The Tampa Bay Rays have gotten cocky  —  You know, with the Cubs out of the playoffs - I was kinda leaning towards cheering for the Tampa Bay Rays the rest of the way.  And why not?  They've been a great story this season and it would just be another expansion team to make or win …

Torre's brother: What Yanks did to Joe ‘was not right’  —  PHILADELPHIA — Frank Torre, the 76-year-old brother of Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre, walked onto the field Thursday at Citizens Bank Park, and had one question:  —  “I wonder what the (New York) Yankees are thinking …

Manuel's mom dies; he'll manage Phils in Game 2  —  June Manuel, the mother of Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, died Friday morning, the Phillies announced.  —  Manuel, who watched batting practice from his usual spot behind the cage on Friday afternoon, will manage Game 2 …

Yanks interested in Peavy  —  Free agency isn't the Yankees' only route toward restocking their starting rotation.  —  If the Padres are rebuilding, then unanimous 2007 NL Cy Young award winnner Jake Peavy might ask to relocate.  And, in the right scenario, the 27-year-old right-hander could switch leagues.

Ray Knight, Mets remain apart  —  As unbelievable as the Mets' 1986 World Series title was, so is this: 22 years have passed and there's still an uneasy separation between the franchise and Ray Knight, the World Series MVP.  —  The relationship soured because of their failed negotiations …

Out of Left Field: The Errors In Counting Black Ballplayers  —  For 61 years, ever since Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color barrier and won the National League's Rookie of the Year Award in the same season, African-American players have starred in the majors.

AA Interview With Curtis Granderson  —  I don't know what it is, but I'm kind of anti website interviews.  Don't get me wrong, I think other sites do it well, but there just aren't enough people that I like to do them on a regular basis.  I've of course interviewed Gus Johnson …

Canseco ‘Detained’ at Mexican Border For Steroids  —  David Vassegh of KLAC-AM in Los Angeles reports today that Jose Canseco was recently detained at the U.S.-Mexico border near San Diego by Federal authorities for alleged possession of steroids.  —  Canseco will appear in Federal Court to address the charge on Tuesday.

As if the White Sox didn't have enough image problems ...  ... Ambiorix Burgos reports to jail in the Dominican Republic wearing not a cap of his team, the New York Mets, but of Chicago's South Side squad.  He'll have to wait in detention for three months while awaiting trial for allegedly killing …

WINSLOW HAS SWOLLEN, UM, PARTS?  —  A league source tells us that the talk among the Browns is that tight end Kellen Winslow landed in the Cleveland Clinic because his balls swelled to the size of grapefruits.  (We think that technical term is testiculus coconutus.)

Dallas Mavericks win, but baseball is the talk  —  CHICAGO — The Chicago Bulls opened their preseason Thursday night against the Dallas Mavericks so, of course, it was a perfect time to talk  ... baseball.  —  Cubs fans are still in mourning after their team was swept out of the playoffs …