Around The Majors- Monday

-The GM meetings are going on in Orlando, but most of the major news today wasn't being made there. On a stage in center field in Chavez Ravine, Joe Torre was formally introduced as Dodgers manager. He was flanked by Tommy Lasorda and Vin Scully, which would seem like a lot of pressure for most people until you realize that The Boss was constantly breathing down Joe's neck for over a decade. If familiarity breeds contempt, then there'll be a whole lot of that in the dugout as Don Mattingly and Larry Bowa will go with Torre to the Los Angeles staff.
-Nobody wanted the Pirates job. It got so bad, that they had to hire someone (John Russell) they just fired two years earlier. The former Pittsburgh 3rd base coach is now manager. This is the sign of a world class organization. Russell is certainly talking the talk:
"There are a lot of areas in which we can improve, but we have the pieces here to win games. And we're here to win."
After 15 consecutive losing seasons, one would wonder where the Pirates were the last decade and a half, because they were certainly not there to win.
"It's being a tireless instructor, it's being a tireless communicator," Said GM Neal Huntington, who reminded me more of a Goodyear salesman than someone who's running a baseball team. Neal then went for some baseballspeak:
"It's instilling pride and expecting things to be done the right way. It's holding the staff accountable and the players accountable."
-Something that did happen in Orlando, according to ESPN's Buster Olney was the Padres' agreement with Greg Maddux on a 1 year, 10 million dollar deal which also made agent Scott Boras richer. Ca-ching.
-Given Scott Rolen's murky relationship with Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, the third bagger could waive his no-trade clause, according to the St Louis Post Dispatch. A Pinstriped light has just gone off in my head.
-Add Seattle to the list of teams that could be after A-Rod, says the New York Daily News. Ah, sweet irony.
-The Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, San Diego Padres and Texas Rangers are all interested in Coco Crisp says the Boston Herald.
-Richie Sexson and Pat Burrell are on the block, according to the Philadelphia Daily News.
-According to the St Petersburg Times, Kevin Costner's band will perform when the Rays unveil their new logo, colors, and uniforms which will maintain their images as complete failures.