FanHouse Sean Casey

Veteran first baseman Sean Casey is retiring from baseball after 12 years in the major leagues. Casey played for the Red Sox in 2008, but is best known for his time with the Reds, where he earned the nickname "The Mayor" for his genial and friendly nature in the clubhouse and at first base with opposing baserunners.

Casey was never the prototypical slugging first baseman, but he made up for it with a solid glove and a career .302 batting average. He's almost certainly not going to be the only experienced free agent to be forced into early retirement because of a lack of interest this winter, but he is one of the first noteworthy names to hang 'em up.

The good news? Casey will take his considerable good guy talents to the brand new MLB Network, where he'll join Harold Reynolds and company in their so far successful attempts to make John Kruk and the rest of ESPN's Baseball Tonight crew obsolete.

Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2009.

The Red Sox may have fallen short of the Rays in the AL East and in the ALCS in 2008, but despite the frustrating end to their season, they actually proved something quite significant and positive. The team that was once known mostly for a championship drought that spanned eight decades is now known as the premier franchise in baseball.

Boston has won the World Series twice since 2004 and been to the ALCS in four of the last six seasons. Perhaps more importantly, GM Theo Epstein has proven deft at mixing in new talent -- at providing stability while also keeping the roster fresh and young. Indeed, the Red Sox have won two championships with two almost entirely different groups of players.

That's going to be more important than ever going forward. The AL East has become a cruel beast and Tampa Bay, not Boston, has suddenly become the young, deep power in the division. With the Yankees looming as well, Epstein is going to have to keep working his magic. Get younger, Theo. Get better. Oh, and be a perennial World Series contender while you're at it.

Last year, the Red Sox celebrated their championship by re-signing World Series MVP Mike Lowell and bringing back several other role players. Their only major addition from outside the organization was bench bat Sean Casey. Needless to say, that kind of stability in the era of free agency has become increasingly rare, and the Phillies won't be an exception.

Of course, the Phillies aren't exactly the 1997 Marlins either. They have a strong young core intact. Cole Hamels, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard and Brad Lidge are all under contract or the club's control for the near future. That five-player spine should be enough to make Philadelphia one of the favorites in the National League next season.

But the status of some of the second-tier players who were integral in the championship run is up in the air heading into the winter. Pat Burrell is at the top of that list. The left fielder is a woeful defender and will never hit for average, but his patience and power will be sorely missed if he signs somewhere else.

Jamie Moyer is also a free agent. He could pitch until he's 50. He could walk off into the sunset. Either way, he made 33 starts for the Phillies during the regular season and three more in the postseason. That too will not be easy to replace.

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With a rather sizable assist from Mike Scioscia's hubris-fueled devotion to smallball, the Red Sox are headed back to the ALCS for the fourth time in six years. If recent history tells us anything, Boston might fall behind early -- as it did against New York in 2004 (3-0) and Cleveland in 2007 (3-1) -- but it will find a way to win the series.

These are, after all, the Red Sox. They've been there before. They're Major League Baseball's model franchise. They have dominant starting pitching, a lights-out closer and a mix of experienced veterans and budding youngsters.

But while Boston basks in another winning playoff series, let's take a moment to consider how many problems it is facing as it tries to win another World Series and establish baseball's first dynasty since the Yankees of the late 1990s.

There is a veritable laundry list of concerns:

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6. Surviving Grady: Sean Casey & Ric Flair = BFF. You just know Jonathan Papelbon has to be jealous.

Our MLB editor provides weekly dispatches from major league games in Notes From the Clubhouse.

Bad news for Boston fans Monday night. The Red Sox will place designated hitter David Ortiz on the disabled list after an MRI revealed the slugger had a torn tendon sheath in his extensor carpi ulnaris -- a muscle in the wrist. Ortiz is certain to miss at least a few weeks, though the Boston Herald has reported that he will miss at least a month and could face season-ending surgery.

Manager Terry Francona did not indicate the injury was quite that serious, though he will confer with Ortiz, GM Theo Epstein and the team's medical staff tomorrow in Boston.

Big Papi struggled in April, but he was his usual slugging self in May putting up a line of .318/.409/.617 (AVG/OBP/SLG) over the last month. No team in baseball is prepared to replace that kind of production, but the Red Sox are deeper than any other organization in the game and are prepared to make do while Ortiz gets healthy. Francona said after the game that reserve first baseman Sean Casey would likely see additional time while Ortiz is sidelined, but the most likely lineup Francona will put out there will probably feature Manny Ramirez at DH and Jacoby Ellsbury, Brandon Moss and maybe even Bobby Kielty or Kevin Youkilis splitting time in left field.

When asked about seeing more time as a designated hitter, Ramirez said "I love it. I love to DH," though he then went on to joke that if he played there too much it might hurt his chances at getting the Gold Glove he so covets. "It's nice to give him a blow and still keep his bat in the game," said Francona of playing Ramirez at DH.

If the Red Sox were merely losing Ortiz for a few weeks, there wouldn't be much to worry about, but Big Papi's injury is just at the top of a long list of concerns for the reigning champs.

Boston will miss Ortiz, but they'll do a very good job of filling the void in the short-term

While most of the attention given to Boston's 6-3 win over the Orioles on Saturday is due to Manny Ramirez hitting the 500th home run of his career, not everything went well for the Red Sox yesterday. Getting lost in the Manny being Manny celebration is the fact that David Ortiz had to leave the game in the middle of an at bat during the ninth inning.

After fouling a ball down the left field line, Ortiz felt a pop in his left wrist that was painful enough to get him out of the game during the at bat. Sean Casey then came on to finish the at bat, and promptly flew out to left field. Ortiz had x-rays taken on the wrist after the game, which came back negative, but Papi is out of the lineup this afternoon and nobody is quite sure how much time he's going to miss.

"He took a swing and felt something in his wrist," Francona said. "It was very tender. That is what we know right now. Obviously, it is a concern. We will wait to hear what happened."

The injury comes at a bad time for Ortiz, because after having a horrible April in which he hit .198/.300/.375 with 5 homers and 21 RBI, Papi hit a much more Papi-like .317/.415/.596 with 7 homers and 20 RBI in May. Of course, Ortiz's improved performance in May probably had a lot to do with his right knee feeling better, and now he could have another tough injury to deal with.

Before the Detroit Tigers had their bi-weekly offensive explosion on Tuesday night against Seattle (one their bullpen did everything in their power to blow), manager Jim Leyland was asked about some comments made by former Tiger reliever Jason Grilli.

Grilli was traded earlier this season to the Rockies, and was recently asked by some reporters out there what he thought was going wrong back in Detroit, where the Tigers have failed to live up to expectations. Grilli's response was that he thought the Tigers hurt their team chemistry by bringing in new stars, and letting go of clubhouse favorites like Sean Casey. Jim Leyland was not amused.

"You have to be kidding me. I mean, please," Leyland said before the Tigers' 12-8 win over the Mariners on Tuesday night. "Jason Grilli ought to just worry about Colorado.

"Jason Grilli's not here any longer because Jason Grilli didn't pitch good under pressure situations and didn't pitch very well in Detroit. You want to tell it like it is? When players want to start talking, I'll start talking."

Leyland's reaction to Grilli quickly became somewhat of a warning to the rest of his team just in case anybody gets the bright idea of popping off about the team.

Today the calendar turned to February. That means it's time for one of my favorite times of the Major League off-season; the part where all the washed up veterans sign contracts with teams to fill out rosters and when their name comes across the ticker you say to yourself, "Ohhh, man! So and so's still in the league?" Today Sean Casey signed with the Red Sox to back up Kevin Youkilis at first base. Really? Sean Casey?

You know when your team's made a good signing? When the first descriptor of his career in the story of his signing isn't any kind of a statistic, but instead a nickname proving what a great guy he is. I mean, Casey's "The Mayor!!!" You know ... a lumbering mayor that can't play defense or run bases or hit for power.

Then again, it's not like the Red Sox need Casey to do any of those things. Really, they probably just want him to be better than Eric Hinske was last year and since Casey can still hit around .300 and get on base at around a .350 clip, he'll probably do just fine for them. If he gets 500 plate appearances for them like he did in Detroit last year, the Red Sox probably aren't going to be too pleased.

The Red Sox stayed alive by winning last night in Cleveland, but whenever their season ends they have a big decision to make: do they re-sign Mike Lowell or let him walk? He's had a banner season for the Sox this year, hitting .324 with 21 homers and 120 RBI, but at 33 years old he's a bit a risk signing to a multi-year deal. From Jackie MacMullen of the Boston Globe:

Although the Sox have not publicly revealed their intentions, club sources said Boston would balk at offering Lowell anything more than a two-year deal. You can be sure general manager Theo Epstein's office is cluttered with data that demonstrate the downward hitting spiral of 36-year-old third basemen, the age Lowell will be in three seasons.

Whatever decision Epstein makes, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. As MacMullen goes on to note, Epstein hit the nail on the head by passing on Pedro Martinez and Johnny Damon. But if it's not Lowell manning the hot corner in Boston next year, who will it be? I'm guessing Kevin Youkilis would slide across the diamond, since it's easier to find a serviceable glove at first base than it is third -- although, truth be told, there really won't be much out there on the free agent market. Sean Casey has ties to the area -- might the Sox go after him?

(via MLB Trade Rumors)