Leaving for the Leafs?

Former Phillies GM Pat Gillick will not return to the Toronto Blue Jays as team president, but he may consider a much different move to Toronto instead: general manager for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"I might be interested in something other than baseball," he said.

Gillick also has a prior business relationship with Gordon Kirke, the man who has teamed with interim Leafs boss Cliff Fletcher to find a new hockey chief for Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment Ltd.

Although he denied that he has been contacted about the job, Gillick left the door open to a move from MLB to the NHL.

"I probably would be interested in doing something like that, you know, something different," he said. "It could be hockey."

I don't see this happening. We're in the middle of the hockey season, and Gillick (71) will likely be retired away to Seattle before the next hockey offseason. This is probably a reporter drumming up something to write about. Still, it would be intriguing to see a baseball guy suddenly shift gears into hockey.

Hunting for Pence

I think it's very difficult to pick the top nine National League defensive players for the Gold Glove. I don't pay much attention to the award, because it is difficult to judge players on their defensive performance. So many factors go into how good a player is defensively, and some of those factors are practically immeasurable from watching a game on television.

That said, I'm surprised Hunter Pence didn't earn himself the award this season. The Astros outfielder matched Gold Glove winner Nate McClouth's fielding percentage (.997) and was better than Gold Glovers Shane Victorino (.994) and Carlos Beltran (.993). Pence gunned down 16 base runners from the outfield which was tied for most in the majors. He also played for the best defensive team in the league, and somehow Houston didn't earn a single Gold Glover.

Pence is not the most graceful fielder in the world, but he's done a competent job for the Astros.

Manny being money

Dodgers GM Ned Colletti offered Manny Ramirez a contract worth somewhere in the $22.9 to $27.5 million range per year. While that's a ton of money, especially for a player who turns 37 in May and was unceremoniously run out of Boston in the middle of a pennant race, in this case it is worth it.

"If you saw the bid, it's nothing that we're embarrassed by," Colletti said at the GM meetings. "Manny was close to that number, anyway — closer to that area than the last place he's been."

Most likely, the Dodgers offered Ramirez a two-year contract worth just over $50 million. Colletti said the Dodgers also offered an option year, but declined to specify the exact length of contract.

"We said, 'Think about it for a while. It's not going to be there forever,"' Colletti said. "Things are always subject to change, and it depends on what else we do, to some extent. I've been asked a few times here if we're going to wait to see what happens with this before we do anything else. But I'm not sure we're going to have the luxury to do that. If there's something else that comes about that we feel we need to do, and the timeliness is there to do it, we'll have to do it."

The Dodgers would be smart to tie up a slugger for the next two seasons. Ramirez is something they haven't had in a long time (he hit .520 in the playoffs!), and even if he does decline the Dodgers would only be on the hook for a couple of seasons. That's nothing.

Now Gwynn needs to win

Tony Gwynn will continue to coach at San Diego State after signing a three-year deal. Anyone who thought Gwynn's original hiring was a PR stunt for the school should probably reconsider. He's been coaching at SDSU now for six years, so his current contract will make it nearly a full decade as head coach.

The length of his stay, however, should up the ante a bit for Gwynn. He's just 173-190 in his six seasons at the helm. That's not a terrible record, but for someone who should have an almost unlimited ability to recruit, wouldn't you expect something better?

“We're judged on how many games we win or lose, but college coaching is a whole lot more than that,” Gwynn said. “The average fan is not going to pay attention to the other part. They just want to see if you're playing in a regional in late May or June.

“But it's more than just baseball.

“I think they trust me enough that I'm going to make good decisions. They trust me enough that I'm going to teach these young men what they need to know to become men. I keep talking about how important the baseball is, but there's more to it than that.

“We need to teach our kids that you need to get out there and be part of your community. Do stuff. And try to help other people while you're helping yourself.”

Free agent list

As of Wednesday there were 166 players who had filed for free agency. A.J. Burnett's status is not yet official, so he has not been added to the current pool. Here's the list:

AMERICAN LEAGUE
BALTIMORE (4) -- Juan Castro, ss; Alex Cintron, ss; Kevin Millar, 1b; Jay Payton, of.
BOSTON (9) -- Paul Byrd, rhp; Sean Casey, 1b; Bartolo Colon, rhp; Alex Cora, ss; Mark Kotsay, of; David Ross, c; Curt Schilling, rhp; Mike Timlin, rhp; Jason Varitek, c.
CHICAGO (6) -- Orlando Cabrera, ss; Joe Crede, 3b; Ken Griffey Jr., of; Toby Hall, c; Horacio Ramirez, lhp; Juan Uribe, 3b.
CLEVELAND (4) -- Brendan Donnelly, rhp; Scott Elarton, rhp; Sal Fasano, c; Juan Rincon, rhp.
DETROIT (6) -- Kyle Farnsworth, rhp; Casey Fossum, lhp; Freddy Garcia, rhp; Todd Jones, rhp; Edgar Renteria, ss; Vance Wilson, c.
KANSAS CITY (1) -- Mark Grudzielanek, 2b.
LOS ANGELES (6) -- Garret Anderson, of; Jon Garland, rhp; Darren Oliver, lhp; Juan Rivera, of; Francisco Rodriguez, rhp; Mark Teixeira, 1b.
MINNESOTA (4) -- Adam Everett, ss; Eddie Guardado, lhp; Nick Punto, ss; Dennys Reyes, lhp.
NEW YORK (8) -- Bobby Abreu, of; Jason Giambi, 1b; c-Damaso Marte, lhp; Chad Moeller, c; Mike Mussina, rhp; Carl Pavano, rhp; Sidney Ponson, rhp; Ivan Rodriguez, c.
OAKLAND (4) -- Emil Brown, of; Alan Embree, lhp; Keith Foulke, rhp; Frank Thomas, dh.
SEATTLE (3) -- Willie Bloomquist, of; Miguel Cairo, inf; Raul Ibanez, of.
TAMPA BAY (4) -- Rocco Baldelli, dh; Cliff Floyd, dh; Eric Hinske, of; Trever Miller, lhp.
TEXAS (5) -- c-Hank Blalock, 1b; Milton Bradley, dh; Jason Jennings, rhp; Ramon Vazquez, 3b; Jamey Wright, rhp.
TORONTO (3) -- John Parrish, lhp; Brad Wilkerson, of; Gregg Zaun, c.
------
NATIONAL LEAGUE
ARIZONA (6) -- Tony Clark, 1b; Juan Cruz, rhp; Adam Dunn, of; David Eckstein, ss; Orlando Hudson, 2b; Brandon Lyon, rhp.
ATLANTA (8) -- Elmer Dessens, rhp; Tom Glavine, lhp; Mike Hampton, lhp; Jorge Julio, rhp; Greg Norton, of; Will Ohman, lhp; John Smoltz, rhp; Julian Tavarez, rhp.
CHICAGO (8) -- Henry Blanco, c; Ryan Dempster, rhp; Jim Edmonds, of; Chad Fox, rhp; Bob Howry, rhp; Jon Lieber, rhp; Daryle Ward, 1b; Kerry Wood, rhp.
CINCINNATI (9) -- Jeremy Affeldt, lhp; Paul Bako, c; Josh Fogg, rhp; Jerry Hairston Jr., of; Mike Lincoln, rhp; Kent Mercker, lhp; Corey Patterson, of; Javier Valentin, c; David Weathers, rhp.
COLORADO (6) -- Brian Fuentes, lhp; Matt Herges, rhp; Livan Hernandez, rhp; Adam Melhuse, c; Scott Podsednik, of; Glendon Rusch, lhp.
FLORIDA (4) -- Luis Gonzalez, of; Mark Hendrickson, lhp; Paul Lo Duca, c; Arthur Rhodes, lhp,
HOUSTON (5) -- Brad Ausmus, c; Doug Brocail, rhp; LaTroy Hawkins, rhp; Mark Loretta, 2b; Randy Wolf, lhp.
LOS ANGELES (12) -- Joe Beimel, lhp; Gary Bennett, c; Casey Blake, 3b; Rafael Furcal, ss; Nomar Garciaparra, ss; Jason Johnson, rhp; Jeff Kent, 2b; Derek Lowe, rhp; Greg Maddux, rhp; Chan Ho Park, rhp; Manny Ramirez, of; Mark Sweeney, 1b.
MILWAUKEE (10) -- Russell Branyan, 3b; Craig Counsell, 3b; Ray Durham, 2b; Eric Gagne, rhp; Gabe Kapler, of; Mike Lamb, 3b; Guillermo Mota, rhp; CC Sabathia, lhp; Ben Sheets, rhp; Brian Shouse, lhp.
NEW YORK (11) -- Moises Alou, of; Tony Armas Jr., rhp; Luis Ayala, rhp; Damion Easley, 2b; Orlando Hernandez, rhp; Pedro Martinez, rhp; Ramon Martinez, 2b; Trot Nixon, of; Oliver Perez, lhp; Ricardo Rincon, lhp; Matt Wise, rhp.
PHILADELPHIA (2) -- Tom Gordon, rhp; Rudy Seanez, rhp.
PITTSBURGH (4) -- Chris Gomez, 3b; Jason Michaels, of; Doug Mientkiewicz, 1b; Luis Rivas, ss..
ST. LOUIS (8) -- Jason Isringhausen, rhp; Cesar Izturis, ss; Jason LaRue, c; Braden Looper, rhp; Felipe Lopez, 2b; Mark Mulder, lhp; Russ Springer, rhp; Ron Villone, lhp.
SAN DIEGO (2) -- Trevor Hoffman, rhp; Mark Prior, rhp.
SAN FRANCISCO (2) -- Rich Aurilia, 1b; Omar Vizquel, ss.
WASHINGTON (2) -- Aaron Boone, 1b; Odalis Perez, lhp.

Not exactly outsourcing

Indian baseball players? This truly is a historic November.

Burnett clock ticking

A.J. Burnett chose to opt out of his contract with the Blue Jays Tuesday, but that doesn't mean he's out the door just yet.

"I don't think anyone is surprised (that Burnett opted out)," said Blue Jay general manager J.P. Ricciardi by phone from Dana Point, Calif., where baseball's 30 GMs are meeting this week.

"Now he can gauge what the interest is.

"We have not yet made a formal offer, as to financial terms or length of contract. He's played his bargaining chip and now he's going to see if it's worthwhile. When he finds out what's out there, we'll let that get under the bridge before we get specific (about an offer)."

That the Jays have not yet made an offer should not be seen as indifference. Just as Burnett must learn what the market will bear so, too, must the Jays before they make their move.

That market will be a lot more attractive to Burnett and his agent south of the border. If Burnett isn't a Yankee by Christmas, I'll be shocked.

Griffey trade a failure for White Sox

The White Sox declined a $16.5 million option on Ken Griffey Jr., making the eventual hall of famer a free agent.

The 38-year old hit a combined .249 with 18 homers and 71 RBIs in 143 games last season for the Reds and the White Sox. Griffey batted .260 with three homers and 18 RBIs in 41 games with the White Sox, who acquired him July 31 in a trade that sent right-hander Nick Masset and infielder Danny Richar to Cincinnati.

Considering the White Sox are unlikely to bring back Orlando Cabrera at shortstop, and that the Sox are likely to move Alexei Ramirez from second to short, dealing Richar away leaves a strange mix at second for the Sox.

Juan Uribe can be brought back, and Chris Getz will get a look, but lost in the Sox declining of Griffey was the pickup made by the Southsiders. The White Sox agreed to a one-year contract with former Rockies second baseman Jayson Nix, who ended up playing mostly at Triple-A once Ian Stewart won the big league job. Richar was considered a possible starter for the Sox at second in spring training '08, while Uribe was the fallback option and Ramirez the wildcard. Now the Sox only have the fallback option at second, plus the rookie, Getz. Nix, another fallback, might end up with the job.

For three homers and 18 RBI in 41 games, bringing in Griffey certainly didn't do much for the Sox.

Morrissey calls for less games

Chicago columnist Rick Morrissey explores the idea of a 130-game MLB season. Weather, as usual in these types of columns, is the culprit, according to Morrissey.

Now I know this would play havoc with statistics. Records we hold dear would likely never be broken again because of the shortened schedule. But let's keep in mind that the steroids era has taken a sledgehammer to the record books anyway. The home run records, in particular, are silly.

Anyone who has had to sit through a game in the spring knows it can be a wretched experience, at least in Chicago, especially when the wind has kicked up and the cold air hasn't received the memo about summer being somewhere on the horizon.

I agree that stats hold less meaning than ever in baseball these days thanks to performance enhancing drugs. That said, I think there is a simple solution to the beginning of April weather issues in cold-weather cities that can still allow for a 162-game season: don't play in the North outdoors until the third week of April.

Baseball should schedule the first two full weeks of games in warm-weather cities and cities with domes. By the middle of the month there is less chance for snow in Chicago or Cleveland or anywhere else they play baseball in the North. Either way, here's hoping the Twins never host an opening day in their new open-air ballpark during the first week of April. Yikes!

Update: Same newspaper, different columnist, with a similar view point to Spitting Seeds.

You can't knock the Macha move, or can you?

Cubs fans can breathe a sigh of relief; Ken Macha was named Brewers manager. Bob Brenly, Cubs color analyst, was up for the job, but Bob Melvin and company went with the former A's skipper instead.

"One of the things I'm going to enjoy here I think is the relationship with Doug," said Macha, who spent the last two years as a television analyst. "He's been very honest with me, straightforward. He's more of a delegator. He's going to let me go out and do my job as a manager and I'm going to be very grateful for that."

That's a far cry from Oakland, where Macha took the A's to a pair of AL West titles but had an odd relationship with general manager Billy Beane and lost his job after the 2005 season for a week only to return in 2006.
...
Macha also tried to dispel the notion that he'd lost touch with his players in Oakland, including Jason Kendall, now the Brewers catcher.

"I've got a couple things to say about that. No. 1, the job of the manager is really not to be buddies with all the players. You have to make very difficult decisions over the course of the year," he said. "Sometimes players get a little personal and think it's personal. It really isn't."

Sounds like an imperfect match for a team that nearly imploded on itself for a second straight season, but to his credit Macha built a pretty impressive resume in Oakland with a 368-260 record. Still, Oakland got swept out of the 2006 ALCS by Detroit, and Brenly has a World Series under his belt. That, and a very deep knowledge of the team Milwaukee chased all season long.

Jacobs dealt to KC

The Marlins traded slugging first baseman Mike Jacobs to Kansas City for right-handed reliever Leo Nunez. Jacobs can rip, but can he make contact?

Jacobs, 28, set careers highs with 32 homers and 93 RBIs last season, but his on-base percentage was just .299 and he struck out 119 times in 447 at-bats.

Jacobs also could have received a big raise in salary arbitration, an unpalatable scenario for the spendthrift Marlins, who must deal with a whopping 17 arbitration-eligible players this winter.

So much for that $40 million bubble the Marlins will spend toward this offseason. They'll probably throw a fair amount of it at players they already have on the roster.

As for Jacobs, he gives the Royals what Billy Butler couldn't: a lot of pop. He won't give them or your fantasy team much else. Treat Nunez as a middle reliever. He doesn't project as anything else at this time.

Addressing the rain delay issue

The Boston Globe tackles Spitting Seeds' position on baseball's Waterlogged decision making Monday night: get something in writing so this doesn't happen again.

There is expected to be discussion this winter on what some see as a flaw that has fallen through the cracks in the 105-year history of the World Series.

The fact that commissioner Bud Selig said he had sole discretion to suspend Game 5 no matter what the score seemed like seat-of-the-pants manage ment that doesn't cast Major League Baseball in the best light.

This needs to be sorted out.

A's under knife

Daric Barton and Greg Smith have undergone offseason surgical procedures. Barton's to repair a hip injury, Smith's to clean out his pitching elbow. Smith's surgery is less significant than Barton's, as the A's first baseman could be sidelined for three months. Good thing baseball is sidelined for three-plus months until spring training.

Vincent on Selig's missteps

Fay Vincent does not mince words when talking about Bud Selig's errors during Monday's game five.

"I agree with those who say that (playing in those conditions) was just too dangerous. It wasn’t baseball that was being played, and for my money it would have been better to have canceled it long ahead of time and come back and play a full nine-inning game in better weather . . . They weren’t really playing baseball (Monday) night in that weather and I don’t think anybody was getting anything out of it. I think it was unfortunately it was an attempt to get the game in for a variety of reasons — all of which are economic — one regrets that because baseball deserves better."

I'm not sure they were trying to get the game in as much as they were trying to avoid scorn over a rain-shortened World Series victory. That said, it's a good thing Vincent spoke out on Selig's folly.

Drabek back on track

Doug Drabek's son, Kyle, is attempting a comeback from major injury at the ripe old age of 20. The former first-round draft pick looks pretty good.

Eyre not on the side of Selig

Scott Eyre doesn't care much for Bud Selig, either.

Cashman on Joba: very little

Brian Cashman plays the boring card in his first public comments on Joba Chamberlain's run in with the law.

"He's part of our family," Cashman said. "We're going to support him, but at the same time, he knows that stuff like this can't happen."

Nebraska police arrested Chamberlain on Oct. 18 for suspicion of driving under the influence, speeding and carrying an open container of alcohol in his vehicle. Chamberlain faces a court date next month, and Cashman wouldn't comment on whether or not the Yankees plan to independently discipline their pitcher.

"The police are out there doing a good job," Cashman said. "Obviously, on that day, they showed up and did good, stopping Joba from putting himself and other people further in harm's way."

Yawn.

We don't need to shrink the regular season

Just because there's a little weather this year, one Atlanta Journal Constitution writer thinks it is time to re-examine Bud Selig's wishes to shorten the regular season.

ll baseball had to do was listen to Selig and do something such as go from 162 games to 154 in the regular season. Then the division series would begin no later than the last week of September instead of early October. Then you wouldn’t have what you have now: A World Series featuring television ratings dropping as fast as the temperature in Philadelphia.

With game-time temperatures slated for the low 40s (with the wind-chill factor in the upper 20s) tonight, the Phillies are scheduled to hit in the bottom of the sixth inning during their suspended Game 5 against the Tampa Bay Rays.

No, that's not necessary. If baseball starts on April 1st, and gets the regular season in by the end of September, shrinks the off days in the postseason to one day between series and has weekend world series day games, well, then life is good in baseball again.

Furcal back in Cubs crosshairs?

The Cubs offseason laundry list of potential signings or trades is familiar and intriguing. Remember the Brian Robers rumors (how could you not)? A lefty power bat? Try Adam Dunn.

Jake Peavy would be a stretch, unless the Cubs get creative. Fukudome's contract really hurts them, as I've talked about before. More doable would be picking up Jeremy Hermida or Mike Jacobs, but neither of those lefty bats patrols center field, so how helpful can they be? And are they better options than an ancient Jim Edmonds? Maybe.

A Rafael Furcal deal seems most reasonable.

The Dodgers' switch-hitting, free agent shortstop led the NL in leadoff on-base percentage (.434 in 159 at-bats) but is injury-prone and snubbed the Cubs three years ago for an offer Hendry considered outrageous. But if Hendry lets bygones be bygones, he could do much worse than having Furcal atop his order. If Furcal came over, Ryan Theriot would move back to second and Mark DeRosa would become the regular right fielder.

This move gives the Cubs an instant catalyst, and keeps DeRosa in the lineup in place of Fukudome. The Cubs can transition their Japanese right fielder into a center field platoon with Reed Johnson, if they bring Johnson back. The move doesn't help the Cubs' need for a left-handed power bat, but Furcal won't be as pricey after his injury-ravaged season.

What's best? Furcal in the leadoff spot slips Soriano down in the order, perhaps all the way to fifth, which would be ideal.

Konerko for Figgins?

Some odds and ends on the White Sox as they prepare for offseason moves. It sounds like Ken Griffey, Jr. and Orlando Cabrera are gone, and Paul Konerko could head West.

The Jon Garland-for-Cabrera deal was completed in less than two weeks last November, and a natural fit for the Sox would be the Angels' Chone Figgins, who could bat leadoff and play third.

But the Angels will need a first baseman if they can't re-sign free agent Mark Teixeira. Paul Konerko came close to signing with the Angels after the 2005 season and is friendly with Angels manager Mike Scioscia dating to their days in the Dodgers organization.

But Konerko has two years left on his contract and full no-trade rights. He also hit nine home runs in September and two in the American League Division Series after coping with slumps and injuries.

Seems like a stretch to move Konerko. He's coming off his worst full season (.240 AVG, 22 HR, 62 RBI), and while he's not old (he turns 32 in the spring), Konerko isn't getting any younger.