Tom Verducci: Yankees took the cowardly way out  —  CLEVELAND — When he was robust and running the New York Yankees, George Steinbrenner never minded a little blood on his hands.  He swung his firing axe decisively and often.  I was there in Chicago at old Comiskey Park when Dale Berra cried …

Here's Your Ex: See, Now This Is Just Being Mean  —  Imagine you're facing one of the most important moments of your career, a moment in which you must be on top of your game and perform at your peak capacity.  Everyone is counting on you; the whole world is watching.  Concentration is paramount.

Mets' collapse weighs heavily on Green  —  Missed opportunity at playoffs continues to haunt right fielder  —  NEW YORK — Survivor's guilt it isn't.  The Mets don't qualify as survivors.  It is a full-fledged guilt, a guilt that weighs on Shawn Green these days, a heavy and unsettling sense …

Hurdle-ing a rocky road  —  After setbacks in life, Rockies manager has learned to keep things in perspective  —  He is a reformed alcoholic, a failed former baseball prospect, and a failed husband (twice).  All those things are very much a part of who Clint Hurdle is today …

Long live the bullpen car  —  The notion is absurd on its face: professional athletes needing a motorized vehicle to bring them approximately 100 yards.  And yet that was once the norm in Major League Baseball, where that quaintest of innovations, the bullpen buggy (or car, or cart, or motorcycle), held sway for nearly half a century.

White Sox sitting pretty with Garland, Contreras as trade bait  —  The stove isn't hot yet.  As a matter of fact, it hasn't even been turned on.  —  That will soon change.  Not long after the Cleveland Indians finish cooling off the Colorado Rockies and celebrate their first World Series …

Ryan Braun's Defense  —  I've made several snide remarks about Ryan Braun's third base defense in recent weeks, most recently in my review of the 50 most valuable players in baseball.  I don't have anything against Ryan Braun; it would be hard for someone with the last name Silver to root against the Hebrew Hammer.

Offseason Plans, AL West  —  This is the third of a six-part preview of the impending offseason.  Today, we cover the AL West, because it's kind enough to have only four teams, none of whom remain in the playoffs.  —  Part I: AL Central  —  Part II: NL Central  —  2007 Record: 94-68, first place

It's still early in the offseason.....  I click on this blog and the drool pours out of my monitor as I read all these cries for information.  I understand that Twins Nation is hungry for news, but there's nothing earth-shattering going on right now.  But there are a few tidbits....