Texas' Washington: Feliz wasn't mentally ready

Ben and Skin catch up with Rangers skipper Ron Washington and get his thoughts on losing the World Series, the leaked clubhouse tape and how the team will move on should they lose C.J. Wilson to free agency. More Podcasts " "We'll just say that he was really upset and his state of mind at the time wasn't where we felt like he could go out there and get it done," Washington told the Ben and Skin Show on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM. "And the lineup set up perfectly for Darren Oliver, and he didn't get it done. "So it wasn't like we didn't get it done because Neftali didn't go back out there. I still feel like that lineup set up perfectly for who we put out there and the job just didn't get done. The end result is we just didn't get it done." After taking a two-run lead in the 10th inning, the Rangers again were just one strike from winning the World Series. Instead, the Cardinals tied it again off Oliver before eventually winning the game in the 11th to force a deciding Game 7.

Stark: Exploring the market for Pujols and Fielder

• How about this for an international incident waiting to happen: Manny Ramirez in Japan? A source with ties to Japanese baseball tells Rumblings that Manny had a Florida tryout for a Japanese team (the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks) a couple of weeks ago, but "it didn't go well." And what was the hang-up? "The Japanese don't like 'baggage' in a player," the source said, "no matter how talented he might be." Wait. Manny has baggage? Never noticed. • If this labor deal ever gets done, the schedule is about to undergo a dramatic change. We'll be heading for 15 teams in each league, five teams in each of the six divisions and an interleague game every day. But the biggest change could be nearly TWICE as many interleague games, because every team in a division would play exactly the same schedule. Here's the new format we've heard is on the drawing board: Eighteen games against each of the other four teams in your division; six games against each of the other 10 teams in your league; three interleague games against each of the five teams in the corresponding division in the other league (i.e., AL East versus NL East); three more interleague games against each team in one of the other two divisions (i.e., AL East versus NL Central one year, NL West the next). three interleague games against two divisions in the other league Add that up and you get 72 intra-division games, 60 more intra-league games and 30 interleague games a year -- up from the current 15 to 18 interleague games a year. The other net result of that change: Only three "rivalry" games (Mets-Yankees, Cubs-White Sox, etc.) every season instead of six. • Despite all the predictions we've heard that Fielder could eventually wind up in Washington, teams that have spoken with the Nationals report they seem much more focused on finding A) a veteran starting pitcher and B) a center fielder who could lead off. Their center-field expedition could take them in all kinds of directions. But on the pitching front, one exec who spoke with them says he believes that in a perfect world, they'd prefer Mark Buehrle over either C.J. Wilson or Roy Oswalt, the two starters they've been most linked to on the rumor mill. They're not expected to make a big push on Yu Darvish. • And while we're on the subject of Darvish, the longer he waits to announce he's ready to come to America, the more some teams are beginning to wonder if he's heading this way at all. He still hasn't been posted by his team in Japan, remember. And even that posting just launches a bidding duel among U.S. teams, which is followed by a negotiating period with the player. So even if he's posted tomorrow, interested teams wouldn't know their fate until at least late December. "We're already into free agency," one AL executive said. "So when is he going to post? If he waits much longer, by the time he's ready to negotiate, teams won't have any money to spend." • The Marlins may not have officially announced which free-agent position player ranks No. 1 on their shopping list, but they've already made it fairly clear. Their owner (Jeffrey Loria), president (David Samson) and president for baseball operations (Larry Beinfest) were spotted in a New York hotel bar, meeting with Jose Reyes and his agents just after midnight last Thursday, minutes after the free-agent negotiating period had begun. Any more questions? • Michael Cuddyer isn't the only longtime Twins player the Phillies are pursuing. We're hearing they're also in on Jason Kubel. They've also checked in on Grady Sizemore, but sounds as if they're mostly kicking tires at this point. • One friend of Jimmy Rollins tells Rumblings he has more than a half-dozen teams interested in him. An educated guess on five of them: Phillies, Cardinals, Brewers, Braves and Giants. Jurrjens • Teams that have spoken with the Braves report they're continuing to "float" Jair Jurrjens' name, even after their potential deal to send him to Kansas City fell through. "They're not really pushing him. They're floating him," said an executive of one team that spoke with them. "The impression we got is they've got to unload money. They want to get a bat, and the only way to do it is to unload money. The one guy they'd move, no problem, is Martin Prado. He seems like he's fallen from grace over there." • Speaking of Kansas City, teams that have been in touch with the Royals say they're no longer looking to make a deal for a potential top-of-the-rotation starter, now that they've traded for Jonathan Sanchez. At this point, the Royals prefer to hang onto their prospects and fish for back-of-the-rotation options in the free-agent pool. One potential option if they can't re-sign Bruce Chen: Chris Capuano.

Bowden: Pricing the top free agents

Albert Pujols 1B 31 9 $243M $27M Analysis: Pujols is the Babe Ruth of this era. Don't be surprised if a team such as the Washington Nationals makes a stealth offer of 10 years at $300 million, but I still think he will return to the Cardinals for less. Agent Dan Lozano's goal is to surpass Alex Rodriguez 's 10-year, $275 million extension signed back in 2008 with the New York Yankees. However, with the Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies not expected to bid, this seems unlikely. Best fits: St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs For a full breakdown of how much former MLB GM Jim Bowden would pay for the top free agents, become an ESPN Insider. Already an Insider? Sign in below: Username Password Sign In with Facebook ESPN The Magazine subscribers Activate your Insider account " Need more information? View Insider Benefits " ... or become an today 1 Year Membership - $3.33 a month Includes a 1 YEAR subscription to ESPN The Magazine - Over 50% off the monthly price! 2 Year Membership - $2.50 a month (Best Value) Includes a 2 YEAR subscription to ESPN The Magazine - Over 63% off the monthly price! Monthly Membership - $6.95 a month Offseason Buyer's Guide Prince Fielder headlines the 2011 free agent class, but who are the other players who could be changing teams this winter? Rankings Nov. 3: Law: Top 50 free agents | Tracker Nov. 4: Bowden: Projected value rankings Reaction Oct. 31: Law: Lowe can help Tribe Oct. 31: Bowden: Yankees had to pay Sabathia Buyer's Guide Nov. 4: Buyers Guide: First basemen/DH Nov. 7: Buyers Guide: Middle infielders Nov. 8: Buyers Guide: Outfielders Nov. 9: Buyers Guide: Third basemen Nov. 10: Buyers Guide: Starting Pitchers Nov. 11: Buyers Guide: Relief Pitchers Nov. 12: Buyers Guide: Catchers Features Oct. 30: Perry: Five biggest holes Oct. 31: Cameron: Five must moves Nov. 1: Meyers: Beware of C.J Wilson Nov. 2: Goldstein: Winter League solutions Nov. 4: Olney: Strong maket for Buehrle Nov. 7: Jedlovec: Finding hidden value FAs Nov. 8: Szymborski: Shopping in the $0.99 bin Nov. 10: Fangraphs: Coming from Japan

Cubs' Epstein: Francona a top skipper option

ESPN MLB Insider Tim Kurkjian says the Cardinals should look at Terry Francona to fill their managerial opening. Plus, Kurkjian says he hopes Bobby Valentine will be interviewed for openings in Boston and Chicago. More Podcasts " Epstein's list of managerial candidates understandably has some overlap with Boston's process. The Red Sox have also been granted permission to interview Maddux, the older brother of former Cubs and Braves great Greg Maddux. "Mike is in a key role for us and has had a prominent hand in our success the past few years," Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said on Thursday. "But this is a unique opportunity to discuss a coveted position with two storied franchises, and we believe in allowing our people to pursue opportunities that they're interested in. It reflects well both on Mike and our organization that he's under consideration."

Yanks, Sabathia reach five-year, $122M deal

ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney says Tony La Russa is the best manager of his generation. Plus, Olney says Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia wasn't going to get a better offer anywhere else besides New York. More Podcasts " The two sides never met face to face, but an offer was "transmitted" Friday to Peters that was "close" to the final deal. Peters, who flew to New York this week and stayed at Sabathias's home in North Jersey, came back with a counteroffer and "a lot of ground was covered between 5 and 6 p.m. on Monday," a source told ESPNNewYork.com's Wallace Matthews. According to the source, the Yankees were "surprised" that Sabathia chose not to opt out, but added, "I think there were other teams that might have matched the $92 million the Yankees owed Sabathia on existing contract, but I don't think there were many that would have guaranteed him $122 million." In 2008, Sabathia's $161 million deal to join the Yankees was the largest ever for a starter. However, the Philadelphia Phillies gave Cliff Lee an average annual salary of $24 million for five seasons. On his original contract, Sabathia's average salary was $23 million per season. The Yankees originally put in the opt-out clause to give Sabathia an escape hatch in case he did not like the Bronx. At the time, there was a strong feeling throughout the industry that Sabathia wanted to play in his home state of California. A native of the San Francisco Bay area, Sabathia and his wife, Amber, often have spoken of their affection for New York City and their desire to remain here. This past spring training, however, he hedged on that pledge, then declined to answer questions about it throughout the season. Monday night, Sabathia said the key for him was his family "and making sure everything was kosher with them" with living in the New York area. Then he learned what it was like pitching in the $1.5 billion new Yankee Stadium. "The energy, what you get coming out the bullpen, the fans," he said. "Everything it is it is to be pitching in New York, in the Bronx. It's just so much fun. To be part of this organization is just a dream for me." If Sabathia had opted for free agency, he clearly would have been the top starting pitcher on the market. After Sabathia, the Rangers' C.J. Wilson, Japanese standout Yu Darvish, Chicago White Sox's Mark Buehrle and the Phillies' Roy Oswalt are some of the other top free-agent starters. A team first will have to win the posting to Darvish's Japanese team before it can negotiate with the right-hander. Sabathia went 19-8 for the Yankees in 2011 and has won 59 games for them in three seasons, including 21 in 2010. But his effectiveness diminished in the second half of this past season and he was unable to win a ballgame in the ALDS, which the Yankees lost in five games to the Detroit Tigers. Still, it was imperative for the Yankees that Sabathia return to their rotation, because they have only two other established starters, Ivan Nova and A.J. Burnett, in the fold for 2012, and only one -- Nova -- is considered reliable. Sabathia, the 2007 Cy Young Award winner as a member of the Cleveland Indians, has thrown an average of 240 innings in each of his past five seasons and has one of the most durable arms in baseball. Sabathia entered spring training this year looking much trimmer -- which he attributed in part to cutting down on Cap'n Crunch -- but by the end of the season appeared heavier, and his conditioning was questioned. Sabathia had offseason knee surgery last year, but has not been hurt in the regular season as a Yankee. Sabathia said he plans on losing weight. "It's something I do regardless, and be proactive," he said. "I just need to go out and be healthy and try to do what I can to be up there for every start for this team. For me, that means losing weight, so that's what I'll do." Sabathia's first three years, in the words of manager Joe Girardi, have been "spectacular." He and the Yankees wanted them to continue -- and now they will. Information from ESPNNewYork.com's Andrew Marchand and Wallace Matthews and The Associated Press was used in this report.

Cards complete improbable run, win 11th Series

ST. LOUIS -- Albert Pujols thrust both arms high in the air, even before he reached home plate.It was only the first inning, and already it felt as if the St. Louis Cardinals were home free. Because after they had overcome so much just to get this far, what could stop them? The Cardinals won a remarkable World Series they weren't even supposed to reach, beating the Texas Rangers 6-2 in Game 7 on Friday night with another key hit by hometown star David Freese and six gutty innings from Chris Carpenter.Pushed to the brink, the Cardinals kept saving themselves. A frantic rush to reach the postseason on the final day. A nifty pair of comebacks in the playoffs. Two desperate rallies in Game 6."This whole ride, this team deserves this," said Freese, who added the Series MVP award to his trophy as the NL championship MVP.A day after an epic game that saw them twice within one strike of elimination before winning 10-9 in 11 innings, the Cardinals captured their 11th World Series crown."It's hard to explain how this happened," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said.Following a whole fall on the edge, including a surge from 10½ games down in the wild-card race, La Russa's team didn't dare mess with Texas, or any more drama in baseball's first World Series Game 7 since the Angels beat Giants in 2002. Freese's two-run double tied it in the first, with Pujols celebrating as he scored. Good-luck charm Allen Craig hit a go-ahead homer in the third.Given a chance to pitch by a Game 6 rainout and picked by La Russa earlier in the day to start on three days' rest, Carpenter and the tireless St. Louis bullpen closed it out.No Rally Squirrel needed on this night, either. Fireworks and confetti rang out at Busch Stadium when Jason Motte retired David Murphy on a fly ball to end it. "We just kept playing," Cardinals star Lance Berkman said.Said La Russa: "If you watch the history of baseball, teams come back."The Rangers, meanwhile, will spend the whole winter wondering how it all got away. Texas might dwell on it forever, in fact, or at least until Nolan Ryan & Co. can reverse a World Series slide that started with last year's five-game wipeout against San Francisco. "We were close. Two times. Game 6. That's it," Texas pitcher Colby Lewis said.Ryan left tightlipped. When a reporter tried to ask the Rangers president and part-owner a question, someone in his entourage said: "He's not talking."Texas had not lost consecutive games since August. These two defeats at Busch Stadium cost manager Ron Washington and the Rangers a chance to win their first title in the franchise's 51-year history.Instead, Texas became the first team to lose the Series two straight years since Atlanta in 1991-92. "Sometimes when opportunity is in your presence, you certainly can't let it get away because sometimes it takes a while before it comes back," Washington said. "If there's one thing that happened in this World Series that I'll look back on is being so close, just having one pitch to be made and one out to be gotten, and it could have been a different story."Added Texas third baseman Adrian Beltre: "We tried to come back today, but the momentum just took them."It's not a nice feeling, you know, being one strike away twice. I guess it's probably easier to lose four games in a row in a World Series, but being a strike away it's something that will be hard to forget." This marked the ninth straight time the home team had won Game 7 in the World Series. The wild-card Cardinals held that advantage over the AL West champions because the NL won the All-Star Game -- Texas could blame that on their own pitcher, C.J. Wilson, who took the loss in July.A year full of inspiring rallies and epic collapses was encapsulated in Game 6. Freese was the star, with a tying triple in the ninth and a winning home run in the 11th. His two RBIs in the clincher gave him a postseason record 21.The Cardinals won their first championship since 2006, and gave La Russa his third World Series title. They got there by beating Philadelphia in the first round of the NL playoffs, capped by Carpenter outdueling Roy Halladay 1-0 in the deciding Game 5, and then topping Milwaukee in the NL championship series."I think the last month of the season, that's where it started," Pujols said. "Different guys were coming huge, getting big hits, and we carried that into the postseason and here we are, world champions."By the time Yadier Molina drew a bases-loaded walk from starter Matt Harrison and Rafael Furcal was hit by a pitch from Wilson in relief, the crowd began to sense a championship was near.The Cardinals improved to 8-3 in Game 7s of the Series, more wins than any other club. Yet fans here know their history well, and were aware this game could go either way -- Dizzy Dean and the Gas House Gang won 11-0 in 1934, but Whitey Herzog and his Cardinals lost 11-0 in 1985.On this evening, all the stars aligned for St. Louis.Starting in place of injured Matt Holliday, Craig hit his third homer of the Series and made a leaping catch at the top of the left field wall. Molina made another strong throw to nail a stray runner. And Carpenter steeled himself to pitch into the seventh, every bit an ace."It was in our grasp and we didn't get it," Washington said, referring to Game 6. "Tonight we fought hard for it and the Cardinals got it."Pujols went 0 for 2, walked and was hit by a pitch in what could have been his last game with the Cardinals. Many think the soon-to-be free agent will remain in St. Louis. "You know what? I'm not even thinking about that. I'm thinking about, you know, we're the world champions and I'm going to celebrate and whenever that time comes, you know, then we'll deal with it," he said.Pujols did plenty of damage. His three-homer job in Game 3 was the signature performance of his career and perhaps the greatest hitting show in postseason history.Dismissed by some as a dull Series even before it began because it lacked the big-market glamour teams, it got better inning by inning. Plus, a postseason first: A bullpen telephone mixup played a prominent role."I told you it was going to be a great series, and it was," Texas slugger Josh Hamilton said."I don't care what other people remember. We fell a little bit short. Hats off to the Cards, they did a great job, especially last night. It was actually fun to watch and fun to see. You hate it but it happened."Craig hit a solo home run in the third, an opposite field fly to right that carried into the Cardinals bullpen and got their relievers dancing. The super-sub put St. Louis ahead 3-2 with his third homer of the Series. He was in the lineup only because Holliday sprained his right wrist on a pickoff play a night earlier and was replaced on the roster.By then, the largest crowd at 6-year-old Busch Stadium was buzzing. The fans seemed a bit drained much earlier, maybe worn out from the previous night.They grew hush in the first when Hamilton and Michael Young hit consecutive RBI doubles. Texas might have gotten more, but Ian Kinsler strayed too far off first base and was trapped by Molina's rocket throw.Freese changed the mood in a hurry as St. Louis tied it in the bottom half. Pujols and Lance Berkman drew two-out walks and pitching coach Mike Maddux trotted to the mound while Freese stepped in to a standing ovation.Freese rewarded his family and a ballpark full of new friends by lining a full-count floater to the wall in left center for a two-run double. Harrison was in trouble, and Wilson began warming up after only 23 pitches.Carpenter wasn't sharp at the outset, either. All over the strike zone, he started seven of the first 10 batters with balls. Pitching coach Dave Duncan made a visit in the second to check on the tall righty, lingering for a few extra words."I was hoping to have an opportunity to go ahead and pitch in that game and fortunately it worked out," Carpenter said. "It started off a little rough in the first. But I was able to collect myself, make some pitches and our guys did an awesome job to battle back. And I mean, it's just amazing."Game notes Texas set a Series record by walking 41 batters, one more than Florida in 1997. Of the 34 runs the Cardinals scored, 11 reached on walks and two more on hit batters. ... The crowd was 47,399. ... The Cardinals will play the first game of the 2012 season in North America, opening the Miami Marlins' new ballpark on April 4.

Lucchino viewing free agency with 'skepticism'

Boston's recent big-ticket free-agent signings have not worked out as planned. John Lackey's second year of a five-year, $82.5 million contract was a colossal disappointment (12-12, 6.41 ERA) and ended with him needing Tommy John surgery. And Carl Crawford's first season of a seven-year, $142 million deal was a major letdown, as well (.255 average, 11 homers, 56 RBIs).