John Lackey to have Tommy John surgery  —  New Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington said today that pitcher John Lackey will have Tommy John surgery and miss the 2012 season.  —  Lackey had elbow soreness during the season, and recently saw a specialist, Dr. Lewis Yocum.

La Russa takes responsibility for bullpen call  —  Cards manager Tony La Russa said “it was his fault” on the confusion over calls to the bullpen in the eighth inning of Game 6 on Monday.  —  “There wasn't anything that Derek (Lilliquist) did wrong there,” La Russa said today.  “I've told him that.

Royals hire Eiland as pitching coach  —  The Royals used today's break in the World Series schedule to announce the hiring of Dave Eiland as their new pitching coach.  —  Eiland, 45, replaces Bob McClure, who was fired one day after the 2011 season concluded following six years in the job.

Kuo to miss Taiwan series with elbow soreness  —  LOS ANGELES — Dodgers reliever Hong-Chih Kuo had to back out of the goodwill series to his native Taiwan because of elbow soreness, the Dodgers confirmed Tuesday.  —  Kuo had been throwing in anticipation of pitching for the Taiwan national team …

MLB accuses Frank McCourt of ‘looting’ $189 million from Dodgers  —  As the bankrupcty case moves forward, a slew of court filings on Monday show that beating victim Bryan Stow will be central to the arguments and outcome in court.  —  For the first time, Major League Baseball put …

Brian Cashman contract by Halloween?  —  NEW YORK — The New York Yankees and general manager Brian Cashman fully expect to have a new contract signed by Halloween.  —  “It will be done by Oct. 31,” a team official said Tuesday.  —  Since the season ended, Cashman and Yankees officials …

It's the Hardball Times Annual 2012  —  It's gone, out of my hands—sent away to be forever committed to paper.  There's nothing I can do about it anymore.  What is it?  It's The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2012, our eighth Annual in a row.  And this year, it's different.

A's Release Wuertz, Claim Scribner, Hunter  —  The A's announced that they released Michael Wuertz to create 40-man roster space for right-hander Evan Scribner and outfielder Cedric Hunter, who were claimed off of waivers from the Padres.  The A's held a $3.25MM option for Wuertz in 2012 …

Twins Decline Option On Joe Nathan  —  The Twins announced today that they've declined their club option on reliever Joe Nathan.  The option was worth $12.5MM, but the team will pay a $2MM buyout. … Nathan signed a four-year contract extension for $47MM in March of 2008, and the total remains the record for a reliever.

Scioscia says he, ex-Angel Napoli didn't clash  —  Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia said Tuesday that personality conflicts with catcher Mike Napoli had nothing to do with the January trade that cost the Angels one of the most powerful hitters in the American League and saddled them with the onerous contract of Vernon Wells.

Narveson undergoes hip surgery  —  By Todd Rosiak of the Journal Sentinel  —  Left-hander Chris Narveson has undergone left-hip surgery, the Milwaukee Brewers announced this afternoon.  —  Narveson is scheduled for a follow-up visit with Dr. William Raasch on Wednesday before returning home …

Where were you for Game 6?  —  Focus on Sports/Getty Images The Mets weren't the only ones jubilant when Ray Knight scored the winning run in Game 6 of the World Series.  —  We asked Mets bloggers, a couple of our ESPN friends and an ex-Mets employee to reminisce about Game 6 of the 1986 World Series.