Cool-hand Hamels joins elite company with Game 1 win  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Phillies talk about how calm Cole Hamels is.  They talk about how relaxed he is, even on the days he pitches.  —  “Cole never changes,” Scott Eyre said Wednesday night.  —  And this month …

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 …

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.

How Bad It Was For Beckett  —  Josh Beckett wanted to keep it a mystery.  —  “It's the same thing I kept telling the coaching staff, the training staff,” said the Red Sox starter following his team's elimination from the American League Championship Series, “I just said, ‘Terrific.’ It was what it was.”

YANKS' PLANS MAY INCLUDE CAMERON  —  ST. PETERSBURG - General manager Brian Cashman refused to confirm or deny that Mike Cameron is high on the Yankees' list of free-agent signings if the veteran outfielder becomes a free agent.  —  According to an industry source, the Yankees are waiting …

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 …

Tampa Bay Shortstop Jason Bartlett Steals Millions of Free Tacos  —  Taco Bell(R)'s “Steal A Base, Steal A Taco” World Series(R) Offer Sealed in 5th Inning During Game 1 of 2008 World Series(R)  —  Hey America, are you ready for some free tacos?  Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Jason Bartlett stole free tacos …

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.

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 …

Madden: Met hate helped Phils  —  ST. PETERSBURG - It took a half-dozen under-the-radar player moves by Pat Gillick to produce the first Phillies World Series team since 1993, and the Phillie GM characteristically passes off most of the credit to his scouts and assistants.

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...

Momentum?  Shmomentum!  —  Background  —  Joe Sheehan was allowing the possibility that chemistry exists (it does, so no reason to pretend it doesn't) and that he may have found it.  Did he?  Chemistry and momentum are two of those things that people will point to after something good has happened …