Sunday's Finest

Reds sign Baker: The Reds have reached an agreement with former Cubs and Giants manager Dusty Baker. It is a three year deal, and might be announced next week depending on the playoff situation. Bud Selig isn't for making announcements during the playoffs, but we will see. As I said several days ago, I see Dusty going with some of his former guys from Chicago. Gene Clines, Dick Pole, and others; however, I think the focus of his coaching might be towards pitching, because that is definitely their biggest weakness.

George Steinbrenner passes on reigns: The Bosses, Hank and Hal Steinbrenner, are the new bosses of New York. The Boss, whose health is getting worse, will move to chairman or supervisor but this is the first sign that his health is really starting to fail. If you remember from July, we brought it up that his health could be failing and I think the Yankees have finally decided to acknowledge it.

Castillo, Green, Hope to stay: Both Luis Castillo and Sean Green hope to stay in New York. Both had good seasons with the Mets, but I think it only makes sense to hold on to Castillo. Letting Green walk allows them to go younger, especially with the good market of outfielders. Kosuke Fukudome, Torii Hunter, Corey Patterson, maybe even Kenny Lofton to be a stop gap for Fernando Martinez. If they want, they could even go Gomez, Beltran, Milledge, but I think Minaya wants to test the waters.

Marlins to go after Lo Duca: Miguel Olivo is probably heading elsewhere and many now believe that the Marlins will open up their wallets for a veteran catcher like Paul Lo Duca. Personally I would go with Michael Barrett, but the veteran presence would help with the younger players.

Andy Marte to Philadelphia?: The Indians seem pretty adamant with going with Beau Mills, who is showing potential in the minors. The Indians are very high on him, and with Andy Marte showing little promise with his bat, he is probably on his way out. I see Philadelphia taking a chance on him while possibly going with someone else for the time being. It wouldn't cost much, and it could work out for the better. The Marlins could also make a run for him. He would be a cheap upgrade and is still protected for a couple years.

Schilling to Philadelphia, too?: Curt Schilling, who represents himself, has said he would be willing to go back to Philadelphia if the Red Sox were not interested. I think Schilling would be smart to go to the National League career wise, but I think morally he will stay in Boston. He is a hero and a legend there, and his family is out there now too. The Phillies do need pitching and Schilling doesn't seem to mind toying with the Red Sox, so he might just leave. The Phillies are starting to spend money and are looking for another big bat this off season, so he might want to try and bring a World Series to Philadelphia. He wanted to return back in 2004, but stayed in Arizona where he was later traded to Boston.