Top News:
MLB:
Sources: Tony La Russa will return to St. Louis Cardinals in '10 — ST. LOUIS — Tony La Russa is returning to the St. Louis Cardinals as manager on a multiyear contract, sources told ESPN's Buster Olney, but there will be at least one change to his coaching staff.
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Carrie Muskat / MLB.com:
McGwire could become next hitting coach — Report comes as La Russa ponders his future in St. Louis — Tony La Russa was expected to return as the Cardinals' skipper, but he could have a new hitting coach in slugger Mark McGwire. — According to ESPN.com's Buster Olney, La Russa has signed a multi-year contract to return.
Joe Strauss / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
TLR Back, McRae Out, Big Mac Appears In — The Cardinals will announce at a Monday morning press conference Tony La Russa's decision to return for a 15th season as manager. Today's run-up, however, features mounting evidence that La Russa's return after a 2-week deliberation will be dwarfed …
Paul Hoynes / Plain Dealer:
Cleveland Indians select Manny Acta as new manager with 3-year contract … CLEVELAND, Ohio — Manny Acta will be named the 40th manager of the Indians today. — Acta reportedly turned down an offer to become Houston's manager to accept the Indians job, which is for three seasons with a team option for 2013.
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Crawfish Boxes, MLB Rumors, Circling The Bases, MLB FanHouse and Federal Baseball
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Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com:
Tribe tabs Acta to be new manager — Veteran becomes 40th skipper in franchise's history — NEW YORK — The Indians hoped to select and announce their new manager after the World Series. — Manny Acta sped up their timetable. — Acta was the first candidate the Indians brought …
Brian McTaggart / MLB.com:
Astros' search goes on without Acta — Houston GM Wade confirms offer to Tribe's new skipper — HOUSTON — Astros general manager Ed Wade confirmed on Sunday that the team made an offer to Manny Acta to be its next manager before he opted to fill the same position with Cleveland …
Josh Thomson / The Journal News:
Rivera plans pep talk for Hughes — NEW YORK - After a dominant regular season, Phil Hughes has struggled this postseason, breaking the bridge to Mariano Rivera on more than one occasion. — The Yankees continue to show confidence in him, but Hughes' struggles have not gone unnoticed.
Discussion:
Sliding Into Home
RELATED:
Tyler Kepner / New York Times:Another Day Off for Yankees and Angels, and It's Not Exactly Welcome
Discussion:
Bleed Cubbie Blue, River Avenue Blues, Pinstripe Alley, New Jersey Online and Twinkie Town
Allen Barra / Wall Street Journal:A Battle of the Bullpens — Why don't today's pitchers finish what they start?
Discussion:
Baseball Prospectus
Michael Silverman / Boston Herald:
Red Sox' hot stove fired up early — + Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email the Author — Red Sox fans and their followers have had way too much on their hands this October. — With no American League Championship Series to attend to, the flame of the hot-stove league has been lit unseasonably early.
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NPB Tracker:
Kikuchi Stays Home — Kyodo News and reader Manzino beat me to it, but Yusei Kikuchi is staying in Japan. I'll have more later in the evening. — It's later in the evening, and here's more. — This news doesn't come as a surprise, as even though I had been reserving some skepticism …
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Michael Baron / MetsBlog.com:
Mets Out of Chapman Sweepstakes — Bart Hubbuch, in a post to Twitter, says the Mets will not be pursuing free-agent LHP Cuban Defector Aroldis Chapman, who met with the Mets, among other teams, last week. — Hubbuch says the Mets made this decision after learning about his $40-$60 million price tag.
Discussion:
Seven Train to Shea Mets Blog
John Perrotto / Baseball Prospectus:
Another Chilly Winter? — What's the free-agent market going to be like this winter? A buyer's market, or a seller's? I can honestly say that I have no idea, and any team executive who gives you a more definitive answer is probably either hoping or hedging.
John Sickels / Minor League Ball:
Atlanta Braves Top 20 Prospects for 2010 — Top 20 Atlanta Braves Prospects for 2010. — All grades are EXTREMELY PRELIMINARY and subject to change. Don't get too worried about exact rankings at this point, especially once you get beyond the Top 10. Grade C+/C guys are pretty …
Discussion:
Talking Chop
