The Opener: ALCS, Giants, Rockies

As the playoffs continue, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. ALCS Game 7

After a resounding win over the Mariners in Game 6 of the ALCS last night, the Blue Jays have managed to force a Game 7 to determine who will face the Dodgers in the World Series as they attempt to become the first team to repeat in the World Series since the 1998-2000 Yankees. Tonight’s game is scheduled for 8:10pm local time in Toronto, when right-hander Shane Bieber (3.57 ERA) is set to take the mound for the Jays opposite Seattle righty George Kirby (4.21 ERA). Kirby will be looking for redemption after he was torched to the tune of eight runs in just four innings of work during Game 3 of this series, while Bieber will look to build on a solid performance where he struck out eight Mariners while allowing two runs in six innings of work in that same game.

2. Giants managerial search nearing conclusion?

The Giants are set to potentially make waves as they zero in on University of Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello as their next manager. No deal is done yet, but a decision is reportedly expected in the coming days. If Vitello were to be hired, it would be a game changing hire given his lack of experience in professional baseball. Vitello emerged as San Francisco’s top choice after Rangers special assistant Nick Hundley withdrew his name from consideration for the role due to family considerations. Hundley was also viewed as a potential candidate for managerial vacancies in Anaheim and San Diego, though it seems those same family considerations would surely apply to the job in Anaheim. As a San Diego native, the Padres job might be more appealing for Hundley although it also wouldn’t be a surprise if he simply stayed in his current role with the Rangers at this point.

3. Rockies GM search nearing next stage:

San Francisco isn’t the only NL West club making progress in their search personnel search, as the Rockies are reportedly expected to narrow their search for Bill Schmidt’s replacement at the top of their baseball operations department to a list of finalists this week. While there are a number of managerial vacancies in the sport at the moment, Colorado’s job is the only vacancy at the head of baseball operations now that Paul Toboni has been hired by the Nationals to replace Mike Rizzo. Once the GM search is completed, Colorado’s new steward will immediately be tasked with their own managerial decision given that interim manager Warren Schaeffer’s status has been left up to the new baseball ops boss.