No really, he did -- at an animal welfare charity concert thrown together by Cardinal skipper Tony La Russa. My favorite part of this interview (conducted by Chad Garrison, a John Stamos doppelganger and Damon's counterpart at the Riverfront Times, our St. Louis sister paper) -- aside from the final question and the line, "this year we got Air Supply, Bily Bob Thornton's band, and Tony Orlando" -- is the revelation that La Russa: (a) has attended more than one Grateful Dead show, and (b) was attracted to the band not because of Jerry, Bob, or Phil -- but because of Bruce Fucking Hornsby's presence on keys. I thought I'd heard it all; now I know I have.

No, we're not talking about Dave or Steve, we're talking about Rickey, MLB's all-time stolen base leader who swiped 31 in 92 games for the M's in 2000, a season which ended with a 4-2 series loss to the Yanks (whom Henderson also played for in his long career) in the ALCS. Former BoSox star Jim Rice also gained entry into the Hall, while Burt Blyleven and Lee Smith continued to get screwed by voters.

Ken Rosenthal is reporting that St. Louis is offering outfielder Rick Ankiel and a prospect for M's "closer" J.J. Putz. While there are people who are willing to chalk Putz's ineptitude last year up to injuries, we're not one of those people. We just think the guy fucking sucks now -- after all, closers, more than all other players, have a knack for just sort of losing it (see: Isringhausen, Jason) -- and if the M's don't make this deal, they're on peyote. This offer is so sweet that we actually have a tough time believing it's true. Let's hope it is -- and that the M's pull the trigger.

The M's had a chance to hire a fan favorite from their golden era, who just so happened to have been the bench coach on a playoff team, and instead they hire a virtual no-name who was the bench coach on a super-crappy team? But hey, in all seriousness, let's give Don a chance. He could be the next Joe Maddon.

U.S.S. Mariner is one of the best baseball blogs around--smart, funny, and a great way for the casual fan to begin to understand the latest in baseball's statistical revolution. Dave Cameron--who co-authors the blog with Derek Zumsteg--even helped Felix get his game tight. Now Cameron is up for a $10,000 scholarship for bloggers (he's getting his BS in Economics at UNC-Greensboro); you can vote for him here.

New Mariner GM Jack Zduriencik has narrowed his list of finalists for the M's managerial vacancy to seven men, none of whom have actual major league managerial experience. This is fine; name managers are hardly necessary to jump-start a franchise, as evidenced by longtime bench coach Joe Maddon's success at the helm in Tampa. But out of GM Jack's Magnificent Seven, but one name stands out: Joey Cora.

Cora has spent the past couple years as Ozzie Guillen's bench coach in Chicago, occasionally managing the club when Guillen gets tossed from a game (not an infrequent occurrence). He was a fan favorite during his playing career in Seattle, which coincided with some of the franchise's most glorious years in the mid- to late-'90s. To wit, what M's fan can possibly forget Little Joey crying in the dugout after the M's were eliminated from the playoffs in '95? If nothing else, the guy fucking cared.

When it comes to resumes, Cora's doesn't stand out from the rest of this pack. But he's just as qualified as anyone else for the job, and his hire would have the added bonus of being a public relations masterstroke, given his history in Seattle.

Remember, the M's passed on the opportunity to draft the Renton-bred flamethrower in order to select Brandon Morrow (pictured above), whose development as a starter had better proceed at the speed of light should he ever hope to dispel the notion that the M's totally fucking blew that pick.

It's Ichiro's eighth and Beltre's second consecutive gold glove. While Beltre's is much-deserved, wethinks Ichiro got his more on rep, especially when you consider that he split the year between center and right field, which usually isn't a recipe for fielding's highest honor. And, really, it doesn't even come close to providing consolation for the catastrophe that was the M's 2008 campaign.

Probably the best thing, for local sports fans at least, about watching the Phillies win the World Series was seeing former Ms southpaw Jamie Moyer finally get a ring.

Although it is with a tinge of regret seeing him do so wearing red instead of blue it was like a trip down memory lane seeing Tampa Bay batters get tied up in knots swinging after Moyer's change-up.

You can place the blame on former GM Bill Bavasi for any number of personnel gaffes but for this writer the biggest was trading the lefthander for minor leaguers Andrew Barb and Andrew Baldwin. Apparently Phillies GM Pat Gillick has a thing about getting rid of low-level prospects named Andrew...

The Mariners introduced their new GM, Jack Zduriencik to Seattle’s media aristocracy – and the Seattle Weekly – during a press conference this morning at Safeco Field.

A lot will be, and has been, written about Zduriencik and his abilities as an evaluator of talent. He was the Director of Scouting for the Milwaukee Brewers for seven seasons and a VP for player personnel for the club since 2006. Think drafting Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, and Rickie Weeks for those familiar with the Brew Crew’s playoff squad.

Here are the first few quick impressions:

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