Phillies begin Series quest with victory  —  Backed by Utley's blast, Hamels tosses seven strong innings  —  ST. PETERSBURG — Enduring deafening cowbell sounds clanging off Tropicana Field's walls Wednesday night, the Phillies still managed to hear echoes of 1980.

Lowrie played through wrist injury  —  Red Sox infielder Jed Lowrie played since May with a sprain and a small non-displaced fracture in his left wrist, aliments that worsened as the season wore on, general manager Theo Epstein said in an e-mail.  The minor injuries were revealed Tuesday when Lowrie underwent an MRI.

Welcome To The Zduriencik Era  —  The M's have chosen Jack Zduriencik as their new GM.  Despite the fact that he's the oldest of the candidates interviewed and comes with a scouting background, do not assume that this is just more of the same.  Zduriencik has been the best regarded scouting director …

PADRES: Cooling off period for Peavy talks  —  The World Series arrived Wednesday, just in time to give Jake Peavy and the Padres a breather from two-plus weeks of trade chatter.  —  With teams barred from making personnel announcements during the Fall Classic, general manager Kevin Towers …

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...

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 …

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.

Strawberry cautions Chamberlain: Don't be like me  —  Darryl Strawberry has a message for Joba Chamberlain: Stop now.  Don't be like me.  —  Shortly after learning about Chamberlain's alleged DUI early Saturday morning, Strawberry said he called Yankees executive Ray Negron and asked him to pass along some words to Chamberlain.

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.

Injuries a problem in Fall League  —  Jeffress, Green, Gartrell all go down in battle of Peoria  —  PEORIA, Ariz. — Milwaukee Brewers trainer Tommy Craig was the hardest-working man in town on Tuesday.  —  In the Arizona Fall League battle of Peoria teams, three players left …

Former Cubs GM Green sympathizes with Piniella, not his old team  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - In the fall of 1981, only one year after managing Philadelphia to its only World Series championship, Dallas Green arrived in Chicago with a mission to change the culture of Cubs baseball and move the organization into the 20th Century.