Mets skipper Manuel agrees to return  —  Jerry Manuel has agreed to return as New York Mets manager, SI.com has confirmed.  Manuel will get a two year contract, plus a club option for a third season.  —  When Manuel took over as interim manager for the fired Willie Randolph in mid-June …

Angels won't walk away with a victory  —  Despite facing Matsuzaka, who walks a lot of hitters, they don't plan to work the count in Game 2.  —  This could be the rare matchup that drives the purists and and the stat-heads nuts.  Live from Anaheim: The team most likely to swing at a bad pitch …

Piniella fed up with Fukudome's play  —  Cubs manager Lou Piniella has all but written off right fielder Kosuke Fukudome for the rest of the playoffs and maybe longer.  —  “From now on, I don't want to hear about Fukudome anymore as far as whether he's going to play or not,” …

Uecker will toss out first pitch  —  “Mr. Baseball” Bob Uecker will toss out the first pitch for Saturday's Game 3 of the National League Division Series at Miller Park.  —  Uecker just finished his 38th year behind the mic as a radio broadcaster for the Milwaukee Brewers, and completed his 53rd year in professional baseball.

Workers begin dismantling Shea Stadium  —  It's really happening, Mets fans.  —  Shea Stadium is coming down, one thousand-watt lamp and one sink at a time.  Centerfield's iconic 410-foot sign now lies in a fenced-in area outside the ballpark, along with other pieces of the outfield wall.

Yanks, Mets poised for CC bidding war  —  Brian Cashman and Omar Minaya have always considered themselves friends, despite competing in the same super-charged market.  In fact, when Cashman was rumored to be considering a job with the Mariners, Minaya said to a friend, “tell Brian he can work here anytime.”

Rosenthal's Latest: Vlad, Cano, Peavy, Hardy  —  By Tim Dierkes [October 3 at 8:23am CST]  —  Today we have a fresh column from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  — Vladimir Guerrero's $15MM option for '09 is a lock, but perhaps the Angels will reconsider extending him beyond that.

Brantley completes Sabathia deal  —  A source familiar with the deal just told me that the CC Sabathia trade has been completed with the Brewers sending minor league outfield prospect Michael Brantley to the Indians.  —  When the Brewers acquired Sabathia in early July …

Future Shock  —  Missing Bats  —  A great deal of the e-mails and chat questions that I receive concern pitching statistics, with most writers wanting to know what numbers they should look at when evaluating prospects, and which are more relevant than others.

Clutch-hitting Helms gets two-year extension with Marlins … Wes Helms has agreed to a two-year deal with the Florida Marlins.  —  Helms, 32, batted .243 with five homers and 31 RBIs during the 2008 season, but came up with some big hits for the Marlins — including a pinch-hit homer on the last day of the season to beat the Mets.

Is Fukudome a dirty word?  —  What's in a name?  Ask Chicago Cubs fan Jill Howe, 15.  —  The Elgin High School sophomore had to remove her Kosuke Fukudome jersey and wear a gym T-shirt to class Wednesday because of a misunderstanding about how to pronounce the All-Star right-fielder's last name.

International League Top 20 Prospects  —  Several '07 stars make repeat appearances on '08 list  —  If our Triple-A International League prospects list looks familiar, there's a reason.  Louisville outfielder Jay Bruce repeats at No. 1—following former Durham outfielder Delmon Young …

NO TALK ON MCLOUTH TRADE, YET  —  Decision makers in The Bronx and Pittsburgh said yesterday there was nothing to the Yankees acquiring outfielder Nate McLouth from the Pirates - yet.  —  “We haven't talked about it, it's premature,” a Yankees source said.  —  “Haven't heard a word about that,” a Pirates source said.

Injured eye forces Pena from game  —  ST. PETERSBURG — The irritation in 1B Carlos Pena's left eye Wednesday night was nothing like the pain he went through taking himself out of Thursday's game after two innings.  —  Pena was relaxing at home early Wednesday night when he felt something in his left eye and rubbed it.