Opinion

Not long after Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella announced his plans to retire at the end of the season, former Cub, and current Hall of Famer, Ryne Sandberg decided to throw his name in the list of potential candidates to replace Piniella next season.

But does Sandberg really know what he’s getting himself into?

The pressure of the Cubs winning a World Series has built up like a nasty rumor at the workplace, and Sandberg hopes he can be the man to clean it all up.

Not that it matters much for the rest of the season, but the last two months could go a long way to determine jobs for next season. One job being auditioned for is next year's closer between Joel Hanrahan and Evan Meek.

Both have had outstanding seasons in set-up roles. Meek made the All-Star team. Hanrahan leads the entire team in strikeouts, despite throwing only 48.1 innings on the season.

You can make a strong case for both; I will make my case for Hanrahan. 

Hmm...two months to go and the Reds haven't faded and have not given any signs of faltering or disappearing. Yes, two months is still a relatively long time and the naysayers will tell you Cincinnati will show their true colors when it gets to crunch time.

I say keep doubting, keep brushing them aside and do your best to pretend that they don't know what they are doing.

The one word that can sum up the Mets at the trade deadline is silence.

As an organization hungry for some sort of a move, the Mets remained inactive as the deadline passed. 

It is hard to fault the Mets for retaining their most prized prospects, but that doesn't necessarily mean moves shouldn't have been made. 

Now entering the waiver trade period, the Mets could utilize some prospects as trade bait. Rumor has it, the Mets are chasing after Mariners infielder Chone Figgins.

Quite a few folks in Dodgertown went to sleep confused last night.

Why would the Los Angeles Dodgers claim Adam Dunn off waivers from the Washington Nationals?

Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle was the first to speculate the rumor; and Hank has been around the business long enough to be considered a very reliable source.

We all remember the horror show that was Jimmy Haynes, the maddening inconsistencies of Kyle Lohse, and the general awfulness of Eric Milton.

Looking at what this franchise has now, that seems like a long-ago era.

Quality arm after quality arm is being pumped out by this organization, to the point where Homer Bailey and Aaron Harang may not have starting rotation jobs for the rest of the season.

Earlier Today following the introduction of Mike Modano to the Red Wings, Mike Ilitch confirmed that both Dave Dombrowski and Jim Leyland will be back in 2011.

This might come as a disappointment to some but, at least in Dombrowski’s case I support the decision.

Without a doubt Dave Dombrowski has made his share of blunder, but do I need to remind you where this team was before he was brought on as Team President?

In case you have forgotten the Tigers, led by General Manager Randy Smith, were pitiful. 

The Boston Red Sox disabled list is long, but even crippled, this is a darn good ball club.

Winning the first game against the Yankees proves the Red Sox are still in the mix in the AL East.

Boston’s starting rotation is now all active and healthy, and they are ridiculously good.

Red Sox ace Josh Beckett's being back is huge because his passion and fiery attitude demand a lot of respect. Clearly, Beckett is the leader of the staff and his absence was apparent.

The 2010 MLB offseason definitely will be known as one of the busiest in terms of managerial moves and firings. Some the of the games best might call it quits and it will certainly be the end of an era in baseball. 

We've already had a pair of managers who seem very much safe in the Royals' Ned Yost and Orioles' Buck Showalter.

Come Opening Day 2011, we will have seen a 60 percent of the managers from the 2010 Opening Day, an amazing and shocking drop from 40 percent. 

Remember this season, when Mark Teixeira looked like he "couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat?" (stealing a quote from "Dodgeball").  Everyone was ready to jump down Teixeira's throat, I one of those people.

The general consensus around the Yankees community was that Teixeira was going to have a horrific year.