Baseball

On the exact day five years ago that the Boston Red Sox won the World Series for the first time in 86 years, their bench coach from that improbable 2004 season left the Red Sox to take over as the manager for the Houston Astros

Mills has spent the last six years as bench coach of the Red Sox, and was generally considered one of the best bench coaches in the game. Red Sox manager Terry Francona knew that it would just be a matter of time until Mills was called upon to take the reigns of another major league franchise.

According to an AP report, the Tampa Bay Rays have re-signed one half of their Double-Gabe right field platoon, welcoming back Gabe Kapler.

The team announced a one-year deal worth $1.05 million earlier today. The 34-year-old Kapler played in 99 games this season for the Rays, sharing time with Gabe Gross in right field, and finished the year batting .239 with eight homers and 32 RBI.

Nick Swisher is a one man wrecking crew this postseason, but the problem is he is wrecking his own team the New York Yankees.

For the Yankees to win the World Series against the Phillies, Swisher is going to have to step it up or move aside.  

Swisher has four hits in 32 at bats with 11 strikeouts and is currently batting  only .125 this postseason headed into the World Series against the defending World Champs.

Nick has to understand he has to produce in the postseason to really be a Yankee or sit out for the team.

With the official announcement that Paul Beeston (pictured above) will in fact be the new President and CEO of the team, the good news is that Rogers won’t have to change the name plate on the President’s desk and send out that pesky “so and so is no longer with the company” email.

Recently, I wrote a preview to the upcoming World Series between the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies.  Since I wrote that I have seen other articles being written about the upcoming World Series too.

I have been curious to see what other people's opinions have been, so I read most of these types of articles.  Most I have agreed with their match up selections until I came across one written by Greg Fertel. 

The Mets need an everyday left fielder—on that we can agree—but the question of who Omar Minaya will make the effort to acquire and who he is willing to give up in the process is what fans are concerned about this winter.

Free agent acquisitions are obviously a big issue with the winter meetings in December, but trade opportunities will no doubt also present themselves, and Minaya needs to be aggressive but not further deplete the Mets' anemic farm system in the process.

Brad Mills.

Don’t worry if the name doesn’t ring a bell.

But Manager Mills is the new Houston Astros skipper.

If team owner Drayton McLane, general manager Ed Wade, and president of baseball operations Tal Smith all agree upon Mills, then Mills it is.

Just because a lot of people may not know a lot about Mills doesn’t mean he’s not the right person for the job.

As a roommate, teammate, and coach under Terry Francona, Mills could very well be the answer Houston has been looking for.

Astros fans at least need to give Mills a chance.

It’s official: Brad Mills is the new Houston Astros skipper.

According to MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart, Mills was named the new manager on Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 27, and his hiring became official at a news conference held at 3 p.m. CT at Minute Maid Park.

“There is no doubt in my mind we’ve made an outstanding selection,” general manager Ed Wade told Houston Chronicle’s Jose De Jesus Ortiz. “We’re working toward being a champion. This is a huge step to getting good and staying good.”

Any other season, Atlanta Braves pitcher Tommy Hanson would be the top pitching candidate for National League Rookie of the Year.

But this year, he isn't likely to win the award. Why? Because he's going up against Philadelphia Phillies pitcher J.A. Happ, who, quite simply, isn't a rookie.

Perhaps the biggest factor impacting Hanson is that he only entered the scene for the final four months of the season. Happ pitched in 35 games. Hanson pitched in only 21.