Former Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan isn't sure whether he wants to return to baseball, but he's listening, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. "I’ve had several clubs call me and talk to me not so much about coaching, but joining them in some other capacity," says Duncan. "I really don’t think I would coach again — not right now, anyway. But if someone is interested, I’d listen to whatever they’re thinking about." Duncan left the game in January 2012 as his wife Jeanine was suffering from cancer. Duncan still has an excellent reputation as a pitching coach, but he does not want to return to coaching, calling it "a grind." Here are more notes from the Central divisions.
- It's unclear whether the Brewers will go with Scooter Gennett or Rickie Weeks at second base next season, Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel writes. Haurdicourt wonders if Weeks' $11MM 2014 salary might be a factor. (Weeks also has a vesting option for 2015.) Weeks has struggled all season, hitting .209/.306/.357 with poor defense, while Gennett has hit brilliantly in his rookie year.
- Leury Garcia, who the White Sox acquired from the Rangers last month in the Alex Rios deal, is impressing his new teammates, Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com writes. His defense at second base has played well so far, and although he hasn't yet provided much offense (he's hitting .214/.303/.214 in a small sample of 33 plate appearances so far), manager Robin Ventura says he thinks that will improve.
- Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen, who experienced four losing seasons in Pittsburgh before the Bucs finally broke through this year, advises Cubs players to worry about their own play and let management take care of the rest, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports. The Cubs are 22 games below .500, but McCutchen suggests players remember that, one day, things might be different. "When you lose for so long, you hope those things that happen in the minors, that those guys get the work they need to get done so when they get the chance to come here and play, they're ready to go," says McCutchen. "It's not fun when you are losing, but it's a process that down the road that things are going to get better.''
