White Sox versus Rays  —  Each year, the White Sox graciously host a University of Chicago alumni event, where Christina Kahrl and I speak to 150 or more nerds in the U.S. Cellular Conference & Learning Center.  The group gets tickets to the game too—which usually means a contest …

Cashman aims to win with dysfunctional Yankees  —  Hank Steinbrenner is a part of the Yankees' muddled organizational structure.  (Newsday / Audrey C. Tiernan)  —  Amid the disappointment of 2008, Brian Cashman insisted yesterday, a kinder, gentler Steinbrenner family emerged.

Rays' Pena has eye issue  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay slugger Carlos Pena was removed from Thursday's AL playoff opener against the Chicago White Sox after the second inning because of slightly blurred vision in his left eye.  —  The Rays said Pena accidentally scratched his eye at home on Wednesday night.

Offseason Outlook: Arizona Diamondbacks  —  By Tim Dierkes [October 2 at 4:58pm CST]  —  The Diamondbacks are next in our Offseason Outlook series.  Their setup for 2009:  —  C - Chris Snyder - $1.85MM+  —  C - Miguel Montero - $401K  —  1B - Chad Tracy - $4.75MM  —  2B -

The invisible villain  —  I thought of that story when Manny began acting up again this summer.  Boston's brain trust had decided to dump him.  Again.  We were doing this dance for the fourth time in six years.  There were two crucial differences this time, the first being Manny had canned …

Cubs fan arrested for throwing ball at Dodgers player  —  FROM STNG WIRE REPORTS  —  A Lincoln Park man was arrested for attempting to strike Los Angeles Dodgers' left fielder Manny Ramirez with a baseball during the Cubs Wednesday night playoff loss at Wrigley Field.

Live: Omar Minaya Conference Call  —  SNY will televise this morning's conference call with Omar Minaya, which is set to begin around 11 am EDT.  —  I will also live blog the call, since I know many of you are unable to be in front of a television or computer speakers.  —  ...Update...11:03 am...

The Myth of Protection  —  Watching the Dodgers-Cubs game last night, one of the announcers discussed how much better Andre Ethier was hitting since Manny Ramirez came to the team.  That's something we can test, so I asked Eric Seidman to take a look at this through the lens of Pitch F/X. His findings follow:

YANKS MIGHT MAKE COACHING CHANGES  —  Sunday in Boston manager Joe Girardi said there had been no discussions about changes in his coaching staff.  Nevertheless, that was before general manager Brian Cashman officially returned.  Now, every department in the organization is under review.

Olney's Latest: Yankees, Cashman, Giambi  —  By Tim Dierkes [October 2 at 3:19pm CST]  —  A few hot stove notes from ESPN's Buster Olney...  - Olney heard the Yankees' 2009 payroll will be in the $180MM range, down $29MM or so from this year.  — The Yankees didn't need to negotiate dollars …

Longoria's Big Day Carries the Rays  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Javier Vazquez spent as much time as he could to figure out how to somehow retire Evan Longoria.  —  Longoria, the Tampa Bay Rays' rookie slugger, had already hit two home runs in his and the Rays' — first post-season game …

Mets' Manuel's contract negotiations hit a snag  —  PHILADELPHIA - The Mets' plan to bring back Jerry Manuel as manager is not going as smoothly as anticipated.  A person familiar with the situation told Newsday Wednesday night that the team has offered Manuel a two-year contract to return, but he has yet to accept the deal.

How The West Will Be Won  —  Los Angeles has taken four of the last five division titles and made a mockery of the West this year.  It never trailed by more than two games (and that was for one day), took first place for good on May 13 and wrapped up the West on Sept. 10.

Make room for the new ace  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. - Thirty-seven pitches.  —  Jon Lester threw 37 pitches to get his final six outs.  You hear that, you figure there must have been a base runner in there somewhere.  But nope, just six Angels batters trying get on base against a 24-year-old lefthander …

All Things Joe: Springsteen, ‘Godfather,’ Convertibles  —  The day he was hired, this was written about Joe Maddon:  —  “The fourth manager in Devil Rays history is a book you can't put down.  A concert you rock to, a story that begins in a mining town and ends in a baseball dugout …