Odds and sods from sweeperific weekend

Exeunt Torre
It's been a long time (well, seven years) since Joe Torre's had a season end on a positive note, and with last night's 6-4 loss to the Clevelanders eliminating the Bombing Bronx Crew, it's going to be another long winter for the ever-grimacing skipper. Each year, it seems as though his head is on the block, but this may finally be it for Torre. The guess here is that by next April, the Yanks collection of aging veterans and "starters of the future" will be heaped into the lap of Don Mattingly, who will spend the next six months trying to figure out how to make anything out of this team. Hilarity ensues.

Big Hurt Gets Off to a Slow Start - Again
Neate notes (with a report from Broadcasting and Cable) that Frank Thomas' poor performance in the TBS booth early in the first round has sent the net scrambling for Ron Darling to pick up the slack. Of course, we couldn't imagine how Thomas' on-camera work could be any worse than watching Sportsnet's Sultan of Smoove Jason Portuondo aimlessly punning his way through another highlight package. (Jason: we're sure you're cool. Stop trying so hard.)

Meet Gary Denbo - Your New Hitting Coach/Whipping Boy
Jeff Blair reports that the Jays are likely to announce former Yanks hitting coach Gary Denbo as their replacement for Mickey Brantley as soon as today. Denbo is apparently familiar with these video cassette machines that capture moving images, and uses them extensively.