Welcome back to the Hot Stove League running commentary, where I rate the major (and minor) off-season moves throughout the league. The free agent and non-tendered ranking chart plus the salary arbitration eligible will appear in due time, once free agency begins. But in the interim, plenty of hirings, firings, dumpings, and resignings will occur. Track 'em all.

November moves, December, and January moves.

1. 10/1/04: Mets hire Omar Minaya as General Manager, pushing Jim Duquette into a corner office with less to do. Minaya made the Expos competitive, despite MLB's interferece. Now can he work around a bad owner in an instant-success-demanded city?
2. 10/20/04: Mariners hire Mike Hargrove as manager. How appropriate that the Human Rain Delay is hired by the rainiest major league town. Hargrove does a great job managing when he has sufficient talent, something Bavasi hasn't provided yet. But getting the right manager in there is a start.
3. 10/2/04: Phillies jettison Larry Bowa. While he should have been officially been fired in August, he clearly lost control of himself and the team early on and could have been shown the door even earlier. He needs to learn that berating every player will not motivate many of them.
4. 10/28/04: White Sox exercise Shingo Takatsu's option, while declining Sandy Alomar, Jr.. This clears the way for the Sox to go after catching; otherwise, trading away Miguel Olivo becomes the worst trade in the last five years.
5. 10/8/04: Tigers sneak Colby Lewis away from the Rangers, plucking him from the waiver wire. Lewis, the Rangers #1 pick in 1999, underwent rotator cuff surgery in May. If he rehabs well this winter, he could be a surprise gem come next summer.
6. 10/14/04: Brewers find Derrick Turnbow on the Angels waiver wire, and promptly place him on their 40-man. Turnbow was relegated to the major league doghouse after being the first player who tested positive for steroids. He flunked the drug test during a U.S. Olympic training camp in October 2003, testing positive for androstenedione. He's got a 98-mph heater, and looked pretty unhittable in two stints with the Angels, yet was awful in AAA Salt Lake. Maybe with the real beer in Milwaukee, he'll be fine.
7. 10/8/04: Blue Jays snag their second Taiwanese pitcher, Po-Hsuan Keng. The 20-year-old righty was on the Taiwanese Olympic team in Greece. While he imploded against Cuba in his only apperance, he's still very young.
8. 10/11/04: Robin Ventura retires after 16 seasons, 18 grand slams, and 6 Nolan Ryan punches to the head.
9. 10/8/04: Reds steal Ben Kozlowski from the Rangers waiver wire. Kozlowski was brought up too soon by the Rangers and damaged him a bit psychologically. If the Reds can sit on him for another year and let him grow, he could live up to expectations.
10. 10/21/04: Cubs bring Chris Speier on as third-base coach, replacing Wendell Kim. Speier was released as Oakland's Bench Coach. A former "next big thing" (drafted #2 overall in 1970), Speier should feel more accustomed on the field than next to Ken Macha.
11. 10/29/04: Astros dump Jeff Kent and reward Craig Biggio's loyalty by exercising his option. While Biggio is on his career decline, he was a $6 million cheaper option. If you are going to keep an aging second baseman, keep the cheaper one.
12. 10/15/04: Tigers snag Dewayne Wise off of the Braves waiver wire. Wise showed a lot of promise this season, hitting .314 at Richmond (AAA). He's got some good speed on the basepaths, but needs to finally prove himself in 2005.

1. 10/10/04: Ken Caminiti loses his struggle against alcohol, cocaine, steroids, and general bad decision making at the age of 41. Perhaps his death will serve a greater purpose, much like Lyle Alzado's did football...
2. 10/4/04: Mariners fire Bob Melvin. Should have been canned much earlier in the season.
3. 10/11/04: Cubs fire Wendell Kim. Shouldn't have hired him in the first place. He had a reputation for being too aggressive as a basecoach, firing him after one season just proves the Cubs curse themselves.
4. 10/6/04: Reds outfielder/designated shoveler John Vander Wal declares himself a free agent. Despite the Reds sticking with him through a stupid pre-season injury, Vander Wal thinks he may find greener pastures. Advice this off-season: hire the next-door neighbor's kid to shovel.
5. 10/6/04: A's general manager Billy Beane picks up another one of his odd-ball guys, Tim Harikkala, off the waiver wire. Harikkala is 6'2", 185, and is 33 years old. He's wandered around the major leagues, and hasn't shown us much. I don't think a new location will help all that much.
6. 10/28/04: Orioles extend Rafael Palmiero's contract by one more year. Palmiero is 78 hits from 3000, but hit a paltry .258 with a sub-.800 OPS last year, his lowest in his career. While he has over 550 home runs, he may be the first 3000 hits/500 HR player to not be a first-ballot lock.