A thankless job, one that nobody probably really wants, but still.

The Rockies have announced that they have fired pitching coach Jim Wright and assistant pitching coach Bo McLaughlin.

Colorado had the worst ERA in baseball, with a 4.84. How much of that is the coaching and how much of that is a combination of (a) not having many good pitchers; and (b) playing in Coors Field is an open question, but you can’t fire a ballpark or, like, 10 pitchers at once.

Wright, the team’s former bullpen coach, took over for Bob Apodaca in 2012. Apodaca actually asked to be reassigned from the job at the time, sorta telling you how thankless and unenjoyable it is to be the pitching coach for the Colorado Rockies.

john hart takes a job. President of Baseball operations for the Braves.

um...okay.

so, he is just the GM with a better title and more money.

Im sure Coppolella will be the GM in name and learn under Hart. Could be worse

I wonder what Samuel L. Jackson would say about this?

One hundred and two snakes were found in a home in Canada and they filled up five pillowcases


Apparently, these were "just" garter snakes, and it was in a rural area of Canada, and the snakes were just preparing to hibernate for the winter.

But how does this happen? How do that many snakes get into a home?

Recently a family in Regina, in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, discovered a few small snakes in their basement and called the local wildlife rehab agency.


Megan Lawrence, the agency director, said, "The family contacted us when they found a few garter snakes in their basement. ... They were finding more and more and ... they were finding them in their kitchen and their bedrooms, and they decided it wasn't a good idea to have them there anymore."

Oh, really?

So Lawrence and her partner used about five pillowcases to collect the serpents, and then moved the snakes into a bucket to count them. They then separated the snakes by size. She said the longest snake was nearly one meter, or a little over 3 feet, and the shortest was approximately 22 centimeters, or about 8 inches.

A snake expert at the local museum, Ray Poulin, says nothing about this story is too unusual for folks in Regina.

"That is about a normal amount," Poulin said. A hundred "garter snakes in a basement is about a normal amount. ... Usually snakes at this time are going down ... getting up to your house and going straight down."

If the wildlife rehab agency keeps the snakes for the winter, Lawrence says she will be seeking donations for things like fish, earthworms, and minnows for feed.

A short list of "did you know" items from last nights game.

Gregor Blanco's leadoff homer was the first in a World Series game since Johnny Damon in Game 4 of the 2004 Fall Classic. Of the previous nine teams that had a player lead off a World Series game with a home run, seven had gone on to win the game. The Giants join the 1954 Indians (against the Giants) and the 1909 Pirates (against the Tigers) as the only teams to lose a World Series game after beginning the night with a leadoff homer.

• The Royals racked up four doubles in Game 2, the most since the Giants hit six two-baggers in Game 1 of the 2010 Fall Classic. Kansas City's five extra-base hits overall were also the most in a World Series game since 2012 when the Giants had five in Game 1 against the Tigers.

• Veteran second baseman Omar Infante was responsible for two of those extra-base hits, notching a double and a two-run homer that broke the game open in the sixth inning. The homer came in Infante's 145th career postseason at-bat, snapping the second-longest active drought in the Majors. The Cardinals' Jon Jay (189 postseason at-bats without a homer) has the longest such streak.

This World Series is the first in which each of the first two games were decided by five or more runs since 1937, when the Yankees defeated the Giants by identical 8-1 scores in Games 1 and 2. It's also only the second time the teams have traded victories of five or more runs in Games 1 and 2. The other such series came in the 1936 Fall Classic when the Giants won Game 1, 6-1, and the Yankees bounced back with an 18-4 victory in Game 2.

• The Giants' Pablo Sandoval's leadoff double in the fourth inning extended his postseason streak of reaching base safely to 25 straight games, tying him with former Oriole Boog Powell for the third-longest such streak of all-time. Only the Tigers' Miguel Cabrera (31 straight games) and the Phillies' Chase Utley (27) have reached base safely in more consecutive postseason games, though Sandoval's is the longest active streak.

The Giants' Jake Peavy has pitched fewer than six innings in eight straight starts to begin his postseason career, the longest postseason streak by a starter at any point during a career. In fact, Wednesday night marked just the fourth time in those eight starts that Peavy has even completed five full innings.

Though he's had trouble pitching deep into postseason games, Peavy has actually pitched considerably better over his last four postseason outings than his first four. After going 0-3 with a 10.31 ERA over his first four postseason starts, Peavy is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA in his four starts since.

• Yordano Ventura's five-inning outing in Game 2 marked the ninth time in 10 games this postseason that a Royals starter has not completed seven innings. Ventura is actually the only Royals starter to do so, pitching seven full in Game 2 of the American League Division Series against the Angels. During the Wild Card era, no team has won the World Series without at least three seven-inning starts during that postseason.

Given the string of relatively short outings, the Royals bullpen has been credited with seven of the Royals' nine victories this postseason, including Wednesday night. That matches the 2003 Marlins for the most bullpen victories by one team in a single postseason. Kansas City relievers are a combined 7-0 with a 1.81 ERA this postseason.

Giants reliever Hunter Strickland became just the second relief pitcher all-time to allow five home runs in a single postseason, joining the Brewers' Chris Narveson, who did so in 2011. Strickland has faced only 23 batters over 5 1/3 innings this postseason, while Narveson faced 33 hitters over 7 1/3 frames in '11.

• Prior to departing with lower back tightness, Tim Lincecum became just the second reliever in the past 12 years to toss at least 1 2/3 perfect innings in a World Series game that his team ultimately lost. Alexi Ogando tossed 1 2/3 perfect innings for the Rangers in their Game 4 loss in 2010, marking the only other such occurrence since 2002.

• Reliever Santiago Casilla took over for Lincecum, entering the game with two outs and a 2-2 count against Salvador Perez. Casilla finished off the strikeout with just one pitch, becoming the only pitcher in World Series history to record a strikeout in a one-pitch outing.

• Prior to allowing seven runs in Game 2, the Giants had allowed just eight runs combined over their last seven World Series games, all victories.

• The next game will obviously be a pivotal one, but just how important has Game 3 been in past 1-1 series? In best-of-seven World Series that start out tied 1-1, the winner of Game 3 has gone on to win 38 out of 54 times. Since 1969, the start of divisional play, teams that win Game 3 in a 1-1 series are 16-3, though the Red Sox defied that trend just a season ago.

Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw is the Sporting News MLB Player of the Year for 2014, as selected by a panel of 244 major league players. Kershaw beat Angels superstar Mike Trout by just three votes.

Kershaw follows a rich tradition of Dodgers to win the award since its inception in 1936, with Duke Snider (1955), Don Drysdale and Maury Wills (who tied in 1962), Sandy Koufax (1963 and 1965), Fernando Valenzuela (1981) and Orel Hershiser (1988) previously having taken the honor. Kershaw is only the second pitcher to win since Hershiser, joining Justin Verlander in 2011.

Kershaw’s 1.77 ERA this season was the lowest in baseball since Pedro Martinez posted a 1.74 figure for the 2000 Red Sox, the lowest for a left-hander since Ron Guidry’s 1.74 for the 1978 Yankees, and the lowest for a National League southpaw since Koufax had a 1.73 ERA for the 1966 Dodgers.

The success that Kershaw had was not just a mark of his ability to get out of jams. His 0.857 WHIP was the major leagues’ lowest since, again, Martinez in 2000 at 0.737. The last left-hander to be so stingy allowing walks and hits was Koufax, at 0.855 per inning in 1965.

Kershaw, who was Sporting News’ 2011 and 2013 National League Pitcher of the Year, was an All-Star for the fourth time this year, won the Senior Circuit’s Pitcher of the Month award in June and July, and led the league in bWAR (8.0), wins (21), winning percentage (21-3, .875), strikeouts per nine innings (10.84), complete games (6), strikeout-to-walk ratio (7.71) and FIP (1.81).

The crowning achievement of Kershaw’s season was his no-hitter against the Rockies on June 18. In that game, Kershaw struck out 15, walked nobody, and only missed a perfect game because of Hanley Ramirez’s throwing error in the seventh inning.

“Every pitcher gets hot,” Kershaw told Sporting News. “I had a really good stretch there. Wins are something you can’t control. That’s a testament to the team. Everything went perfectly.”

Kershaw won the vote among his peers in a tightly contested ballot over Trout. Giancarlo Stanton was third, with Victor Martinez, Jose Abreu, Jose Altuve, Jonathan Lucroy, Derek Jeter, Michael Brantley, Felix Hernandez, David Price and Josh Donaldson also receiving votes (see full results below).

“It’s awesome,” Kershaw said of the honor. “It really is cool to have that respect from other guys in the league. That’s a huge compliment. For my peers to give that to me, that’s awesome.”

Kershaw said that he was most impressed by Trout and Stanton. At 23 and 24 years old, respectively, it would seem likely that those sluggers will have their day. The buildup to being baseball’s very best takes time, though — Kershaw, at 26, is an example of that.

“I remember seeing him when he was on the minor league field at Dodgertown, the spring training site (in Florida) at the time, and he had 15 scouts, organization people, vice presidents, the general manager, all around the batting cage, all scurrying over to the field where he was gonna throw,” said Wills, the 1962 co-Player of the Year who still is a fixture at Los Angeles’ camp. “I remember thinking, ‘What’s all the buzz about one player? Who is he?’ It was Clayton Kershaw. He was just a kid, couldn’t have been more than 18 at the time. I’ve seen him come through the organization and he’s fantastic.”

Kershaw’s talent and accomplishments have made him a rightful follower in the line of great Dodgers pitching through the years. He is a virtual lock to win a third Cy Young Award, and obviously, given this honor, a strong contender for National League MVP. That would put him on even terms with Koufax when it comes to the trophy case, and the parallels do not stop there.

“Like Koufax, you have a tendency to watch him pitch, and enjoy him, and it seems like every time he pitches, it’s a one-run game because maybe they relax a little bit,” Wills said. “That’s a lot of responsibility. He’s well on the way to becoming Sandy Koufax’s equal. He can’t be there yet, because he hasn’t done it enough years yet.”

Kershaw is working on that, not just on equaling Koufax, but perhaps doing the nearly unthinkable and surpassing him.

“It’s a good line to be part of, for sure,” Kershaw said. “But you can always get better. If you’re not, someone else is.”

So, to most of us, you are saying that Cabrera being on the list "Jeter's" it?  I tend to agree.  Still, it is still miles away from Rafael Palmiero bad, but I agree in general.

Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports caught up with Giancarlo Stanton after he was handed the Hank Aaron Award for the National League on Saturday. The Marlins’ outfielder missed the final three weeks of the season after he was hit in the face with a Mike Fiers fastball, suffering multiple facial fractures and dental damage.

Stanton says he feels great, adding, “It’s a lot better than I thought it was going to be.”

Stanton also told Brown that he believes he’ll wear a helmet with a face guard like Braves outfielder Jason Heyward and a handful of other players around the league. Other than the helmet, not much expected to change, as Stanton should be 100 percent and ready to go when spring training begins in February.

Just wondering how Joe Madden would look like in Dodger blue.......

Who would’ve thought the Kansas City Royals would make it this far? To celebrate, Kauffman Stadium has some new offerings to keep fans happy and full throughout the World Series. Now that you’ve experienced the Mac N’ Jack Sausage, how about a more seasonal treat? Get 'em fast, limited time only!

WHAT IS THIS WITCHCRAFT?: The Turkey Gobbler

Photo: Chris Mullins WHO HATH WROUGHT THIS MONTROSITY?: Kauffman Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals.

WHAT COMPRISES SUCH A THING?: Get a head start on Thanksgiving dinner with house-roasted turkey breast, stuffing, cranberry sauce and warm gravy on a freshly baked roll.


HOW MANY CALORIES WE TALKIN'?: Did you know the average American can consume 4,500 calories during Thanksgiving dinner? The Turkey Gobbler is just a fraction of that, coming to around 565 calories. That leaves 3,935 calories for dessert, congrats!

AND HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?: $11

I see I have some lurkers on the outside on the den looking in. Too bad I have no posters, as then I might have more to post today.

As Sir Charles would say, it was turrrrible.

You don't need to have the screenplay from Field of Dreams tattooed on your chest to know that baseball is the language of fathers and sons. Some of the more adorable examples of this come when professional ballplayers get to have bring-your-kid-to-work days.

Giants starter Jake Peavy had the pleasure of toting two of his sons along with him as he spoke to the media ahead of Game 6. He spoke about the differences between his sons, revealing that the eldest has a passion for the game that rivals that of Hunter Pence.

He later adds that one of his younger sons, Judson, has decided to give up on his dream of growing up to be an inventor so that he can chase his new goal of playing professional baseball. Judson then makes sure to add that his daddy is NOT his favorite baseball player.

According to Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle, the Astros are currently mulling over several renovation ideas for Minute Maid Park, which would be implemented for the 2016 season. Among those potential renovations is removing Tal's Hill in center field.

The Astros have hired MSA Architects to start discussions about center field renovations. Here's what team president of business operations Reid Ryan told Drellich:

“It won't be this year. It would be after next year,” Ryan said of the potential facelift. “People talk about Tal's Hill. ‘Is Tal's Hill going away?' We're going to look at designs of, ‘What would that look like if we took it away?'”

...

“We're going to keep evolving,” Ryan said. “That's one of the things (owner Jim Crane) started with us from day one is: we're moving forward. … We're going to do something in the outfield. I don't know what exactly that means yet: could be Tal's Hill. It could be bullpens. It could be adding cabooses to the train. It could be adding something in center field of meaning. It could be putting in a Hall of Fame.

“Could we now go underground and could you put fans in the old bullpen the visitors were in (in left field), and do we move the other one to right field? We want something substantial where people go out and go, ‘Oh, It's Minute Maid Park 2.0.'”

Tal's Hill -- named after former team president Tal Smith -- is literally a hill in center field just in front of the wall. The hill also features a flag pole that is in play. It is 436 feet to center field at Minute Maid Park, so it's not often a ball is hit to the hill, but it has happened and there have been more than a few amazing catches over the years.


Tal's Hill is a bit gimmicky but one of the very best things about the baseball is the uniqueness of each stadium. Fenway Park has the Green Monster, Wrigley Field has the ivy, and Minute Maid Park has Tal's Hill. If the Astros want to remove it, fine. I think the park would lose some charm if they did though.

Minute Maid Park opened in 2000. Ryan confirmed the ballpark is undergoing some roof repairs this offseason -- the wheels on the retractable roof have to be replaced -- and there will also be changes to the club level and some concessions.

We learned yesterday that Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera underwent surgery on Wednesday to remove bone spurs from his right ankle and repair a stress fracture to the navicular bone in his foot. We have known about the ankle injury for a while, but Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski told Chris Iott of MLive.com that everyone was caught off guard by what was actually found.

“He is as tough as you can possibly be,” Dombrowski said. “They cannot even believe once they went in there and looked at it that he could play with the ankle that he had. It’s worse than what we ever would have anticipated.”

“We were surprised,” Dombrowski said. “We did not know that there was (a stress fracture) in there. After he saw the doctor at the end of the year in Miami, he had mentioned something possibly with the navicular bone, but they really didn’t know and they told me they wouldn’t really know until they went in there.

“We were surprised. We did not anticipate this.”
By the way, Cabrera batted .379 with eight home runs and a 1.118 OPS in September. It’s pretty incredible under the circumstances.

Cabrera had two screws inserted into his foot during the procedure and will have to stay off his foot/ankle for three months. That timetable puts him on pace to be reevaluated in late January, just weeks before the start of spring training. Dombrowski refused to speculate when asked about Cabrera’s readiness for Opening Day, but it’s far from a given right now.