A friend at work asked me yesterday if any manager had been fired after a season as successful as the one Grady Little just enjoyed. The answer, of course, is yes. But what has happened, historically, after playoff teams have gone in a different managerial direction?

It hasn't always been a cure-all. Since 1901, twenty-two teams have started a season with a new manager, fresh off a playoff berth (Boston will be the 23rd). Of the 22, thirteen missed the playoffs the next season and nine returned. Since the advent of the Wild Card, four of the seven have missed the playoffs.

But three managers have stepped in and immediately led an inherited playoff team to a championship: Ralph Houk (NYY '61), Alvin Dark (Oak '74) and of course, Joe Torre (NYY '96).

A little CanCon over at Baseball America today. First of all, the newest off-season Prospect Hot Sheet positions Syracuse and Team USA outfielder Gabe Gross at #6, with this commentary:

In case you missed him, Gabe Gross is back; he ripped 39 doubles and drew 83 walks between Double-A New Haven and Triple-A Syracuse this season, then added a .343 average and .686 slugging during Team USA play in the AFL.

The PHS isn't so much a ranking of actual prospect status as it is a "Who's Hot, Who's Not" list of minor leaguers. That list would not include Russ Adams right now, who struggled with a .179/.289/.256 line for the Javelinas of the AFL. Mind you, this is in 39 at-bats, which is as useful a sample size as the Sheila Copps Leadership Committee.

Also at BA, the Montreal (for now) Expos' top ten prospects receive the Post-Season Wrap-Up treatment. We're going to be adding more Expos content in the near future, so this is a nice introduction to their system.

Today's BBLVPA awards are the Rookie Hype of the Year awards, intended to go to the rookie in each league whose performance is the most disappointing compared to his pre-season or in-season hype.

He couldn't stay away...

Frank Catalanotto has re-signed with the Blue Jays, a one-year contract worth $2.3 million. This is according to The Globe & Mail. Thanks to Steve Z for the tip!

OK, so you believe you know exactly what move(s) every GM in baseball should make in order to be next year's version of the '03 Marlins or '02 Angels.

Now's your chance to prove it with Da Box's One Move Challenge. Read on, make a move, mock the moves of others ... play along.

A former Jay in Beantown? A Hall of Famer headed to Wrigley? A salary dump DeepInTheHearta? You betcha. It's all in the magic of the Hot Stove's ONE MOVE.

Continuing the BBLVPAs after an unfortunate delay, today we are proud to bring you the Allan Travers Awards. As we said in the opener, if you don't know why these awards (the BBLVPA version of the Cy Young Awards), a glance at the entries for Al Travers on Baseball-Reference or the Baseball Library should clue you in.

Thanks to R Billie for alerting us in another thread. Kelvim Escobar is among 35 players who wasted no time filing for free agency. This doesn't mean he's gone -- yet -- because he can still negotiate with the Jays, along with every other club. But it suggests that the "fair" offer J.P. currently has on the table isn't going to be enough to keep Escobar in Toronto.

Teams must offer salary arbitration by December 7, or they lose the right to negotiate with their former player until May 1. Players must respond by December 19. If they accept, the arbitration process is binding. If they decline, there's a window (until January 8) during which they can still work something out with their current club. From ESPN.com, here's the complete list of 230 players eligible to file over the next two weeks.

The good folks at Rotohelp are running a series of post-2003 prospect reports on the major- and minor-league fortunes of each ballclub. Yesterday's edition concerned the Blue Jays, but it was rather disappointingly brief and, if I may say so, shallow: not much insight into the players closest to the majors and nothing at all on the prospects in the lower minors. Rotohelp spends more time on some franchises than on others, and it looks like the Blue Jays lost out this year. But I pass it on for your reading interest anyway. This is the first of what should be a number of such organizational overviews that will issue forth this off-season: the ones from Baseball America and ESPN will be the best of them until BP 2004 arrives and the Baseball Primates produce their excellent pre-season analyses.

That was seemingly all it took to cost Grady Little his job today, although it's questionable whether Little would have returned next year had he been asked. Not too many guys get fired after delivering 93 and 95 wins their only two seasons on the job. Never mind the White Sox; wouldn't Cito Gaston be a strong, commanding presence for the Red Sox position? I'd worry that an untested field boss like Glenn Hoffman would be simply overwhelmed by the forces inside the Boston clubhouse. Anyway, that's one manager down, more to come no doubt. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in the Bronx next.

According to a story at thestar.com, the Jays have re-signed Greg Myers to a one-year deal worth $900,000.

Terrific news, and I'm going for a drink in the middle of the afternoon to celebrate.

Those lovable Fish are on top of the baseball world. They are as unlikely as the Angels last year, maybe more so: built on speed instead of walks and homers, managed by someone old enough to be my dad.

The Baseball America list of minor league free agents has been mentioned elsewhere, but deserves its own thread.

Last year, the Jays were very active shoppers in this bargain bin, trying to fill their fourth outfielder spot and improve their pitching depth. It was a quantity approach, but it produced some quality, as Josh Towers and Trever Miller turned out to be pleasant surprises. This winter, I don't expect as much activity, as there are fewer holes to fill in AAA and on the big club; the organization may even "lose" a familiar name or two. I'm sure the Jays will target a couple of players who have the potential to help in Syracuse, and will compete for jobs in Dunedin.

Rest assured that Keith Law, Tony LaCava and the pro scouts are way ahead of us; they knew who was likely to be on this list long before it was published. J.P.'s reputation for giving free agents a legitimate shot may pay dividends; guys who have interest from more than one team might choose Toronto as their best chance.

Maybe the last game of the year. Maybe not.

Josh Beckett tries to duplicate his 10-K 3-hitter and Andy Pettitte just missed a shutout in Game 2. I think both will be tested, and it will be decided by the bullpens, which means Rivera.

Tonight may be the last Blue Jay A Day Pre-Pre-Game Show, and Mike Wilner has a very special guest -- general manager J.P. Ricciardi. You can listen live to The FAN 590 online, and J.P. will be taking your calls right after the 7:00 update. As always, it's 416-870-0590 if you live in Toronto and 1-888-666-0590 for the less fortunate.

I won't be on the air tonight; I don't want to wear out my welcome. But you are reminded that Rob Pizzo, who produces the show, invited Batter's Box readers to identify themselves as part of the ZLC when calling in, and hinted at preferential treatment. That's because Rob and Mike know you guys are astute, passionate fans who will ask great questions.

The unorthodox Jack McKeon has done everything right so far in 2003, turning around the Marlins and guiding them to the brink of a championship. Tonight, he risks it all by sending his ace, Josh Beckett, to the mound on three days' rest.

The 23-year-old missed most of May and all of June with elbow problems, and has never started on short rest in his big league career. Though Beckett’s four-inning relief appearance against the Cubs was courageous, it was hardly awesome. The first four batters he faced hit the ball very hard; three to the warning track and one right at an outfielder. In his third inning of work, he got two more long outs and surrendered a home run to Troy O’Leary. There's no telling how effective he'll be tonight, or how long he'll last.

If this hunch works out, McKeon will be hailed as a genius. If it doesn't, he's painted himself into an uncomfortable Game 7 corner, with Carl Pavano, also on short rest, facing Mike Mussina. To me, it's like a boxer ahead on points in the late rounds trying to land a haymaker but leaving himself wide open for a knockout counter-punch. In other words, unnecessary and ill-advised.