World Series Analysis Game 1: Phillies at Rays  —  Welcome to the first Daily News World Series blog/analysis, where we hope to answer burning baseball questions such as whether the Phillies are sunk if they don't win when their ace, Cole Hamels, starts tonight.  —  The answer to that one, dear readers, is yes.

Jack Zduriencik named Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations for the Seattle Mariners  —  SEATTLE — Seattle Mariners CEO Howard Lincoln and President Chuck Armstrong announced today that Jack Zduriencik has been named the Mariners new Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations.

Schilling blasts Manny  —  Curt Schilling's latest entry on his blog, 38pitches.com, was very, very interesting.  It has been removed from 38pitches.com (unsurprisingly), but the text still comes through on my RSS reader.  I have quoted a few relevant excerpts...

PEAVY MAY BE HEADED TO ATLANTA  —  ST. PETERSBURG - The Jake Peavy sweepstakes will proceed concurrently with the World Series, and the expectation of major league executives polled over the past two days is that the Braves are going to end up with the Padre right-hander.

Dodgers eyeing shorter Manny offer … ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Dodgers appear willing to meet or come close to superstar free agent Manny Ramirez's annual salary target but are strongly disinclined from acceding to his wish for a deal of five or six years, people familiar with the club's thinking tell SI.com.

The Man Behind the MLB Logo  —  Jerry Dior Designed the Oft-Imitated Silhouette  —  Every night when Jerry Dior sits down to watch the baseball playoffs in his Edison, N.J., home, the television reflects his life's most enduring handiwork.  —  Forty years ago, Mr. Dior worked as a graphic designer …

MLB: New park for AL champion Rays a must have  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Even before Tropicana Field hosted its first World Series game, Major League Baseball insisted the Tampa Bay Rays must get a new stadium.  —  “I think they need a new ballpark here.  Absolutely,” said Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer.

Cubs may help open new Yankee Stadium  —  Will Lou Piniella be managing the Cubs in the first game in the new Yankee Stadium?  —  Piniella indeed may be returning to the Bronx, as the Associated Press is reporting the Cubs and Yankees are in negotiations for either one or two exhibition games at the $1.6 billion ballpark in April.

Mets likely to retain Johnson, Warthen  —  Pitching, hitting coaches were praised for work in 2008 season  —  NEW YORK — Changes to the coaching staff of Mets manager Jerry Manuel remain a possibility.  Those revisions, though, apparently will affect the status of neither Dan Warthen nor Howard Johnson.

Moore hired by Rangers  —  Former Astros bench coach headed for Arlington  —  Jackie Moore, who spent eight years as a coach in the Astros' Minor League system before serving as bench coach for Houston in '08, has been hired by the Texas Rangers to be their bench coach.