With the Brewers expected to reach 2 million in attendance for just the third time in team history, team executives are saying payroll will increase in 2005.
Ben Sheets, making $2.4 million this season, is due for a hefty raise in arbitration. GM Doug Melvin probably won't be able to sign a $10 million-per-year player, but the extra money could give him flexibility to sign a player to back-loaded multiyear contract. In addition to the free-agent list, he plans to look for players on whom other teams want to give up, possibly picking up some salary in the process.
The New York Daily News reports that Mets owner Fred Wilpon was persuaded to fire manager Art Howe during a summit of team brass Friday.
Wilpon, reluctant to eat the $4.7 million owed to Howe through 2006, had been the lone supporter of Howe as front office officials pushed for his dismissal. But after losing 19 of 21 games, nothing could save Howe. The Mets are believed to want Lou Piniella, but he may not be available. Larry Bowa is another possible candidate, but more as a bench coach than a manager.
Brad Penny and Hee Seop Choi, acquired as part of a deal designed to make the Dodgers sturdier for the playoffs, may both be left off the postseason roster.
Manager Jim Tracy said the Dodgers would not consider using Penny as a reliever in the playoffs, so he has three weeks to convince them he can return as a starter -- not likely. He'll throw batting practice Tuesday, but "If he has any kind of setback, that's when the plug is pulled," Tracy said. As for Choi, he hasn't played in eight days and is 0-for-21 in his career as a pinch-hitter. The Dodgers have plenty of backup first basemen, so his absence from the playoff roster is a near certainty.
Ben Sheets, making $2.4 million this season, is due for a hefty raise in arbitration. GM Doug Melvin probably won't be able to sign a $10 million-per-year player, but the extra money could give him flexibility to sign a player to back-loaded multiyear contract. In addition to the free-agent list, he plans to look for players on whom other teams want to give up, possibly picking up some salary in the process.
The New York Daily News reports that Mets owner Fred Wilpon was persuaded to fire manager Art Howe during a summit of team brass Friday.
Wilpon, reluctant to eat the $4.7 million owed to Howe through 2006, had been the lone supporter of Howe as front office officials pushed for his dismissal. But after losing 19 of 21 games, nothing could save Howe. The Mets are believed to want Lou Piniella, but he may not be available. Larry Bowa is another possible candidate, but more as a bench coach than a manager.
Brad Penny and Hee Seop Choi, acquired as part of a deal designed to make the Dodgers sturdier for the playoffs, may both be left off the postseason roster.
Manager Jim Tracy said the Dodgers would not consider using Penny as a reliever in the playoffs, so he has three weeks to convince them he can return as a starter -- not likely. He'll throw batting practice Tuesday, but "If he has any kind of setback, that's when the plug is pulled," Tracy said. As for Choi, he hasn't played in eight days and is 0-for-21 in his career as a pinch-hitter. The Dodgers have plenty of backup first basemen, so his absence from the playoff roster is a near certainty.
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