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	Derek Jeter is expected to be announced as the American League's MVP. Chuck Solomon/SI

The Yankees' Derek Jeter is expected to be announced soon as the American League's MVP, and the Detroit Tigers' Jim Leyland is expected to be AL manager of the year.
-- St. Paul Pioneer-Press

While the Yankees are doing everything they can to downplay the idea that they have made Don Mattingly their manager-in-waiting, Mattingly's recent promotion from hitting coach to bench coach is being seen by most observers as exactly that.
-- New York Daily News

Major league sources expect the market for Barry Bonds to develop very slowly, if at all. Two American League clubs that need a left-handed hitter consider Bonds an emergency name to revisit if all other strategies to add offense miss the mark.
-- Contra Costa Times

The representative for free-agent center fielder Gary Matthews Jr., said the Angels are "extremely interested" in the Rangers defensive whiz, and the feeling appears to be mutual. The Angels, according to industry sources, also plan to bid for left-hander Barry Zito, the top starter on the free-agent market, but it appears they will not enter the bidding for highly touted Japanese right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka.
-- Los Angeles Times

That exhaling sound in the vicinity of Edgar Martinez Drive on Wednesday was a collective sigh of relief that Mariners owner Hiroshi Yamauchi has decided against bidding for Japanese starter Daisuke Matsuzaka.
-- Seattle Times

Since Scott Rolen isn't speaking to Tony La Russa anymore, and since The Skipper is returning for at least one more season, we may hear some more Rolen-for-Alex Rodriguez rumbling this winter. There is a trade that helps both teams, when you think about it, since David Eckstein could move to second with A-Rod taking over at shortstop.
-- St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The Red Sox scouted Jeff Weaver extensively last season before deciding to pass, but if the money doesn't get ridiculous, they could create a spot for him at the back of their rotation. Cardinals teammate Jeff Suppan also is a free agent and has a more reliable track record, but a third go-round in Boston seems highly unlikely.
-- Boston Globe

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