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After the Yankees’ loss to the Boston Red Sox, the focus on their playoff picture has become clearer. Entering the day, the American League East Division title was still up in the air. The Yankees and Rays were tied on top of the American League East standings. 

A few hours later, the Red Sox handed the Yankees an 8-4 loss. This means that the Tampa Bay Rays are the American League East Division Champions for the second time in three years. The Yankees were the division champs last year before they went on to winning the World Series. 

The Yankees will be facing the Minnesota Twins in the playoffs for the second year in a row. The Tampa Bay Rays will be taking on the Texas Rangers. 

The Rays are projected to pitch David Price in their first game against the Rangers and Cliff Lee. The Yankees have CC Sabathia slated for their ace in the post season. Any pitching slot after Sabathia is still up for grabs. 

The Yankees will be taking on the Twins at Target Field for the first ever postseason baseball game at their new ballpark, Target Field. 

The Yankees posted and won the season series against the Twins with a 4-2 record. The last time the Yankees met the twins in the post-season was for the final game at the Metrodome, where the Yankees completed their rout of the Twins on their road to winning Championship No. 27. 

This time the Twins stand in the Yankees way of completing Mission 28. Monday serves as an off-day for the Yankees. They fly over to Minnesota on Tuesday and begin play on Wednesday. But each day is never an off-day as the Yankees are working to win No. 28.

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ESPN is reporting that it is looking like Joe Torre will not be managing in the Major Leagues again. The Yankees and Mets could have job openings in the winter, but Tony Jackson is reporting that most likely those will be passed up.

Instead, Jackson writes, Torre could be managing a team compiled of some of the best players in the Major Leagues with Team USA. 

The next World Baseball Classic will be in the first months of 2013 and Joe Torre is considering a nice stint as the United States national team’s manager. Torre is a manager with a resume filled with success and the United States has not fared all that well in the past tournaments.

Could the addition of such an accomplished manager put them over the top?

Joe Torre is of Italian and American decent. This makes him eligible to manage either the Italian National Team or the United States National Team. 

The Yankees have a familiar face in the World Baseball Classic every year with Derek Jeter. Jeter has taken on the role of Captain America with his leadership skills in the past two tournaments. Some critics go as far to say that he has become the face of Major League Baseball in some respects.

A Jeter-Torre reunion would be great for audiences if that should happen in 2013. Jeter has Father Time catching up to him sooner or later. The only question is whether he will last until 2013. 

The 2013 World Baseball Classic is years away. Joe Torre and the committee responsible for appointing the Team USA manager have time to start planning for the upcoming tournament before making any major move. It will most likely be a year or a bit more until an official appointing for the job is made. 

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The Padres have quite a bit on their minds right now as they are making a playoff push into the postseason. But it seems like Adrian Gonzalez wants to bring more attention to the team as he announces that he wouldn’t mind listening to what the Cubs have to offer when he becomes a free agent after 2011. 

Gonzalez noted to the Chicago Sun Times the upside and positives in Chicago right now, that wouldn’t make it a bad place to play. Maybe the thought that they have not won a World Series in over 100 years skipped his mind. 

The Cubs are going to have to flash the big bucks in order to reel him out of San Diego. But the market for the power hitting first-baseman will always include big- name teams like the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox front office were rumored to have made several attempts at trading for the slugger in the past.

The Red Sox have to be the front runners for Adrian Gonzalez’s services after the 2011 season. They have the money and interest, the offer will be on the table for Gonzalez. It’s deal or no deal for them.

The Padres pulled him off the trading block when they were at the top of the National League West standings. If Gonzales is already on a contending team and things keep going upward in San Diego, why wouldn’the want to stay?

The Padres’ first-baseman started to sound like he was ready to leave town as he noted how great the ballpark in the Windy City would be for him and how his wife loves Chicago’s shopping. 

Hey, baseball wives have a lot of say in the destination that their husbands choose during free agency. Leigh Teixeira had her husband choose the Yankees in the eleventh hour, and one year later he has a championship ring. 

If that’s the case with Mrs. Gonzalez and the Cubs finally win big, she could be put into the Cubs Hall of Fame in an instant. 

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David Ortiz started off the 2010 campaign very slowly, but that seems to become a trademark start to the year for him. He got off to the same type of start in 2009, but picked it all up and the same pattern carried on in 2010. Big Papi just hit his 31st home-run of the season, but nobody seemed to notice. 

David Ortiz has not been the same imposing figure in the Red Sox line-up since Manny Ramirez left. He came out with his performance enhancing drugs admission, but has failed to carry the Red Sox like he use to. He occasionally shows flashes of his old self with clutch hits and runs batted in. 

Ortiz has a contract expiration date coming in 2012 as he has an option for that year that includes no buyout. The Providence Journal is reporting that the Red Sox have not been in contact with Ortiz as of yet on the topic. The options that Theo Epstein have are either cut him loose or workout new numbers and years. 

The aging designated hitter has expressed interest in having a multi-year deal. It will be up to the Red Sox front office to bite or not. Big Papi doesn’t stop there and says that he is assured that he will sign elsewhere and will play in the Major Leagues. 

Ortiz told the Providence Journal, “Sometimes I feel like I’m part of the family, and I’m going to stick around longer, but I’m not the one who makes that decision. I’m not the one who makes that move. I’m trying to do my job and hopefully take care of that after the season.”

In the past, Ortiz has told radio waves that he will not take a paycut. Big Papi is sending the message that if the Red Sox do not flash the big bucks, he will not hesitate to find the dollars elsewhere. 

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Just as the news broke about Ryne Sandberg‘s name appearing of the list of possible Blue Jays’ managerial candidates, the Cubs decided to get involved in the hiring process. 

ESPN reported that the Cubs general manager, Jim Hendry, has met with the Triple-A Cubs manager in Arizona on Tuesday and continued to speak on Wednesday.  

Hendry will take looks at other candidates before making a final move. Tuesday’s meeting with Sandberg was an interview and there were no official reports of a contract negotiation yet. 

Bob Brenly of the Cubs broadcasting booth and former Arizona skipper Bob Melvin have upcoming meetings with the Chicago Cubs’ front office.

Pat Listach of the Washington Nationals is another name mentioned on the Cubs’ interview list. The Cubs have already met with former Indians’ skipper Eric Wedge, who was AL Manager of the Year in 2007. The options and candidates are endless if you think about it, but the Cubs are picky about their requirements for their new manager. 

One who may meet all the requirements, is the currently-employed Joe Girardi. There are rumors that the Cubs front office is waiting for the Yankees to end their season and see what they do for his future.

The former catcher has already won a World Series managing the Bronx Bombers, but would quickly enter the history books if he did the same in Chicago. Sandberg is a rookie coach when his resume is compared to Girardi’s. 

Sandberg, Girardi, Wedge, Melvin, and Listach! Let the bedlam begin in the Windy City!

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According to Fox Sports’ Jon Paul Morosi, the Toronto Blue Jays have added a new name to the list of managers that could be hired to replace their current skipper, Cito Gaston.

Some of the candidates, like Brian Butterfield and Rob Thomson, are stationed in the American League East right now and could remain in the same division if they take the job offer. 

Ryne Sandberg is one of the biggest names out there right now for an available manager’s job. He has prepared enough in the minors and his reputation in the Major Leagues is very good. The Cubs are the favorites to hire Sandberg, but he may not be their favorite. 

The Cubs seem to be waiting for the Yankees manager, Joe Girardi, to make a move this offseason. If he chooses not to resign with New York, the Cubs may make a push to try and return Girardi to his hometown, the Windy City. If not Girardi, there are other veteran managers out there looking for a hiring.

Whether Sandberg gets the job with the Blue Jays or the Chicago Cubs, both clubhouses will be making a transition from a very experienced manager and old school type of man to a much fresher looking manager entering his first year. Both Gaston and Lou Pinella will be retiring at the end of the season.

The Blue Jays have a long list of names for the job, it will be up to Ryne Sandberg to show the interest and the reason why he will be the best hire.  

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There has been buzz around the Major Leagues as to what the McCourts will be doing with the Los Angeles Dodgers. A former Dodgers owner has joined in the talks as he makes a suggestion to the current ownership to sell the team. 

The McCourts are in the middle of a huge divorce, and this has created a mess within the Los Angeles Dodgers’ clubhouse. Joe Torre recently announced that he will be leaving the team and Don Mattingly will be taking over. But a managerial move is just a minor move that has to be made to this team. 

Should the McCourt family decide to sell the team, the new owner has to be dedicated to improving the team and restoring prosperity in one of California’s most popular teams. Former boxer Oscar De La Hoya spoke on a radio show and expressed his interest in possibly becoming a part of the Dodgers’ front office. 

He spoke on ESPN Los Angeles’ radio show saying, “We are very, very interested. We would be on top of it. Hopefully something will come of it.” He noted that a group of investors would not be hard to put together, when he would be ready to get an offer for the team together. 

De La Hoya has made a ton of money from his popularity and his boxing days. He would join a good group of celebrity team owners that includes Jay-Z, Usher, Marc Anthony, and Jennifer Lopez. Out of the people in that group, he is the one with the most sports experience. 

How well he knows baseball and how well he can manage a team’s operations is still up in the air. If the money is on the table, De La Hoya is still a better option than staying with the McCourt family and having another year of bedlam on Chavez Ravine.

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Yahoo Sports and ESPN are reporting that there are six teams that are taking looks at Japanese star Yu Darvish. It is not a 100% decision by Darvish to make the move to the United States, but the teams are already lining up.

The system used to sign him would be very much like the Daisuke Matsuzaka system where there is a bidding war.  It takes up quite a bit of money as learned by the Red Sox, but it could all payoff. 

Dice-K was a lot of hype due to the World Baseball Classic, but Darvish has proven himself a bit more. He is flexible and can be adjusted to become a reliever or starter in the Major Leagues. 

Here are the six teams and why they may want Yu Darvish on their pitching staff…

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The Texas Rangers have signed yet another hard throwing arm for their pitching staff. Well, at least when he was first called up he had great start to his career with that arm before it fell apart. Mark Prior has reportedly signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers, according to Fort Worth Star Telegram’s Jeff Wilson. 

He states that the deal will not just run through 2010, but could be intact for the long-term on his Twitter page. 

The Rangers have added yet another fragile arm to their staff as Prior has been cursed with injuries. They signed Rich Harden, who is always injury prone, this past offseason. Cliff Lee has been very hard working these last few years and he doesn’t exactly look like the type of pitcher that can take a ton of work in such a short amount of time. 

Prior has come back to the public spotlight as his name was being thrown around when Stephen Strasburg was shut down for the next year. Prior has unofficially been donned as the dictionary definition of blowing a young arm. 

When Prior came up to the Major Leagues, he was one of the most hyped up prospects in recent baseball history. The Cubs and their fans could not wait to have him on the team and called him up quickly. He pitched like an ace, but injuries would quickly catch up to him. 

Some of the injuries have been odd including the most recent one where he was shut down for a few weeks due to getting hit during batting practice. But, he could have put those injuries behind him recently as he has been pitching well in the Independent League. 

The last time Prior was seen in the Major Leagues, he was with the Chicago Cubs and went 1-6 with a 7.21 ERA. Kerry Wood was like Mark Prior’s twin when with the Cubs. Both were injury prone most of the time, but threw very hard. 

Kerry Wood has found success with the New York Yankees in 2010. Mark Prior still has that chance for success, as he is only 29 and could turn things around. 

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The Florida Marlins have publicly stated that whatever media sources are reporting a brawl during their game last night are false. Major League Baseball says that since there were no fans at the Marlins game last night, there are no witnesses to prove otherwise. 

The Marlins have become synonymous with having a very low attendance average. On television, there are not any fans in the seats and thus a ton of orange seats are left exposed to the cameras. Last night was no exception. 

When Nyjer Morgan charged the mound last night, both benches were cleared and just about everyone on both teams were involved in the brawl. But it seems like those were the only people around to see what happened. 

You may ask what about the television cameras and the live broadcast of the game? Well, according to Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, he says that what was seen on television was a staged commercial. It was all a fake advertisement during the inning. 

It doesn’t seem to add up even in the Commissioner’s office. Bud Selig has refused to comment on what “reportedly” went down in Miami.

The eight game suspension to Nyjer Morgan issued today was due to the inappropriate language used in the commercial. Baseball officials are still looking for the possible one fan in attendance at the Marlins vs. Nationals game. The fan holds the key testimony as to what really occurred on the Thursday night in Miami. 

Looks like this is where having fans of your team actually comes in handy! Sadly, it doesn’t seem like there is such thing as a Florida Marlins fan. 

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