Thursday's first pitch

Leading Off
So the Bobby Cox situation has come to a conclusion.
The gruff manager will not be fired, as some have hinted at.
Instead, he will retire at the end of the 2010 season.
While we've never been a fan of Cox because of some off-field incidents, we think he's a very good manager.
But more importantly, someone with his legacy should never be forced out. He should be able to go out on his own.
After all, he did win a World Series, take the Braves to the World Series five times, and reach the playoffs 14 straight seasons.

Regional Roundup
Not a good day for the region.

• The bad news: Brad Lidge blew yet another save. But Ryan Madson shares some of the blame. The worse news: No one knows how long Carlos Ruiz will be sidelined.


• No, we didn't know the O's could sink this low either. Nolan Reimold had successful surgery.


• The Nationals avoided the century mark.


• The Pirates are working their way toward 100 losses.

Best of Rest
A quick rundown of the remaining pennant races, if you want to call them that, shows not much has changed.

• The Twins kept pace with Detroit. Speaking off ....


• ... the Tigers, they also won. So for the Twins to actually catch up, the Tigers need to lose. And they aren't willing to oblige.


• A similar thing happened in the other AL "playoff race." The Rangers won, and are technically still alive, but ...


• Boston pushed forward as well, with the help of a late David Ortiz home run.


• The NL Wild Card race tightened up a bit with the Giants winning behind Jonathan Sanchez.


• However, the Rockies are trying to settle their playoff rotation. With just 10 games left, they feel pretty secure.


• The Cardinals came close to clinching, but didn't pull it off.


• Ian Kennedy was the Yankees hero for a day.


• Ken Macha's job is safe.

Batter's Eye

• According to The Onion, Laz Diaz is not about to be fooled. That being said, Ed Rapuano admits he only ejects managers with bad breath.
  "That's Bobby Cox' problem. He eats chili dogs before the game. And I bet he hasn't brushed his teeth since 1991."

Today in history
1940 -- Jimmie Foxx of the Red Sox hit his 500th career home run off Philadelphia's George Caster in the first game of a doubleheader at Shibe Park. Foxx's homer came in the sixth inning after Ted Williams homered. Joe Cronin followed with a homer and, later in the inning, Jim Tabor also homered. The four homers in the inning were a first in the AL

1998 -- Boston's Tom Gordon set a major league record for most consecutive saves with his 42nd to preserve the Red Sox' 9-6 win over the Baltimore Orioles.

The Closer

David Ortiz got a lot of flack at the beginning of the season.
Most of it was deserved.
However, if we're going to be honest, we have to realize Big Papi has had a solid season. He will eclipse the 90-RBI barrier and already has 25 home runs.
Most clubs would want that from their DH/first baseman.
Few get those numbers.
The problem is Ortiz is paid way too much for that production.
But is it Ortiz' problem?
No, that was the Red Sox fault.
One has to wonder how many teams are going to regret signing players with bloated numbers in the next few years.