If the Tigers win the ALCS, we could see the first all-Central World Series since St. Louis topped Detroit five years ago. Today's AL and NL Central links…
- The White Sox announced they'll introduce new manager Robin Ventura tomorrow at an 11am central time press conference. ESPNChicago's Doug Padilla reported today that Mark Parent will come aboard as Ventura's bench coach and Joe McEwing will serve as the third base coach. Jeff Manto is ahead of Tim Laker in terms of hitting coach candidates, Padilla reports.
- The Tigers' Magglio Ordonez re-fractured his ankle Saturday, reported MLB.com's Jason Beck. The right fielder will see specialists after returning to Detroit, tweets Tom Gage of the Detroit News. Ordonez, 38 in January, is eligible for free agency this winter.
- "It seems highly unlikely" that the Indians will exercise their $8.5MM club option on center fielder Grady Sizemore, opines MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. The Indians revealed Tuesday that Sizemore had a right knee arthroscopy but is expected to be ready for Spring Training. Should the 29-year-old reach free agency, I'd rank him around 30th on my top 50 list.
- A rival executive talked to ESPN's Buster Olney on Red Sox GM Theo Epstein and the Cubs: "If he met with the Cubs, what it means is that if he gets the offer he wants, he's gone [to Chicago]." Earlier today, however, SI's Jon Heyman wrote that most baseball insiders "believe it's more likely than not [Epstein will] remain in Boston, at least for now."
- Brewers reliever Francisco Rodriguez reflected on this summer's trade, telling Mike Puma of the New York Post, "I'm winning, and [the Mets] needed pretty much to get rid of me." K-Rod told Puma he holds no grudge toward the Mets.
- Of the 11 Pirates players eligible for arbitration this winter, only Joel Hanrahan, Jeff Karstens, Charlie Morton, and Evan Meek are absolutely certain to be tendered contracts, writes MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch. She notes that "if the Pirates do not intend to tender a contract to someone on the list, there is a good chance that player will be removed in November so that the Pirates can open up roster spots to protect players from being taken in the Rule 5 Draft." Click here for MLBTR's projected salaries for the Pirates' arbitration group.
- The chances of lefty Paul Maholm returning to the Pirates next year are less than 50-50, in the opinion of Langosch. I'd say Maholm ranks toward the back end of the top ten free agent starters this winter.
- Check out my offseason outlooks for the Cubs and Astros.
Sizemore could hit the open market?! Dude’s just two years removed from being a 5 tool player. If his injuries check out, and that is a big if, he could resurrect his career with a new team.
2 years and about 5 different surgeries to his knees.
Would a position change help? It’s been so long since I was able to watch him several times a year (I’m in a White Sox media market).
He needs to move from CF to LF. His knees just can’t handle playing CF.
He can still be a great player if he stays healthy.
Im not going to say it wont help, because CF is just a physical position to play…..but I dont think it will revive him to a superstar.
The guy’s got so much talent I wish a change of scenery really could turn things around for him. But with the way things have gone it seems more likely he’d just be exchanging his old DL for a new one.
Sizemore is my favorite player right now i wish him all the luck of coming back strong from all these injuries. The man made the highlight reel 10x more entertaining.
Tim Laker and Jeff Manto? Neither hit over .230 in their careers and now they are prospects for a hitting coach position? Walker needs to go, but lets replace him with someone badass.
Like The Undertaker!
Sometimes the best hitting coaches are the mediocre hitters since they know what they did wrong.
So is Magglios carreer over?
Magglio Ordonez is 38 and injured, what are the chances that someone picks him up intending to try to get 130 games out of him? Who knows, it may be worth a chance but you shouldn’t bet the farm on him.
There was an article about Maggs just as the playoffs were beginning, not sure where I read it, but Maggs said that he seriously thought about retiring earlier this season when he was having no luck with the bat and dealing with a lot of pain. Now that he has re-injured his ankle, and with his age, I would expect he is much more likely to retire than make an attempt to keep going.
Also Jeff Manto(.230 career BA) and Tim Laker(.226 career BA), seriously? I know it doesn’t matter how well you do something if you are a good teacher but it would be nice to have a hitting coach that could actually hit in MLB.
Actually most major leaguers who have have been good players make bad teachers because they had gobs of natural talent and didn’t get to be great players by learning, therefore they have a very hard time teaching how to hit, pitch, etc. Take a look at the hitting coaches and pitching coaches around the league, almost none of them had any major league success.
Yea, because the guys who played and were bad hitters probly tried everything to get better.
If I was Epstein and I had a dream job for the team I grew up watching, I wouldn’t even consider leaving.
True, and his family is in the area. However, Peter Gammons wrote an article saying Theo gets so much attention in the Boston area, along with threats from fans, that he has almost no ability to go out in public, can’t go to dinner, etc. He has a police car parked outside his house. And some of the stories in the Boston Globe in the last week or so have said that he has never gotten along with Luchino and supposedly does want to be President and have more power.
Who knows what will happen. He might simply say no because he doesn’t want to leave the area, but from what the “experts” keep saying, it doesn’t sound like he’s going to be with the Red Sox much longer.
He’s a smart guy and if he’s invested his money carefully he doesn’t have to work anyway.
Yes, because Cubs fans are so nice
True, and his family is in the area. However, Peter Gammons wrote an article saying Theo gets so much attention in the Boston area, along with threats from fans, that he has almost no ability to go out in public, can’t go to dinner, etc. He has a police car parked outside his house. And some of the stories in the Boston Globe in the last week or so have said that he has never gotten along with Luchino and supposedly does want to be President and have more power.
Who knows what will happen. He might simply say no because he doesn’t want to leave the area, but from what the “experts” keep saying, it doesn’t sound like he’s going to be with the Red Sox much longer.
He’s a smart guy and if he’s invested his money carefully he doesn’t have to work anyway.