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.

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.

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.

Playoffs Today  —  Ken Griffey Jr. won't play tonight as lefty Scott Kazmir takes on fellow lefty Mark Buehrle.  Two things are going against Mark as he makes this start.  First, his road record is poor, 4-9 with a 5.05 ERA.  While he gives up fewer hits than innings pitched at home …

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.