Valentine still on Marlins' list? Edwin Rodriguez took over as manager of the Florida Marlins earlier this season when Fredi Gonzalez got canned, but only after it was rumored that Bobby Valentine was the shoo-in for the job.The story goes that Valentine was on the list to take over the Baltimore Orioles but took his name out of contention there because he was set to take over in Florida, but then that fell through and Rodriguez was named to the spot. Now FOXSports is reporting that Valentine is still a candidate to take over the Marlins this offseason. Valentine told FOXSports, "I have no idea what happened or what will happen." Note that Valentine isn't saying he wouldn't re-open the talks. Follow Yahoo! Sports Rumors on Twitter at @markjmill. |
Alex Rodriguez ditches Scott Boras Scott Boras has helped Alex Rodriguez make a boatload of dough in his career. The pair have been together since Rodriguez was in high school, but now the pair have parted ways, according to the New York Post.Boras helped engineer the 10-year, $252 million contract that took A-Rod from the Seattle Mariners to the Texas Rangers and then helped get his client traded to the New York Yankees. But the Post reports that the relationship has been "on the rocks since 2007." That's when Rodriguez opted out of his contract and the Yankees made as if they weren't going to bother re-signing him. He went and made a personal appeal and worked with other advisers to get that 10-year, $275 million deal done. "He has not filed papers to the union to that effect [that Boras has been dismissed]," a source affiliated with the player's union told the Post. "Nor has he sent in any papers that Jay Reisinger and Jim Sharp are his baseball agents. Anyone reporting that is reporting something 100 percent false. Jay and Jim are his lawyers representing him on a variety of matters, but not baseball. It's totally wrong." Still, the word is that the paperwork will come at some point and that A-Rod is no longer working with Boras. Follow Yahoo! Sports Rumors on Twitter at @markjmill. |
Carlos Delgado done for good? Carlos Delgado has collected 473 home runs in the big leagues and 1,512 RBIs since he entered the big leagues with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1993. Now the 38-year-old is with the Triple-A team for the Boston Red Sox and his career may be over, according to the Boston Herald. His agent tells the paper that Delgado has a small muscle tear in his left hip. Delgado went out to Colorado the other day to see the doc who worked on his hip in two previous surgeries. He signed a minor-league deal with the Sox on August 7 and his agent tells the paper that his client "felt fine when he signed." But his agent also suggests that it isn't clear what's going to happen next for Delgado, telling the paper, "All of a sudden, he felt pain there. Everything at this point is up in the air. He's going to need some time to think about the next step." Follow Yahoo! Sports Rumors on Twitter at @markjmill. |
Mets' Manuel seeks assurance he'll be back New York Mets manager Jerry Manuel, whose team has been a disappointment this season, would like to know if the team plans to bring him back next season, according to the New York Post. According to the paper, nobody in the upper ranks of the organization is giving Manuel any indication at this point. He said he would "love to know" what the plan is, though he won't ask anyone because he doesn't want to be a distraction. Manuel should probably plan on putting together his resume this offseason. After all, the team has been disappointing since he took over in the middle of the 2008 season for Willie Randolph, a manager who took the Mets to within one game of the World Series in 2006 but also presided over the team's historic stretch-run collapse in 2007. The Post reports that the likely candidates to replace him are Wally Backman, who manages the team's cross-town Single-A squad, the Brooklyn Cyclones; Bob Melvin; and Terry Collins. Follow Yahoo! Sports Rumors on Twitter at @markjmill. |
| A-Rod not guaranteeing Sunday return
"I'm taking a very precautionary approach and we want to be conservative and we want to make sure we are as close to 100 percent as possible," Rodriguez told the site said. His calf has held up in hitting, running and throwing drills, but Rodriguez is still being very cautious. "I'm trying to come out of the box 100 percent, which was a big challenge last time," Rodriguez told ESPN, referring to his unsuccessful Aug. 20 return from the disabled list that lasted one at-bat. Follow Yahoo! Sports Rumors on Twitter at @markjmill. |
| Marlins pitcher Nolasco done for season T  he Florida Marlins are extremely unlikely to make the postseason this year so there isn't much incentive to risk major injury to pitcher Ricky Nolasco, who had been trying to finish the year out with an injured right knee. MLB.com is reporting that Nolasco, who was supposed to start the game Friday night against the Atlanta Braves, has decided to take the rest of the season off and get surgery next week to patch up a torn medial meniscus. "Like people have been telling me here, I've got to be smart," Nolasco told the site. "I'm not going to risk anything trying to compensate for my knee." He goes out with a 14-9 record and a 4.51 ERA in 26 starts. Follow Yahoo! Sports Rumors on Twitter at @markjmill. |
Braves' Lowe gets cortisone shot The Atlanta Braves have been playing at a feverish pace for the last month, holding off the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East. It turns out that one of its key ingredients - starting pitcher Derek Lowe - has been hurting for six weeks.The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting that Lowe, who is 11-12 this season with a 4.53 ERA and 107 strikeouts, has inflammation in his pitching elbow and got a cortisone shot Sunday after a rough outing against the Florida Marlins. The paper also notes that 37-year-old who has been in the league for 13 years didn't bother to tell the Braves about his elbow hurting until three weeks after he started feeling the pain. Follow Yahoo! Sports Rumors on Twitter at @markjmill. |
Rangers consider adding Lowell again The Texas Rangers picked up outfielder Jeff Francoeur from the New York Mets last night to come off the bench in the postseason but it was only after the Rangers again explored picking up a guy they almost added to the roster: Boston Red Sox corner infielder Mike Lowell.MLBlogs.com reported that talks between the Sox and Rangers "heated up" about Lowell in recent days as Texas searched for a right-handed bat to come off the bench. The deal eventually didn't happen and the Rangers added Francoeur instead. Other folks that the Rangers were considering, according to the report, were Reed Johnson of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Ryan Spilborghs of the Colorado Rockies. The Rangers were set to add Lowell last offseason but then he failed a physical. He's gone .235 this season with four homers in 55 games. Francoeur has hit .237 with 11 dingers in 124 games. Follow Yahoo! Sports Rumors on Twitter at @markjmill. |
Yankees claim Lilly but Dodgers pull him back Ted Lilly was picked up off waivers by one of his former teams, the New York Yankees, and then pulled back by his current team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to Sports Illustrated. The report suggests that at least one other team also selected Lilly.The 34-year-old Lilly has gone 5-1 since coming over earlier this season from the Chicago Cubs, where he was 3-8. Overall, he's got a 3.59 ERA this season and 125 strikeouts. He's making $13 million this season and becomes a free agent this winter. Follow Yahoo! Sports Rumors on Twitter at @markjmill. |
Manny Ramirez losing dreadlocks? Manny Ramirez will show up in the locker room of the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday and, according to the Chicago Tribune, may be losing his dreadlocks. "We have a certain way we like to have our players represent us, and that was discussed quite some time ago with one of my coaches," general manager Ken Williams told reporters Monday. "We'll just wait and let you see how they decide to handle it. From my understanding, it's not going to be an issue, and he's going to make an adjustment and conform to how we like to have our players represented out there." Sounds like the team barber may need to be on hand for Manny's arrival. Follow Yahoo! Sports Rumors on Twitter at @markjmill. |
