Odds and Ends From Monday in Indy

INDIANAPOLIS -- Managers of nine different major league teams each had approximately 30-minutes in interview sessions with the media during baseball's Winter Meetings Monday in the Indianapolis, in addition to the announcement of two new inductees to baseball's Hall of Fame. Here's a sampling of some of the more interesting tidbits from the first full day of the annual meetings.

• Bobby Cox emphatically stated that Billy Wagner is the Braves closer, "no matter what." When asked about the possibility of having both Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano back -- both are closer types and have been offered arbitration -- Cox said we'll know soon enough (the deadline for players to accept arbitration is midnight tonight), but if they both come back, "we'll have the best bullpen ever."

UPDATE: Soriano accepted and will be back, but Gonzalez declined. Still, with Wagner, Soriano and Takashi Saito, the Braves have a pretty stellar back-end.

• Cox also stated he feels physically like he could manage another five years, but he believes that after this season it's time to step away.

• Get ready to see a lot of Braves prospect Jason Heyward. When asked if the Braves would be in on the bidding for Jason Bay or Matt Holliday, Cox immediately said no and began talking, unsolicited, about how Hayward is the top prospect in baseball. The 20-year-old former first-rounder leaped all the way from class-A advanced to double-A to triple-A in 2009. During the course of the three stops, he combined to hit .323 with a .963 OPS. He has power and can run. The Braves plan on giving him a chance at a starting job in Spring Training.

• Terry Francona was asked if he really believed the reports that stated the Yankees are going to shed payroll this winter. He immediately replied with a no, but was sportsmanlike enough to say it wasn't any of his business -- stating that he has a lot of respect for the Yankees, Brian Cashman and how they conduct their business.

• Francona said the Red Sox are planning on using Victor Martinez behind the plate for "the majority of the games," which relegates veteran backstop Jason Varitek to backup duties. Martinez caught 33 games for the Red Sox while playing first base 23 games after being traded to Boston from Cleveland, but it sounds like it will be a much more drastic split in 2010. Francona said that Varitek understands the situation, but is "as mean as he's been in a while."

• Jim Riggleman was really excited that Whitey Herzog was inducted into the Hall of Fame. He called Herzog the best baseball person he's ever been around.

• Riggleman also believes Brian Bruney -- who they acquired from the Yankees Monday -- will be part of the competition for closing duties for the 2009 Nationals. The assumption here is that the Nationals use a committee approach until Drew Storen (the Nationals "other" first-rounder from last June's draft) is ready to take over. Storen was an excellent closer in college for Stanford and had a nice first season in the minors last year.

• Almost every manager was asked about a potentially expanded role of instant replay in games, and almost all of them were firmly against it. Their reasons usually revolved around the "human element" and not wanting any longer game delays. Lou Piniella even talked about how much he hates the delays during NFL games. As an aside, Piniella was visibly taken by the Colts and their new facility (he attended Indy's Sunday victory over the Tennessee Titans).

• Ron Washington said the Rangers want to get Neftali Feliz stretched out in Spring Training as if he's a starter and allow him to compete for a rotation spot. If he ends up in the bullpen, though, Washington is very comfortable using him as a pitcher who can bridge the gap in the late innings from starter to closer. He does believe Feliz's current value is much higher to the team as a reliever, but wants to see how things shake out in the Spring. As far as protecting his arm, a la how the Yanks have handled Joba Chamberlain, Washington said, "I think once you make it to the major league level, the kid gloves come off." For the record, Washington said only Kevin Millwood and Scott Feldman are guaranteed rotation spots.

• Washington feels that the Cubs' acquisition of former Rangers hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo will give a huge boost to the Cubs' offense, but he does feel comfortable with the Rangers' replacement option in former Rockies manager Clint Hurdle. Washington emphasized Hurdle's strength in communicating with younger players, of which Texas has many.

• The MLB Players Association was so disappointed that Marvin Miller was not elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee that they released a statement and called the Hall "incomplete." Miller was the original and long-time head of the MLBPA. He only received seven of the 12 votes (nine are required for admission) from the committee.

• Dave Trembley stated that getting a closer is near the forefront of the Orioles' concerns this offseason, as they'd like to shift Jim Johnson back to the eighth inning role. Trembley later stressed that he prefers a closer who is experienced in the role instead of trying to groom a youngster for the role. There are a few bonafide closers on the market this offseason, but will the O's pony up the dough necessary to land one?

• Trembley is not "totally against" moving Nolan Reimold to first base -- which would definitely maximize the Orioles' offense and save them the time and money needed to acquire a new first baseman -- but does not believe it is "practical" to teach him to play a totally new position in Spring Training.

• Of all the managers who talked to the media Monday, Don Wakamatsu of the Mariners was the one with the most unsettled roster. We've discussed before how the Mariners shed a ton of payroll from last season and Wakamatsu acknowleged the team as a current work in progress. When asked if he could draw up a lineup with the Mariners' current roster, he said "no."

• In a question that could have been a subtle Jason Bay inquiry, someone asked if the Mariners would be willing to sacrifice defense in order to bolster the offense. Wakamatsu, likely knowing what the real question-behind-the-question was, and gave a generic answer. The smart money is still on the Mariners staying away from the Bay bidding, but you never know. Many reports have Bay badly wanting to sign with Seattle, so it could be an eventual match.

• As of right now, Dusty Baker said it looks like the Reds will be going with Drew Stubbs as their everyday center-fielder. He did say that Stubbs is still a student and has a lot to learn and that he'll need to continue to adjust to the major league level. Baker also said he doesn't know what the Reds are going to do with Willy Taveras, who was a free agent bust for the Reds in 2009.

• Baker says the Reds will not have Edinson Volquez back until the All-Star break at the absolute earliest, but when he comes back, he needs to make an adjustment to make the leap as a pitcher.

"One of the things that he still has not done that we are trying to stress to him is keep his pitch count down without throwing too many unnecessary pitches," Baker explained.

"He would get a guy 0-2, and next thing you know he's 3-2, and he fouls off three pitches, and it's a ten-pitch at-bat, or a four or five pitches. You do that times six or seven, eight guys, and now you are out of there in the sixth instead of going into the eighth."

• Lou Piniella won't be scared to plug uber-prospect Starlin Castro into the Cubs' starting lineup in 2010, if he's ready. The problem, though, is that the 19-year-old shortstop only played 31 games at Double-A in 2009. He'll likely begin the season in triple-A, according to Piniella. Getting Castro ready would vastly help the Cubs, as they could slide Ryan Theriot to second base and use either Jeff Baker or Mike Fontenot as a utility backup.

• Finally, a personal observation. Ozzie Guillen is hilarious. He elicited laughter from the press corps multiple times throughout his interview. At one point, he said he didn't know his entire roster yet and you'd have to ask bench coach Joey Cora who they had. At another he discussed how he doesn't like talking to his players between October and the Spring -- half-jokingly implying he gets tired of them after six months during the regular season.