this season.

WasWatching takes a negative view of the Yankees extending Brian Cashman's contract.

I wonder if a more apt comparison might be the Baltimore Orioles. They were a powerhouse in the mid to late 1990s, with a good team and an excellent revenue stream from their new stadium. They certainly had the money to compete with New York. Yet, the front office of that team ran a good organization into the ground. Cashman may not have improved on the team Bob Watson and Gene Michael assembled, but he didn't turn the team into a laughing stock either.

River Ave. Blues alerts me to this Kat O'Brien story indicating a three-year, $6 million deal for Brian Cashman. I wonder if GM contracts are guaranteed?

Cashman deliberated over the decision about whether it was time to move on after 11 seasons as GM, but gave the Yankees an affirmative answer this afternoon. In the end, a Yankees source said, it came down to what was best for his family. The new contract will be for slightly more than Cashman had been making, putting it at in the ballpark of $2-million per year.

Neither Cashman nor Yankees co-chairman Hal Steinbrenner, with whom Cashman negotiated the deal, could immediately be reached for comment. The two work closely together, and met at Yankee Stadium on Monday, and that relationship was a huge positive for Cashman in making up his mind.

I like Brian Cashman, so I'm rooting for him to bring the team back into the playoffs in the New Yankee Stadium. Anyone who can work for Steinbrenner for that long is doing something right.

The Detroit Tigers Weblog reviews Dave Dombrowski's talk with reporters. Edgar Renteria won't be back.

Correction: Fixed the link.

Bud Black remains the manager of the Padres:

The Padres announced late Monday afternoon that Black and most of his staff will return in 2008. The Padres finished 63-99, 21 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Padres say they won't renew the contract of bench coach Craig Colbert. Last week, hitting coach Wally Joyner resigned with six games left due to philosophical differences with the front office, which favors statistical analysis.

I believe they mean 2009 in the quote above. Black has one year left on his contract. The failure of the Padres this year was more about the front office failing to put a decent team on the field. Black, however, didn't manage to extract anything extra out of them. And while 2007 was a good year in terms of wins, San Diego did collapse at the end, allowing the Rockies to win the wild card. Next season could be Bud's last if there isn't an improvement.

More coaches fired, this time in Pittsburgh.

The Blue Jays need to find a new CEO:

Paul Godfrey has announced he will step down as president and CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays at the end of 2008.

The Jays, who ended the regular season on Sunday with an 86-76 record, have never advanced to the post-season under Godfrey's reign at the top of the major league organization. Godfrey, 69, joined the Blue Jays on Sept. 1, 2000 when Rogers Communication Inc., bought the team from Interbrew SA.

While attendance increased under Godfrey, the team fortunes didn't. I wonder if the new person will be as likely to keep Ricciardi around?

The Tigers fire their pitching and bullpen coaches. Not really surprising given how this team went from pitching power house to the third worst ERA in the AL in just two seasons.

The Mets will retain the services of Jerry Manuel as manager:

Manuel is expected to be approached to hammer out a new contract in the next day or two. The Mets again failed to make the playoffs after losing 4-2 to the Marlins on the final day of the season. But Manuel's bosses believe he did an excellent job under trying circumstances, including late-season injuries to closer Billy Wagner and starter John Maine and an overall bullpen breakdown. The Mets were 55-38 under Manuel after starting 34-35 under Willie Randolph.

"I told Jerry we're going to have a decision sooner rather than later,'' general manager Omar Minaya said. 'He's done a very good job, and we're going to sit down and talk about it.''

The Mets lost 12 of their final 17 games last year to blow a seven-game lead with Randolph as manager. This year they were 7-10 over their final 17 games.

Mets owner Jeff Wilpon said, "I feel totally different than last year. I think last year we underachieved. This year we overachieved.''

Somehow, I don't think blowing a late season lead, no matter how small, is overachieving. Still, the team played better under Manuel than under Randolph, and that has to count for something. I still wonder if Church didn't suffer a head injury and Delgado got hot two week earlier if Randolph would still be in charge.

The Nationals fired five coaches before today's game:

Each was in his second year with the organization. Only pitching coach Randy St. Claire, as I mentioned earlier, will be retained. Before they all exited, I was able to speak with Harris, Tolman and Corrales. All said they thanked Acta for the opportunity; all handled the decision with grace.

No coach yet knew the next step. "Go home and start making a list of people to call," Tolman said.

This, of course, means less control for Manny Acta. My guess is they didn't want to make Manny available to the Mets, who need to decide about keeping Jerry Manuel. By firing Acta's coaches, upper management signals their disapproval but still gives their manager a chance to bounce back.

This makes me believe Brian Cashman won't be back with the Yankees:

The start of the 2007 off-season played out largely beyond Cashman's control. After Rodriguez fizzled in the playoffs for the fourth year in a row, then opted out of his contract, Cashman started preparing for life without him.

In the short term, it would have been impossible to replace Rodriguez. But in the long run, there was an upside in not saddling the Yankees with a contract that would pay Rodriguez more than $20 million a season for the declining years of his career.

It was just those kinds of deals that started to infect the Yankees after they lost the 2001 World Series. That was when George Steinbrenner, their principal owner, demanded more control over baseball operations, sending the team on a four-year spending spree that started to wane when he yielded authority to Cashman after the 2005 season.

But last winter, when Steinbrenner put his sons, Hank and Hal, atop the hierarchy, the wild spending returned, over Cashman's head. Hank Steinbrenner engineered the deals for Rodriguez (10 years, roughly $300 million), Posada (four years, $52.4 million) and Mariano Rivera (three years, $45 million).

Maybe I missed this, but I thought these were deals made by Cashman. If this sort of thing was not in his control, then I expect he'll move on to less stressful pastures. I was surprised by the length of the Posada and Rivera deals; I could see two years with options, but longer than that seemed imprudent. Given that both ended up with bad shoulders, shorter contracts would have been the right move.

Update: Sorry, forgot to include the link before.

J.C. Bradbury reads between the lines and finds a rift in the Braves organization.

The Yankees want Brian Cashman back, and now it's up to him to decide if he wants to return.

Cashman knows the Steinbrenner family wants him back. He has not yet made up his mind, but said he would decide well before Oct. 31, the date his contract expires. In 2005, Cashman waited until the final few days to decide.

"That's not going to happen again," Cashman said in a telephone interview. "That wouldn't be fair to the Yankees."

Brian may decide it's time to move on to less green but also less stressful pastures.

Buster Olney reports the Mets are going to reward Omar Minaya with a four-year contract extension. I guess those late season disappointments are all the manager's fault.

Hat tip, LoHud Mets Blog.

Dugout Central presents two viewpoints on Brian Cashman staying with the Yankees. Steve Caimano takes the pro-Cashman position:

The first big story of the Yankees' off-season will be their decision on General Manager Brian Cashman, and that decision should be to pay him big dollars to stay. Cashman is one of the best GMs in the game, and he has been hardened by his years of operating under the microscope in New York. There is really no chance that the Yankees could find a replacement for him who would be able to come in and operate the team at his level. Beyond that, he has clearly set the team on a course that will ensure that their "rebuilding" is really more of a "reloading."

I don't agree that Cashman can't be replaced. There are plenty of bright young people in baseball who are more than capable of putting together a winning organization. There might even be some who can handle the New York press. Caimano's main point, however, is that Cashman deserves the time to finish the job he started when he took full control of the team.

Scott Jensen, however, uses an economic argument to decide Cashman must go. (See the link for the graph.)

What we would expect to see is a variant of a U-curve, where initially, as a young and more inexpensive championship team matures and demands greater pay, the bang for the buck trend would decrease. We would then expect the curve eventually to bottom out as veterans pass their peak and overall performance decreases while costs remain high. Finally, we would expect the ratio to increase with an influx of new, cheaper players and better results.

Instead, what we've seen is an overall downward trend since 1998.

My problem with this analysis is that the Yankees talent held their value for a long time. It's tough to replace Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera if they don't decline. In other words, part of the problem was that the Yankees aged well. That still doesn't excuse long term contracts to Mo and Jorge last off-season, but the core veterans are good performers. That U-turn could be just around the corner.

I think Cashman proves that even with a lot of money, winning isn't as easy as it looks. Failure for the Yankees comes at a very high level of play relative to other clubs, so despite a good season, Brian finds his job on the line. Whatever the outcome this winter, I suspect he'll do just fine. Any new job has to be easier than the one he has now.

With the Devil Rays name change working so well, maybe the Nationals should try it out as well:

Many cities' teams have appellations that reflect their local heritage or principal industry, such as the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Houston Astros, the Milwaukee Brewers or the Green Bay Packers. So with this in mind, I thought that a highly appropriate and ethnically safe team name for the reincarnated capital city baseball team would be the Washington Lobbyists.

I like that a lot. However, I came up with the perfect name for the team back in 2004, The Washington Exposés.

The consensus in the Brewers clubhouse is to keep Dale Sveum, but it appears his job is tied to Milwaukee making the playoffs.

Barry Larkin gives his opinion on how the lack of veterans on the Nationals hurts the development of their young players:

"When I was 21, I had 40-year-old guys around me saying, 'Listen young buck, this is how you do this, this is how this happens, and you know what -- No! You're not going out tonight. You're getting your [butt] up and you're getting here tomorrow morning because that's the way a professional works.' These guys don't have that. And then you have a 23-year-old kid who's the de facto leader of your team. So it's not an enviable position for these guys, and it's tough for these guys. They are playing hard, but they are learning. They're learning. The best players on their team are learning to play at the big league level, and it's tough. It's like learning a new language and just saying, 'OK, I taught ya man. You can go to China. I was just there. Go communicate with people.' Ahh, it's not gonna happen."

Steve Clark notes similarities between the Brewers and the final scenes of Animal House:

There were plenty of reasons to fire Yost before the season started or midway through the year, but when the schedule reached September, the Brewers should have unfortunately stuck with the girl they brought to the dance.

But when they fired Yost, it was like floats were running into bleachers, Niedermeyer shooting at Flounder and Bluto scaling the downtown buildings. And no matter what Melvin said, all was not well.

Maury Brown notes that given the economy, Major League Baseball is having a banner year.

It's not official yet, but the Red Sox are giving Theo Epstein a contract extension. Given the success of the Red Sox since he took over, it's well deserved.

The Brewers admit the main reason for firing Ned Yost was to kick start the team:

Sveum admitted that there was intended shock value to making the managerial switch.

"We're hoping it's a shock reaction to get (the players) to perform up to their level," Sveum said. "We're trying to send a shockwave through this team."

They're scoring 2.7 runs per game in September, go something needs to kick the offense into gear. Remember, too, that with both Sabahtia and Sheets free agents this winter, the Brewers put all their resources into winning this year. They can't take the chance of missing the playoffs after their mid-season moves.

It's too bad Yost didn't get the chance to finish. I questioned some of his moves with pitchers lately, especially how he used Sabathia. He'd allow him to stay in a blowout to get a shutout, but pull him with a relatively low pitch count in a 2-1 game. His use of the bullpen was questionable. On the other hand, he did try batting Jason Kendall ninth and the pitcher eighth, so he was at least open to new ideas.

The Mets fall to the Nationals 7-2 this evening, and with Ned Yost getting fired, that interim label is looking pretty good on Jerry Manuel right now. John Lannan holds New York to one hit over seven innings, while Pedro Martinez walked more than he struck out. You never used to see that out of Pedro.

Lannan had allowed 23 hits to the Mets in 15 innings of work this season, generating a 6.00 ERA. That looks a bit better after this start. Lastings Milledge collected three hits and scored twice. He came into the game hitting .149 against his former team.

The Mets lead over the Phillies is down to 1/2 game with New York holding a one game lead in the AFILC.

Ryan Braun told the press Yost never lost the team. He's also clear on why the team made the move:

"I was really surprised at the timing of it. I at least thought they'd let the season play out and see what happened, but they felt like they needed to make a decision. Obviously, I have a lot of belief in upper management and ownership, the direction they see us going."

Braun agreed the move was part of the team's win-now mentality, which was a way to combat the season slipping.

"There's no way you make a move like this unless they felt that way," Braun said.

This was a wake-up call from the front office. I don't buy the Sabathia near-no-hitter whining as a reason for the team doing poorly, since Melvin was just as guilty as Yost. If that was the reason, the GM should go too. The front office needed a drastic move to get the team's attention. We'll see if this is the right move.

I'm getting emails from all over that the Brewers fired Ned Yost.

"This was a very difficult move to make, and we appreciate all of the work that Ned has done to develop this team into a contender," GM Doug Melvin said. "In the end, this was a collaborative decision made to put our Club in the best position for the final two weeks of the season."

Dale Sveum takes over, and a coaching staff overhaul is in the works. Yost managed just one collapse too many, but I'm surprised the move came now. This must put Fire Ned Yost out of business.

Update: It seems to me that if the whole team stops hitting, there's not much a manager can do. Add to that 3/5 of the rotation and the two big guns in the bullpen, and you have a disaster. If Yost wore them down, I can't see how Sveum fixes that. If he pissed them off so much they don't want to play, maybe Dale can help.

Fire Ned Yost examines Ned Yost's reason for leaving Brian Shouse in the game today and find it lacking.

Chartese Burnett is the latest subject of the Women in Baseball series. She's the Vice President of Communications for the Washington Nationals. Interestingly, she never watched a baseball game before working for the team.

The Good Phight is not too happy that the Phillies are tied with a team put together by Ed Wade.

Bobby Cox will honor his contract and return to manage the Braves in 2009.

This is news? Was there really any doubt? I would not be surprised to see Cashman ousted, but the Yankees haven't played poorly enough to get Girardi fired.

Via Baseball Time in Arlington, Joe Posnanski wonders what happened to the Trey Hillman who was so successful in Japan:

No, the troubling part is that all of those things that Dayton Moore and so many others saw in Hillman -- his bustling energy, his likeable personality, his sense of perspective, his ability to inspire and motivate the players -- those things have been missing in action. The Royals have played lackluster baseball. They have gone backward defensively. They are so unfocused that Hillman last week made a point to say they're catching pop-ups better. They have by far the worst plate discipline in all of baseball. The Royals' young players have not improved enough and in some case regressed. This is not a well-managed baseball team.

And everyone seems to know it, especially the players. It should be said up front that Major League Baseball players often grumble about their manager. But multiple sources who are around the club every day say that these Royals openly mock him. A new Trey Hillman joke is almost a daily occurrence, and it's hard for a manager to recover from being a clubhouse punchline.

It seems it was easier for Hillman to adjust to the different world of Japan than the familiar world of Major League Baseball. Posnanski notes at the end of the article that Hillman's job is safe and he does seem to be learning from his mistakes. However, it's a disappointing article given the high hopes for the manager at the beginning of the season.

The Orioles decided to bring Dave Trembley back as manager for the 2009 season. The Orioles performed well in a tough division, where their four rivals are all over .500. He deserves a chance to see if he can keep the improvement going.

Does anyone still think the Yankees should have kept Joe Torre as manager? I'm not looking for comments on the way the Yankees released him, but the actual decision to let him go. He's not exactly marching the Dodgers into the post season at this point.

Richard Griffin makes the case for and against J.P. Ricciardi staying on as GM in Toronto. He has two years left on his contract. On the pro side:

Ricciardi has built a farm system that is about two years from producing some key major leaguers. He deserves to see his best prospects bear fruit and watch the young guns from recent drafts develop and reach the majors.

Well, it took him long enough. I received this email last night from Michael Hobson who writes at The Fan View.

Remember how the Jays said that were using older catchers like Zaun and Barajas as stop-gaps because the veterans were simply filling space and biding time until the organization's catching star was ready. That was the catch phrase a few years back when the position of phenom catcher was held by Guillermo Quiroz--now a serviceable back-up in Baltimore.

Next up was Curtis Thigpen. The organization promoted his value as the next guy until Toronto baseball fans were witness to a guy who looked like he swung a toothpick, and hit as such.

Lastly, there is Robinson Diaz. A player that was hyped as the best of them all. A player that was touted to take over the catching position perhaps as early as late this season--but most likely it would occur at the start of the next season. This was a player that was recently sent to the Pirates as compensation when the Jays acquired a mediocre major league third baseman from Pittsburgh.

JP needs the assurance that he is a smart baseball man in the mould of his major league mentor Billy Beane. It is certainly unfortunate for the Jays that the bright student never developed into anything more than a bright student.

My bet is that J.P. is gone at the end of the season.

My comment about Manny Acta at MetsBlog.com drew this response from Peter Gammons:

Manny Acta is a sabermetrics student and the only manager who ever dropped a VORP on me. He has the worst team in baseball.

That got me thinking. Sabermetric teams really disappointed in 2008.

• Manny Acta's Nationals own the worst record in the majors.
• The Cleveland Indians stand 14 games out of first place.
• The Blue Jays put together a good pitching staff, but couldn't match it with a decent offense.
• The Oakland Athletics started in contention but trades threw them into a tailspin.
• Detroit didn't live up to the hype of their winter trades.
• San Diego sits in last place in the NL West.
• Trey Hillman's Royals haven't improved, and sabermetric pitcher Brian Bannister pitched poorly.

The Red Sox and Diamondbacks are still in contention. Arizona hasn't blown anyone away, however, and the Red Sox in a three-way race for the wild card. The biggest triumph was Baseball Prospectus's prediction that the Rays would win 88 games. I'm not sure if the Tampa Bay front office is statistically oriented, but they seem to be making moves as if they were. If true, their success will be a big victory for the science.

A Cubs fan says thank you to Kenny Williams.

Mike Hargrove wants to manage again:

"It really would have to be the right place - and the team that did it would have to believe I wouldn't walk away."

Hargrove said he has no regrets about his decision to leave, other than missing some close relationships he had established in the game.

"I really misspoke when I said I had lost my passion for the game," Hargrove said. "I think my competitive edge was dulled. Now, it's back."

We'll see if anyone wants to take a chance on Mike. The worry that he'll walk away would be a huge factor in the decision. I don't know how one guarantees that won't happen.

The Latin American kick-back scandal hits the Yankees as they fire two scouts:

The Yankees terminated the contracts of Carlos Rios, their director of Latin American scouting, and Ramon Valdivia, their Dominican Republic scouting director, a baseball official said Friday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made.

The two, who had been on leave, were terminated Thursday, the official said.

They were accused of skimming six figures from the deals, a second baseball official said, also speaking on condition of anonymity because no announcements had been made.

The Yankees join the White and Red Sox as teams to dismiss employees over this practice.

Via Shysterball, the Yankees send Melky Cabrera to the minors and release Richie Sexson.

Bruce Gardner and Cody Ransom were recalled from Triple-A Scranton to fill the open spots on the Yankees' 25-man roster.

I'm very disappointed in Melky Cabrera. He's still young, but you'd like to see progress early in a player's career and Melky showed none this season. While I love the name, I'm not sure how much Cody Ransom will help. He basically defines career minor leaguer.

Russell Martin gave Brad Penny a Mohawk, and Manny will cut the dreds:

It's Monday, and Manager Joe Torre lost his bet and will make a donation to Mattel Children's Hospital at UCLA -- Ramirez still looking like Samson before messing with the ladies.

A deal has apparently been struck, though, with Fantastic Sam's, Ramirez getting it cut sometime this week and a Dodgers charity benefiting.

Hair today, and maybe gone tomorrow, and it's all anyone wants to talk about.

Manny also told the report the Red Sox fined him $40,000 for pushing the traveling secretary in Texas. All the money went to charity.

Richard Justice notes a quote from Cecil Cooper that the Astros manager would quit if the team signed Barry Bonds.

Maybe Coop feels he has done such a bang-up job running the clubhouse and the games that he can help out Ed Wade in personnel. Lord knows, Ed could use some help.

If I were Cecil Cooper I'd be real careful about making threats. Sure the Astros have been playing well lately, but Cecil Cooper could be replaced in about three seconds. I have Don Baylor's telephone number around here somewhere.

Lisa Gray quotes Justice as writing:

Really? I'd make that swap. That would be a win-win.

I can't find that in the post, but it was my thought exactly.

He's only an assistant, but I can't see how this is a good move for the Reds.

The Blue Jays annoucned that Cito Gaston will return to the bench in 2009 as the manager of the Blue Jays.

"Cito's definitely going to be back," general manager J.P. Ricciardi said Thursday. "He's done a good job. We're six games over .500 since he took over. We've got a long way to go offensively, but he's really laid the groundwork for some of the right stuff offensively. The guys like playing for him."

The Blue Jays win tonight 6-4 over Oakland.

Lone Star Ball offers thoughts on the purge of the Texas pitching coaches. His working hypothesis was the Mark Connor was trying to make each pitcher throw the same way.

Ron Gardenhire won't be managing tonight's game:

Gardenhire was suspended after he kicked his hat in disgust following his ejection in the seventh inning. Fans threw hats, baseballs and other debris on the field after that, forcing Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen to pull his team off the field for a few minutes.

Ron won't be there if the Twins claim first place.

Update: The Twins just laid down three straight bunts. Gomez and Span picked up back-to-back bunt hits, then Punto sacrificed them to 2nd and 3rd. I can't remember seeing three straight bunts in a row. That's 48 bunt hits for the Twins, more than twice as many as any other team.

Update: After Mauer walks, Morneau hits a sacrifice fly, and the Twins lead 1-0 in the bottom of the third.

Update: Peralta doubles in the top of the fourth to tie the game at one.

Update: Shoppach hits his fifth home run in his last 10 games and the Indians lead 3-1.

The Texas Rangers replaced their pitching coaches Friday night:

The Rangers fired pitching coach Mark Connor and bullpen coach Dom Chiti after Friday's 9-8 win against Toronto.

Triple-A Oklahoma pitching coach Andy Hawkins and Jim Colborn, director of Pacific Rim operations and a pitching coach for two years under former Pittsburgh manager Jim Tracy, will take over for the rest of the season. Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said the club will re-evaluate both coaches at that time.

Texas pitchers own the worst ERA in the American League, the only team with an ERA over 5.00. The Rangers are the highest scoring team in the majors at 5.63 runs per game, yet they've been outscored by more than 30 runs. If new pitching coaches can knock down the Rangers ERA, they have a chance at making a run at the wild card this season.

"We felt we weren't seeing the progress we wanted to see," Rangers president Nolan Ryan said. "We're serious about the wild-card race, and in fairness to our offense, we needed to try to do something to improve our pitching. We owe them that."

Tyler Kepner shared an elevator ride with Brian Cashman last night after the Yankees loss:

I missed the early elevator to the clubhouse after Tuesday's game, and the one I got included General Manager Brian Cashman. If you ever wondered how hard this job can be on him, you wouldn't after seeing his face.

...

The elevator stopped at the ground floor, Cashman's stop. "I hate this game," he said, and he walked off into the lobby, toward the parking lot. He had a long drive home to Connecticut, with plenty more time to think about a tough game.

Joe Maddon wants to "eradicate assumptionism." Time to mock up a tee shirt.

The Washington Nationals aren't paying rent, using the excuse that the stadium in incomplete. I love The Nationals Enquirer take on this:

We have to ask: Is "Major League Baseball team" on the Lerner's "punch list" of incomplete items at Nationals Park?

David Atkinson notes in an E-Mail the anniversary of Earl Weaver taking over the Baltimore Orioles:

Before I head off into Never-Never Land for a couple weeks, I'd like to wish congratulations and happy anniversary (on this board, at least) to legendary manager Earl Weaver, who directed his first game as Orioles skipper on July 11, 1968. There are lots of strange and interesting things about Earl's career, he is quite a character. I hope some of you have read his autobiography.

One particularly odd thing that I have noticed in recent years is that despite Earl's type-AA personality and the fact that he's smoked enough Raleigh cigarettes in his life to fill the Grand Canyon (I don't think they even make that brand anymore, do they?), he somehow has managed to outlive a surprising number of his former players. Just off the top of my head, without looking anything up, I can name Pat Dobson, Dave McNally, Elrod Hendricks, Curt Blefary, Mark Belanger, Don Buford, and Pat Kelly. Who else have I missed? And that's only counting players who had a significant role, not journeymen who passed through briefly or guys who just had a cup of coffee in the bigs.

There were lots of amusing incidents in Earl's career. One funny one was the time the Orioles were playing the Twins, and Earl ordered an intentional walk to Dan Ford (because he mistakenly thought that Larry Hisle was up), only to have Hisle, the next batter, bang out the game-winning hit.

Anyone else have fond Weaver memories?

Toward the end of Earl's career, the Red Sox called up a Harvard grad named Mike Stenhouse. The guy could not hit, but he was a walk machine. For his career, he hit .190 with a .308 OBA. In his brief stay with Boston in 1986, he was 2 for 21 with 12 walks, an .095 BA but a .424 OBA. At the time, OBA wasn't as universally recognized as it is today. Earl understood it, however, and when there was talk of letting Stenhouse go, Weaver said that Mike could lead off for the Orioles. Stenhouse went on to have a career as a broadcaster for Pawtucket.

We've Got Heart continues their Women in Baseball series with a profile of Pam Gardner, President of Business Operations for the Houston Astros.

There's an excellent interview with Davey Johnson at Big League Stew. Most of it centers on the Olympics, but they also touch on Willie Randolph's firing. This disappointed me, however:

Q: If Omar Minaya called you after the Olympics and said, "Davey, we need you back, we need you to turn this thing around ... "

DJ: First of all, it's not going to happen. I respect Omar Minaya as a good general manager, but I haven't had a working relationship with him ... but as far as do I want to pursue a career in the big leagues again? No.

I'm really looking forward to managing the Olympics (team) and if it turns out I could manage the World (Baseball) Classic (team) I would be happy.

I love the game of baseball. I know I'm good at what I do. I know every club I've been with, I've left them in better shape, and they managed to mug it up right after I left, change the direction that I had them going in.

That's too bad. I would love to see Davey in a big league dugout again.

John Royal tries to look deeper at what's going on in the Astros clubhouse. I'm reminded of something Larry Dierker said about managing in Houston:

"When I became the manager, I kind of knew what were the smart things to do. But I also knew that if I did all of them, it would be at the expense of my credibility with the players. With that in mind, I just had to use my instincts to both win the game and keep the whole team in the spirit of pulling together. I didn't want to come off as an egghead guy who was just looking at numbers and ignoring people, and sometimes those considerations ran into each other."

There was also the whole Bagwell/Biggio leadership issue. From what I heard over the years, those two really ran things and kept a tight ship. Maybe Jeff needs to be hired as either the bench coach or the new manager.

The Royals are 1/2 game behind the Indians. If the Royals win tonight and the Indians lose, does falling into last place trigger the firing of Eric Wedge?

J.P. Ricciardi says he talked to Adam Dunn on the phone and apologized. Dunn says it never happened:

"What? Not true. One million percent," Dunn told MLB.com after being informed of Ricciardi's comments.

When told of what Dunn said, Ricciardi was adamant that he spoke to the player on the phone.

"All I know is the person I talked to said it was Adam Dunn," Ricciardi said. "That's quite a prank to pull."

I'm not buying Ricciardi's explanation. He says he deleted the caller's number from his cell phone. Why? Who does that? I was going through my phone log yesterday and there were months of calls there. I assume J.P. owns the latest technology, the number should still be there.

Hat tip, BBTF.

Update: More J.P. goodness from Drunk Jays Fans.

Henry Schulman wonders why Bochy didn't start a prospect at second base on Saturday night:

When Ray Durham had to be the designated hitter in Kansas City on Saturday night because of an ankle injury, manager Bruce Bochy had a perfect opening to start either Emmanuel Burriss or Travis Denker at second base. Instead, he went with the more experienced Jose Castillo.

Decisions like that do nothing to dispel Bochy's reputation, developed in San Diego, that he prefers older players.

Bochy on Castillo:

"He's got power. He's an intriguing player," Bochy said. "He runs fairly well. I think he has the tools to be an everyday player. Now, that's up to him. I think he's improved his work ethic since he's been here. I think he sees this as a great opportunity."

No, he doesn't. He's 27 years old, has over 1700 at bats and a .299 career OBA. With his improved work ethic, his OBA is up to .310 this season. As for power, his career slugging percentage is .386. We know that Castillo is a poor major league player. Give one of the youngsters a chance.

Ray Ratto likes the way Bob Geren improved as a manager this season:

Geren's work running the bullpen has been skillful (with the odd glitch here and there, and no, Saturday night doesn't count), with everyone understanding when he will be used and rarely removed from his comfort zone. Geren has juggled a lineup that used to have too many designated hitters and now has too few, and has managed to compile the eighth-best record with the 18th-best offense and the 26th-best slugging percentage.

Of course, their run differential suggests a record that would make them the fifth-best team, so maybe Geren actually is doing a crummy job, but there's only so much analysis you can squeeze out of run differential. Fact is, by all the best math, this club penciled out as another 76-86 team, and it is currently playing at an 88-74 rate.

In other words, the very worst you can say for Geren is that his second team is performing much better than his first did. And in baseball, that's largely the same as saying that's the very best you can say about a manager.

The team owns the best ERA in the AL, with the starters at number one and the bullpen ranked fifth. Geren is certainly playing to the team's strength, and at least knows when to get his starters out of the game.

John Gibbons seemed to take his firing well:

"I'm fine. You're disappointed but, then, that's the reality of these jobs," Gibbons said. "A lot of good things happened when I was in Toronto but, you know, nothing really great and by great I mean post-season. That's what the organization was looking for.

"But life goes on, man. Baseball goes on. If the worst thing is I get to spend a couple of months of the summer with my kids, I guess things could be worse. I've got nothing but thanks for the organization, particularly J.P. for giving me this opportunity. He stuck by me, gave me a shot. There's not going to be anything but fond memories.

"We were struggling, there was no question about that," Gibbons added. "Hopefully, change is good. I'm still a big fan of these guys. I want to see 'em succeed and I want 'em to have a great year. If this helps ... well, I hope it works."

John McLaren blamed the Mariners woes on team in-fighting:

McLaren, speaking by telephone from his home in Peoria, Ariz., said tension and jealousy among players in the fractured clubhouse contributed to Seattle going from supposed contenders to the worst team in the majors in three months.

"A little divided, pitchers against hitters," he said, adding the team's season-long woes on offense caused the turmoil.

Starting pitcher Carlos Silva provided a glimpse of that on June 4 following his sixth consecutive loss.

"One thing in here is, I know everybody has to do their own job, but don't forget it's a team. A lot of people in here play for themselves," Silva said then. "Like, 'If I get my two hits, it's OK. That's my day. I made my day."'

Then again, any hitter would be free to question Silva's contributions. Signed to a $48 million contract last winter, Silva is 3-8 with a 5.79 ERA in 15 starts.

McLaren emphasized he wasn't pointing out the rift to deflect criticism from himself but offer advice to the players on how to turn around their flopping team.

"I think there is a little friction and tension in there, a little jealousy," McLaren said. "I think the players have to (fix) it on their own.

Obviously, John failed to heal the rift himself.

On May 15, 1989, Cito Gaston took over a 12-24 Toronto Blue Jays team from Jimy Williams. The team would go 77-49 under Cito and win the AL East. That started an impressive run for the Blue Jays. From 1990 through 1993 they would finish first three times, second one and win back-to-back World Series, breaking a 14-year streak of no back-to-back winners. Toronto held the best winning percentage in the majors from the start of Cito's tenure to the end of 1993, .575, 445-329. The next closest was the Oakland Athletics at .550.

The Blue Jays were known for their offense, scoring 4.74 runs per game in that time. You can see the number of great players who batted for the Blue Jays under Gaston during their great run.

However, the next four season saw the Blue Jays fall on hard times. Note that he still had some really good names on the team, but near the end of his fourth losing season in a row, Gaston was fired. While Cito was supposed to be a good hitting coach, the development of Delgado and Green go against that.

OPS	Under Gaston	After Gaston
Green	.792	.906
Delgado	.825	.987

Also working against Cito was his idea that Olerud was a platoon player. 1993, The season John won the batting title was the only year Gaston played him in at least 140 games. After he left Toronto, from 1997 to 2003, Olerud appeared in over 150 games every season, hit .300 with a .407 OBA and a .471 slugging percentage.

Given a great veteran team in 1989 and through the 1993 season, Gaston was the perfect manager. As young talent came along, however, Cito didn't do a great job of getting the most out of those players. Right now, he inherits a set of veteran hitters. If history holds, I'd expect Cito to do a good job with this squad. He's not a rebuilding manager.

I just received an email from Baseball Digest Daily reporting that John Gibbons will be relieved of his managerial duties this afternoon.

Update: According to SI, Cito Gaston takes over as the new manager. Too bad John Olerud's not around to get benched.

The Mets are keeping Jerry Manuel for the rest of the season, but the job is up in the air after that. In a followup to the poll of dancers at Rick's Caberet that predicted Randolph's firing, the women were asked who should be the next manager of the Mets. Lonnie Hanover sent me the results:

Last night (Tuesday) there were over 50 Rick's Cabaret dancers working at the NYC club, and I posed the question to several of the girls. The list of names they suggested is quite random--I think that the girls have been influenced by reasons other than pure baseball; some may be on the list because the girls know them, some because they are good tippers. Some on the list have not been to the club. (You will have to come to the club and ask them yourself!)

MO VAUGHN
KEITH HERNANDEZ
LARRY BOWA
ROGER CEDENO
JASON GIAMBI
BILL MADLOCK
RON DARLING
LEE MAZZILLI
MIKE FETTERS
FRANK THOMAS
PHIL GARNER

and

***BOBBY VALENTINE: Rick's Girl Grace said that "Valentine would be similar to the Billy Martin thing, and my mom dated Billy Martin."

Grace appears to know her baseball history. How about Giambi as player-manager? He'd be an improvement over Delgado at first, and he should be a free agent at the end of the season. Would MLB let a former steroid user manage a team?

Willie Randolph gives his side of the firing in the New York Daily News. I like this bit:

"You don't have to say anything more, Omar," I said. "I came here to win, and if you don't feel I'm the guy to get that done, then it's your right to make a change. I'm eternally grateful for the opportunity you gave me. I want you to know that."

I stood up and shook his hand, told him I wished him and the team well. Then he handed me an envelope, a little parting gift, and told me to make sure I reviewed it with my agent, Ron Shapiro.

It was a copy of my Met contract that basically says I better not say anything detrimental about the team, or I might jeopardize the rest of the money I have coming to me.

Maybe that's why Omar didn't fire him Sunday night. He needed to get the copy printed.

John McLaren took over on July 2, 2007, less than a year ago. His 156 game stint as manager went well in the first half. The Mariners finished 43-41 under John in 2007. That's not as good as they played under Hargrove, but they won. His 2008 record of 25-47 is just awful, the worst in baseball.

The offense just didn't play well under McLaren. Among Mariners with at least 100 plate appearances playing for John, the highest OBA was .365 and the highest slugging percentage was .491, and both belong to the departed Jose Guillen. Six batters with at least 100 PA posted OBA below .300. If you want to blame Bavasi, McLaren was given poor hitters. If you want to blame McLaren, he's the guy who gave those hitters over 1600 at bats.

The pitching is more a mixed bag. Felix Hernandez thrived with McLaren at the helm. Erik Bedard didn't. No other starter has an ERA better than 4.84. With that kind of pitching and an offense that doesn't produce, a team ends up with a winning percentage under .400.

I tend to blame the GM in this case for putting a terrible team on the field. As far as I can tell, however, McLaren did nothing to get the most out of a weak squad. Maybe the new manager and GM will work better as a team to find a way to get this team winning.

The Seattle Mariners completed their managerial purge with the firing of John McLaren.

The club will hold a press conference at 11:30 a.m. during which they expect to announce the club's future plans.

Sources say Jim Riggleman, Seattle Mariners' bench coach, will be named to replace McLaren.

Stay tuned for more. Notice, however, the Mariners do this on an off day in the morning (the time posted is Pacific) before the team makes a cross country trip.

In a follow up to the previous post, J.P. Ricciardi appears to be losing it:

Ricciardi slammed Dunn on his Wednesday night phone-in show on The Fan 590, a Toronto radio station. His comments came after a caller suggested the Jays acquire Dunn, who is hitting .227 with 18 homers and 43 RBIs with the Reds.

"Do you know the guy doesn't really like baseball that much?" Ricciardi said to the caller. "Do you know the guy doesn't have a passion to play the game that much? How much do you know about the player?

"There's a reason why you're attracted to some players and there's a reason why you're not attracted to some players. I don't think you'd be very happy if we brought Adam Dunn here ...

"We've done our homework on guys like Adam Dunn and there's a reason why we don't want Adam Dunn. I don't want to get into specifics."

Ricciardi was generally sympathetic as callers vented following the Jays 5-4 loss to Milwaukee. But Ricciardi's demeanour changed when a caller mentioned Dunn as a hitter who might "save" the Jays' moribund offence.

"He's a lifetime .230, .240 hitter that strikes out a ton and hits home runs," Ricciardi said.

"Yes, he hits home runs, which none of the Toronto Blue Jays are doing," the caller replied.

That retort triggered Ricciardi's shot at Dunn as a player who "doesn't really like baseball that much."

I'm surprised no on mentioned Dunn's great OBA, .395 this year and .382 for his career. Adam gets on base and hits home runs, who cares how much he likes baseball! He does two things that add to offense very well. Ricciardi, should be all over players like Dunn, just like Billy Beane was happy to take in Frank Thomas.

MLB Fanhouse says it well:

As for Dunn's like of baseball, his lack of passion led him to miss all of 15 games over the last four seasons. He hit 166 home runs over that span so whatever his issues with average and whiffs, he's productive. Whatever his feelings about the game, I'd rather have a player who produces like Dunn and is indifferent toward baseball than Shannon Stewart, say, who may love the game but isn't very good at it.

I'm also reminded of my favorite Bill James quote:

I mean, I would never say that it was not important to have a team with a good attitude, but Christ, Sparky, there are millions of people in this country who have good attitudes, but there are only about 200 who can play a major-league brand of baseball, so which are you going to take? Sparky is so focused on all that attitude stuff that he looks at an Enos Cabell and he doesn't even see that the man can't play baseball. This we ballplayer, Sparky, can't play first, can't play third, can't hit, can't run and can't throw. So who cares what his attitude is?

J.P. is a huge disappointment. He's supposed to be a guy who understands what the numbers mean and act accordingly. He's done a great job building a pitching staff, but letting Frank Thomas go and going off like this on Adam Dunn makes me wonder if he understands how to build an offense. Maybe it's time for him to go.

J.C. Bradbury takes a second look at what he calls, "the most obvious GM blunder that I have seen in some time."

My latest SportingNews.com column looks at the 30 year anniversary of the Billy Martin firing and the parallels it holds with the Mets and Randolph.

USS Mariner keeps working on the next team GM, listing likely people to make the initial cut.

Jose de Jesus Ortiz is amazed at how bad things are in the Astros clubhouse:

It seems it has gotten so bad that now even in the dugout some players are openly among themselves questioning moves made by Cecil Cooper and the pitching coach Dewey Robinson. Turns out, quite a few players openly questioned Friday night why a pinch runner wasn't used for Ty Wigginton in the ninth.

I wonder if there are ring leaders who could be traded away? If they turn out to be Oswalt and Berkman, then it's more likely Cooper will get the axe.

On the first play of the Mets game, Jose Reyes had a run in with Jerry Manuel over an injury. In the fourth inning, Reyes returned to the dugout and appeared to apologize to Jerry.

Jose Reyes singles leading off the first inning in Anaheim, but hurts his knee. Manuel and the trainer comes out to look at it, and Manuel decides Reyes should come out of the game. Jose argues. He wants to stay in the game. Manuel puts his arm gently around Jose's waist, trying to direct him to the dugout. Jose gets more animated, and finally heads for the dugout. He screams something, throws his helmet, and heads down the runway to the club house. It wasn't pleasant to watch, and I wonder if Manuel will fine Reyes for his antics. It's good Jose wanted to stay in the game, but it would be nice to listen to the new manager in his first game.

Update: Manuel went down into the club house between innings and hasn't come back to the dugout yet.

Update: The Angels are hitting Santana hard. Carlos Delgado just made an error at first to lead to the third run of the inning. The Angels lead 3-1 and are still batting in the first.

Update: Kotchman tries to steal second as Santana releases a pickoff throw to first. Reyes's replacement, Easley, doesn't cover second and Kotchman steals the bag easily. He doesn't score, but that's about the worst first inning Manuel could have imagined.

Jerry Manuel is now holding a news conference. He just said he would use the 2007 collapse to motivate the team. He said it might have been a mistake to put that in the past. He feels the players need to be reminded of that when they play poorly.

Update: Sandy Alomar will not be the third base coach. He'll become Manuel's bench coach. Alomar has come under criticism for his coaching at third this season.

Update: Jerry just talked very intelligently about base stealing, talking about balancing what's good for the team with the opportunity to get the players some good stats. He wants to teach the players to recognize the right situations to run.

Update: Manuel just said he's going to stay in his uniform at the end of the season, because Minaya mentioned he won't fire the manager while he's in his uniform.

Update: Manuel is coming off as very intelligent and thoughtful here. He just talked about how getting fired by the White Sox was a valuable experience for him as it forced him to examine the things he could have done better and learn from that.

Omar Minaya's news conference is starting. You can watch on ESPNews.

Update: Minaya says it was his decision alone.

Update: Minaya said he wanted to look Willie in the eye when he fired him. Funny, he was on the east coast at the time.

Update: It sounds like Omar just said he made up his mind Monday morning. Then why wait until two hours after the game?

Omar says he was concerned that the players were talking more about Randolph's status than the games.

Update: I guess Omar flied out last night, which is why it happened when it happened.

Update: Jerry Manuel will be the manager for the rest of the season.

Update: Omar is spinning now. He says it didn't happen at 3 in the morning, it happened at 11 at night. Omar should know he's always on New York time.

Update: To sum up, Omar says he told Randolph when Willie left New York that Omar would make a decision. Omar slept on it, and Monday morning decided to fire Willie. Minaya had to take care of logistics, then flew out to Anaheim so he could tell Willie personally. He didn't want to wait because he didn't want Randolph to hear it from a third source. So he told him as soon as he could after the game, and after Willie was out of uniform.

Buster Olney pointed out that reporters knew the move that were eventually made over the weekend. The question that raises is why Omar didn't sleep on it Saturday night and make the decision Sunday morning?

The LoHud Mets Blog quotes Willie Randolph and Rick Peterson on their firings. Peterson was very gracious:

"I appreciated the opportunity (the Wilpons) gave me," Peterson said. "They welcomed me into their home, and sometimes homes go through renovations.

"I am the hardwood floor that is being ripped out and replaced with Tuscany tile. Hopefully, the Tuscany tile will do better than the hardwood tile. ... I am walking out of here in peace."

Both were more classy than the people who fired them.

John Royal connects the dots between a few media stories about the Astros and wonders if there is a communications gap between players and management.

The email coming in at MetsBlog.com indicates the firing of Willie Randolph caused great embarrassment to Mets fans.

Chico Harlan presents part of an interview with Manny Acta that reveals a lot about Manny's philosophy.

Well, I'm not perfect. Just because I have patience, that doesn't mean I can't lose my temper here and there. I don't claim... I have very good control of my emotions. I can control my emotions extremely well. That doesn't mean that I'm perfect, and I'm not here and there going to snap. Because I do, behind closed doors. When enough is enough, I do have my meetings with the guys. I don't go on an f-bomb tirade, because I don't believe in that. I believe I can get my point across in a calm, easy manner. But that doesn't mean I'm perfect. That doesn't mean I'll never be seen arguing or confronting somebody, because I've done it plenty of times in the past. It's just that nowadays I choose not to do it, because I've found out it doesn't get you anywhere.

Toward the end, he loses me a bit when he talks about the world being more negative and sarcastic. That's just typical old ballplayer remembering the good times without the bad. If the Nationals start winning, he'll hear more cheers than boos.

In general, however, reading through the interview made me like Acta even more.

Buster Olney takes down the Mets front office:

The personnel meetings the Mets hold are said by participants to run on for hours, the discussion often turning circular and pointless. And maybe that's when it starts to happen in their organization when they get to the point where the staff members are so beaten down emotionally and intellectually that they don't have the ability to stand up and scream: Are you people crazy? Are you serious? Because this is a really bad idea -- no, no, wait, let's go one step further: It's really just flat-out nuts.

There's too much good stuff to quote, but it appears that the Mets wanted to fire Randolph sooner, but couldn't pull the trigger on holidays, Memorial Days and Father's Day. This, I believe, is Buster's most damaging paragraph:

When the Mets sputtered in April, the backstabbing began, with Randolph being undermined along the way. Words of Randolph's honest player evaluations in those staff meetings somehow made their way to the ears of players. That left the manager in a brutal position of trying to draw performance out of veterans who heard that behind closed doors the manager wasn't so sure if they had the right stuff anymore. Some on-field staff members doubted whether they could trust the front office.

If this is the case, why would any manager want to work for this team?

Mike Hargrove is managing semi-pro ball in Kansas.

"I figure there's two ways to give back - money and time," Hargrove said. "And time is a lot cheaper than money."

Part of giving back for Hargrove, a former first baseman with a lifetime .290 average and .396 on-base percentage, has been helping several of his players make small adjustments in their hitting approach during early batting practice.

"It's really satisfying to see the look of, it's not pleasure, but the light kind of comes on for them," Hargrove said. "They're enthusiastic about it. It's like, 'Oh, gee, this makes a difference.'

"And that's real satisfying. I don't care what level you're on - if you're working with people with any talent at all and you can help them and you see that look come across their face . . ."

Good for Grover. Maybe he'll rediscovered his dedication to the game.

The Mets fired Willie Randolph after a 9-6 win over the Angels:

The Mets have fired manager Willie Randolph, pitching coach Rick Peterson and first base coach Tom Nieto, the team announced shortly after 3 a.m. Eastern time Tuesday.

Bench coach Jerry Manuel has been named the team's interim manager, while Ken Oberkfell, Dan Warthen and Luis Aguayo will join the staff.

The announcement came despite the Mets' 9-6 victory against the Angels hours earlier, which lifted the team's record to 34-35. Randolph's tenure as the organization's 18th manager ends with a 302-253 record, the second-highest winning percentage in franchise history, trailing only Davey Johnson.

This seems like a rather classless act. The Mets allowed Randolph and his coaches to fly to the west coast, manage a game, then released them. I can imagine the decision was made and the team needed to get the new coaching staff in place, but it still reeks. Randolph deserved better than to be treated like that.

At least if Joe Torre wants to offer Willie a job, Randolph is already on the west coast.

Update: Mets players learned of the firing via text messaging from beat writers.

Wille Randolph lost the support of a very important constituency:

Several NY Mets and NY Yankees can be considered "regulars," and the dancers at the club are unofficial experts on Baseball because they have met so many players from so many teams.

A Rick's dancer has been conducting a poll asking her fellow dancers if Mets Manager Willie Randolph should be let go. The "Dressing Room Poll" results are an approximation from the last week, with about 100 dancers saying that he should be fired, and only a handful saying that he should stay.

I wonder if this is what they hear from the players? Are the Mets going to this club and telling these women they'd like to see Randolph fired?

As I was out getting my hair cut, the Mariners rolled their second head in a weak, Bill Bavasi.

The Seattle Mariners fired general manager Bill Bavasi on Monday, as the team lags with the worst record in baseball after starting the season with playoff hopes. Vice president/associate general manager Lee Pelekoudas will take over in his place.

"Change is in order," Mariners CEO Howard Lincoln said in a release. "We have determined new leadership is needed in the GM position. With a new leader will come a new plan and a new approach. A search will begin immediately for a permanent GM, and Lee will be a candidate for the position."

McLaren may be gone once a new GM steps in. I would assume whoever takes over permanently would want his own field crew running things.

The Mariners are 322-395 under Bavasi, the third worst record in the American League. In the five previous seasons, Seattle was 472-338, the third best record in the AL. I was not impressed when the Mariners hired Bavasi, and his record with the team did nothing to change that.

The Willie Randolph death watch continues. SI downgrades his status from day-to-day to tenuous.

A Mets official indicated that nothing was expected to be decided today regarding Randolph's status. But that doesn't preclude something from happening later this weekend. Front-office sources indicate his hold on the job is shaky, at best.

Should Randolph be fired, bench coach Jerry Manuel will take over, sources told SI.com.

So the Mets will likely win four or five in a row, saving Randoph's job for another couple of weeks until they lose four or five in a row. New York is winning just often enough to keep Willie's heart beating.

6-4-2 Dosen't like what Ned Colletti is saying about the Dodgers young players. This morning on 1010XL, they asked me if I thought the Braves should go into rebuilding mode. I didn't think so, but I suggested that the best way to do that would be to trade Chipper Jones to the Dodgers for some of their prospects. Chipper is too much of an institution in Atlanta for that to happen, but it's the type of move that would great short term but lousy long term for the Dodgers.

Adam Rubin in the New York Daily News lays the blame for the Mets poor performance at the feet of Omar Minaya:

The decline and fragility of veteran players has been compounded by one of the worst farm systems in baseball, which has left no safety net. When Alou and Marlon Anderson landed on the disabled list in rapid succession, Mets brass promoted third catcher Raul Casanova. When they finally dipped to the minors for a young player, they called up Double-A first baseman Nick Evans and asked him to play the outfield, a position he'd manned for only 17 games in his professional career. After a three-double debut in Colorado, Evans was in a 1-for-19 rut when he was sent back down. The Mets subsequently promoted 32-year-old former Phillie Abraham Nunez, who had been released from the Brewers' minor-league system, and who had batted just .133 in 13 games at Triple-A New Orleans. Regardless of anyone's opinion about Willie Randolph's job performance, and the manager certainly goes before Minaya, Randolph was handcuffed during San Diego's four-game weekend sweep that included three one-run games because his five-man bench consisted of unusable Ryan Church (post-concussion syndrome), two backup catchers, Nunez and the non-starter among Damion Easley and Fernando Tatis.

Compare that to the Red Sox front office, which simultaneously brought in quality free agents and rebuilt the farm system. It's no easy task, but it can be accomplished.

Brandon Inge will now split the catching duties with Ivan Rodriguez, each starting every other game regardless of the opposing pitcher:

Leyland has said for weeks Inge will catch more. He hadn't said how much more until Monday.

Rodriguez started at catcher in all but one game on a recent nine-game West Coast trip. "I think that's one reason his average has fallen off," Leyland said of the workload.

Dating to the start of the West Coast trip, Rodriguez was hitting .114 with two RBIs over the past two weeks entering Monday.

The Tigers could probably carry Rodriguez's bat if Cabrera, Renteria and Granderson were hitting closer to their career averages.

After a profanity laced tirade recently by manager John McLaren, the Mariners hire Lee Elia to replace Jeff Petland as hitting coach.

Elia, who accepted the role late Sunday, took over Pentland's duties before the Mariners' three-game series at Toronto that started Monday night. He will remain with the Mariners indefinitely, even though he had previously said he was not interested in a return to full-time coaching. Elia discussed the move with his family before accepting the role.

"I'm a Seattle Mariners guy," Elia said. "I've spent 10 lovely years here. "We're going through a little bit of a tough time right now. If we can tighten this thing up and I can be a part of it, I discussed it with my wife and daughters and it's not like I'm going away for 100 years. I'll be up there for a little while."

He certainly has his work cut out for him. Seattle ranks13th in the AL in runs per game.

After a profanity laced tirade yesterday, Jerry Brewer believes John McLaren is gone:

McLaren's antics felt forced. The entire postgame was a strange, calculated event.

The Mariners' public-relations staff advised the media to go to the clubhouse immediately after Wednesday's 5-4 loss to the Los Angeles Angels. Normally, when the clubhouse opens, the manager speaks first and then the players talk. On this day, we were told to talk to the players, and in the surprise of the season, most all of them were sitting at their lockers.

It felt like a firing. Reliever Arthur Rhodes threw a tantrum, kicking and throwing gear. For most everyone else, there was an eerie silence, an anticipation of bad news.

And then it was time for McLaren to speak.

The nice man did his best Al Pacino impression before storming away without taking any questions.

Now, I have a firm belief about managers and coaches who go bonkers. I call it the Cuckoo Principle. When they go cuckoo, that's it. They're done. It works in almost every case, except for Guillen. The White Sox manager is incessantly cuckoo and blessed with the cushion of a World Series. But even his time will arrive soon.

An explosion is always proof that either you've lost the grip on your team, or you're struggling with the pressures of the job. McLaren had to be provoked to act out of character.

The Mariners are worse than even their toughest pre-season critics imagined. They're on a pace to lose 105 games. Is it McLaren's fault? If the job of the manager is to get the most out of his players, John is certainly not doing that. I agree with Jerry that the axe is likely to fall soon.

Bill Shaikin wonders why Mike Scioscia keeps playing Gary Matthews, Jr. over Juan Rivera.

It looks to me like Ozzie Guillen might not be managing the next game for the Chicago White Sox.

"Just be ready because I expect movement Tuesday," Guillen said after the Sox went 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position in a loss capped by Gabe Gross' walk-off home run off Matt Thornton on an 0-2 count in the bottom of the 10th inning. "I expect (general manager) Kenny Williams to do something Tuesday, and if we don't do anything Tuesday, there are going to be a lot of lineup changes. That's all I'm going to say about the offense."

...

"It can be me. It can be (hitting coach) Greg Walker. It can be the players. It could be anybody," he said. "I'm sick and tired to watch this thing for a year and a half. I'm not protecting anybody anymore. [Bleep] it. If they can't get it done, Kenny should find someone to get it done."

Which brought this response from Williams:

"It's just not a good idea to throw your boss under the bus, especially when that boss has had your back as much as I have had his," Williams wrote in an e-mail. "I expect this team, if the leadership remains positive and the players stick together and continue to play hard, it will be a fun summer.

"The offense will begin to produce when collectively they say the hell with all the theories, stay loose, pick the pitch you want to hit and hit it hard. It will be nice to see them lighten up and have some fun."

I think there is a good chance Williams takes Guillen up on his idea that the manager should go. Guillen's tirade is one the that the manager and GM should have on the phone, not in public.

Update: Jay Mariotti is enjoying this.

HR World looks at ten coaches who would make great CEOs with examples of their best CEO trait.

Via BBTF, John McLaren on the possibility of being fired (emphasis added):

"It's not a real good feeling knowing there's a target on our back," McLaren said Monday in a telephone interview. "I don't even read the computer anymore. Those blogs will eat you up, no matter what."

Now that I know he reads blogs, I'd like to see him keep managing. Secondly, it's very cool that blogs replaced newspapers in one cliche!

Omar Minaya stated pretty emphatically that the Mets are going to keep Willie Randolph:

During a press conference at Shea Stadium this afternoon, Mets GM Omar Minaya told reporters, "Willie Randolph is our manager. There is no limbo. He's the manager...and I hope he is our manager for many years to come."

According to Minaya, the goal of today's meeting was to a) discuss Randolph's public comments from last week, and b) talk about the current state of the team and what they need to do to get better.

"We had a good, productive meeting," said Minaya, who noted they all share ideas on how best to make the team better, adding, "Two things, ownership is very disappointed in how the team is playing...They wanted to talk to Willie about those things...Also, about the comments, once we get beyond today, like today is over, those comments are over, and they felt it was important to talk to Willie about it, they've accepted his apology and we move on from there. It's over. Let's go on. It's over. Let's move forward now."

Right now the Mets are losing to the Marlins 6-3. If they get swept by Florida, I wonder what Omar will be saying then? I'm glad they are giving Willie a chance to win, but you wonder how low they'll let the team sink.

Johan Santana loses to Tim Hudson 4-2. Santana, however, didn't pitch well. He struck out one over seven innings while allowing 12 hits. Chipper Jones picks up two hits and ends the night at .412.

The Braves sweep the Mets and now led New York by three games. While a two game sweep of the Yankees might have saved Randolph's job, a sweep by a division rival has to really hurt Willie's chances of keeping his job. How much time does he have left at this point?

Update: It's possible David Bush did the same thing to Ned Yost. He puts up a similar line to Santana, 5 innings, 9 hits, 0 walks and 1 strikeout. He allowed six runs, however. Maybe the Mets and Brewers should just trade managers!

Willie Randolph apologized for being a distraction, which really means he's sorry for making race an issue.

"I apologize to Mets ownership, SNY and my team for the unnecessary distraction I caused the last couple of days," Randolph said. "I shouldn't have said what I said. It was a mistake."

Can anyone else think of a time a black manager, coach or player had to apologize for bringing up race as a factor in decisions about him? This is also ominous:

Randolph said he reached out to Fred and Jeff Wilpon to communicate his remorse but hadn't been successful.

If Randolph wasn't on the hot seat before, he certainly is now.

Update: Some background at The Big Lead.

Badger Blogger gets inside information that Ned Yost will be fired today and replaced by Ted Simmons. Stay tuned.

Richard Griffin levels some fair criticism at J.P. Ricciardi:

The truth is Ricciardi has stumbled badly. The initial misstep involved his promise of rebuilding the farm first. The second involved proceeding with the acquisition of high-priced talent even though his homegrowns weren't ready to lead.

The whole plan wasn't done as he laid it out and it might ultimately mean that his total tenure will end up being seven years and gone after this season, the exact amount of rope that his predecessor Gord Ash was given by Ted Rogers before he ran out of time.

Consider Ricciardi's six-year won-lost record heading into '08. From 2002-07, his teams were 481-490, a win percentage of .495. If you compare that to Ash's final six seasons, 485-487, a win percentage of .499, where's the improvement?

Griffin also notes that in 2008, there are as many Gord Ash drafted players representing the core of the team as Ricciardi drafted players.