Opinion

The Mets have a lot to work on this coming off season, and like most winters, transactions should be a constant priority.

Here is my list of what I think are the most pressing items for management to consider:

1)  Do not issue long term, high dollar contracts to any player.  In this time of financial difficulty, no player is worth acquiring if that goes with the demand of being locked in for a long term deal.

Things can hardly seem to go right for the Minnesota Twins lately. For every win over Roy Halladay, there’s a near sweep at the hands of the punchless A’s. Often, when things finally seem to be headed in the right direction, the Twins either find themselves no better for their effort because the Tigers, too, have improved, or soon find their good fortunes have faded away.

So it was on Monday.

I look forward to a potential American League Championship Series matchup with the Angels in the same way I anticipate turning 40 and having my wife tell me I need a fully invasive prostate exam.

To clarify, I dread the future worse than Chris Russo.

The Yankees beat the Angels at their own game on Monday in the Bronx, manufacturing the go-ahead run thanks to the infinitely valuable Brett Gardner and a helping hand from Chone Figgins, who was more skittish at third than Tom Brady in the pocket against the Bills.

Last Monday, the Tigers enjoyed a well-deserved Labor Day like many of us: They enjoyed a day off.

They had just swept the defending American League champion Tampa Bay Rays for their sixth consecutive victory. The bullpen had performed terrific, while the Tigers batters found timely hitting and pushed the runners home whenever they were in scoring position.

Detroit led the AL Central Division by seven games, and the big question for the manager was how to squeeze six starting pitchers into five rotation spots.

Where's the do-over button when you need it?

With his most recent bad starting pitching performance, AJ Burnett has proceeded to scare the bejesus out of New York Yankee fans across the country.

It is a relief that NFL football started yesterday (Sunday the 13th) because instead of Jets and Giants football talk over the radio and TV airwaves, it would have been more of the up and down, Jekyll and Hyde AJ Burnett talk.

Let's get the obvious and painful truths out of the way.

The Twins have been five-and-a-half games back and hovering at .500 for what seems like all season. They haven't gotten into striking distance of division-leading Detroit and probably don't deserve to be playing in October.

But one fact that many Twins analysts, fans and especially the Tigers need to fear is that they're still in it.

I expect the Tigers to name their Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Year soon. In my mind, the Pitcher of the Year is a slam dunk for Casey Crosby. He had a dominant season that saw him do well whether you go with traditional stats or dig deeper into the stats we use to determine whether a player has potential.

The traditional stats are what win players these awards, though, and a 10-4 record with a 2.41 ERA should be enough to get him the award. Throw in 117 strikeouts in 104.2 innings and an opponent's batting average of just .195 and you write this one in ink. 

Chad Jennings provides us with some interesting and unexpected news:

The San Diego Padres were left for dead in late July, but since the All-Star break, this team has shown that they could be a definite factor next season.

There is finally a hint of promise in San Diego and it's not because the San Diego Chargers are about to kick off their 2009 season tonight against Oakland.

Ten years ago it was a dream season for Ivan Rodriguez.

1999 will never be erased from his memory.

His team, the Texas Rangers, won the American League West Division pennant, while individually, he won the American League Most Valuable Player Award.