Scioscia tops in AL for remarkable year  —  Led Angels beyond tragedy to record-setting season  —  ANAHEIM — The most emotionally challenging of his 10 seasons as leader of the Angels culminated in Mike Scioscia's selection on Wednesday as 2009 American League Manager of the Year by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

Cain and Rivas added to 40-man roster  —  By Anthony Witrado of the Journal Sentinel  —  The Brewers added outfielder Lorenzo Cain and right-hander Amaury Rivas to the 40-man roster today to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft that will take place at the winter meetings in December.

Cy of relief: CC happier with ring  —  CC Sabathia required two words to describe being a World Series winner rather than copping a second Cy Young award.  —  “Much happier,” the Yankees' ace lefty wrote in a text message yesterday after Kansas City's Zach Greinke was named this year's AL Cy Young winner.

Roy Halladay sweepstakes could be just another Yankees-Red Sox bout … The Yankees recently called the Blue Jays to express interest in superstar pitcher Roy Halladay.  And while the Yankees made the very same call last summer with no hope of acquiring Halladay, this time they have a real reason …

Video: Message to Fans from Wally Backman  —  The following is a video message to Mets fans from Wally Backman, new manager of the Class-A Brooklyn Cyclones:  —  To see video of Backman's press conference yesterday, go to SNY.TV.

Cincinnati Reds Top 10 Prospects  —  Cincinnati Reds … The Reds have been in rebuilding mode for a decade, even if they didn't always realize it.  —  Cincinnati hasn't finished with a winning record since 2000, though it's hard to pinpoint a time at which the club truly cashed in and planned for tomorrow.

Time in LA ‘disappointing’ for Schmidt  —  Righty's career likely finished despite free-agent filing  —  LOS ANGELES — Jason Schmidt filed for free agency last week, surprising a lot of people who thought he had already retired.  —  “Just leaving my options open,” he said.

Tom Yawkey, Race, and the Smoking Gun  —  On April 16, 1945 the Red Sox held their infamous tryout of Jackie Robinson.  For the next fourteen years - and for some years beyond it - the question of race during the tenure of Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey loomed over the Red Sox franchise as palpably as the Green Monster.

Marquis calls Mets ‘perfect fit’  —  Jeff Francoeur wasn't kidding when he told The Post this summer that free-agent right hander Jason Marquis badly wants to be a Met in 2010.  —  Marquis backed that up this week, telling The Post he considers the Mets “a perfect fit” …

Twins And Brewers On Washburn's Radar  —  Free agent lefty Jarrod Washburn hasn't made much of a secret of his desire to play near his Webster, Wisconsin home, and he told FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi that both the Twins and Brewers are on his radar.

Kennedy happy with progress in AFL  —  Yanks' righty credits Pettitte for improved two-seamer  —  Ian Kennedy can relate to a lot of Yankees fans.  He's watched veteran Andy Pettitte grind out innings and big wins in the Bronx for a few years and he's been taking plenty of notes.

Much gray area in defensive analysis  —  Trust the eyes or the numbers?  Defensive ratings still highly subjective  —  ESPN.com  —  Poor Matt Holliday.  He goes from Oakland to St. Louis in July and slugs .604 down the stretch to help the Cardinals make the playoffs.

A's unlikely to swim in free agent pool  —  In his most definitive comments to date about his offseason plans, A's GM Billy Beane on Tuesday — two days before the free-agency frenzy kicks off in earnest — suggested that whatever money is available to upgrade the team's talent might stay …