Odds & Ends: Braves, Astros, Valentine, Baez

Some links for the morning… 

• Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports is glad that Bobby Cox's tenure as Braves manager will end with a sense of finality. The Braves announced yesterday that Cox will manage for one last year in 2010.
• MLB.com's Alyson Footer lists some of the managerial candidates the Astros could consider, including Jeff Bagwell, Jim Fregosi, and Bobby Valentine.
• Could Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan be a candidate? Duncan told Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle that he's focused on the Cardinals now, but he didn't completely rule out the job.
• Yesterday Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News reported that Valentine was nearing a deal to join ESPN as an analyst. If the deal goes through, Yahoo's Gordon Edes expects Valentine to have an escape clause that would enable the former MLB skipper to take a managerial job if he so chooses.
• Danys Baez tells Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun that he'd like to sign with an East Coast team after the sason. The reliever doesn't rule out the Orioles, but a reunion seems unlikely.
• Chico Harlan of the Washington Post asks Nationals fans how many games their club will win next year. More than half of Post readers expect the Nats to win between 71-80 games.