Nick Adenhart

Mike Scioscia, who guided the Los Angeles Angels through a difficult season after the death in a road accident of pitcher Nick Adenhart, was named American League Manager of the Year Wednesday. Colorado manager Jim Tracy was named National League Manager of the Year, and an hour later the Rockies announced Tracy had been rewarded with a three-year contract. It's the second time Scioscia has been named Manager of the Year. After the emotional loss early in the season of Adenhart, the Angels pulled together and won their fifth AL West division title in six years. "Some things, you're never prepared for," Scioscia said. ... Read Full Story

Jim Tracy of Colorado has won the NL Manager of the Year award and Mike Scioscia of the Los Angeles Angels has been selected for the AL honor. Tracy became the second manager to win the award after taking over in midseason, joining Jack McKeon for Florida in 2003. Scioscia also picked up the AL award in 2002. Tracy received 29 first-place votes and two seconds for 151 points in balloting released Wednesday by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Scioscia got 15 first-place votes. Tracy was promoted from bench coach following Clint Hurdle's dismissal in May and led the Rockies to the wild ... Read Full Story

On the day before the World Series was to start in the Bronx, the Los Angeles Angels gathered in their clubhouse for the final time in 2009 and cleaned out their lockers. "There's always an amount of disappointment and emptiness when you don't reach that final level with a team you had very high expectations for," manager Mike Scioscia said on Tuesday. "We had enough to compete with any team that was out there." The epilogue to a long, tearstained season for the three-peat AL West champs seemed even more stark with Nick Adenhart's jersey still hanging at his cubicle. "We'd like to keep ... Read Full Story

The makeshift memorial in front of Angel Stadium's main entrance is about the size of a pitcher's mound now. Hats, stuffed animals, sparkling lights, rosary beads, inscribed baseballs and hand-lettered signs are all arranged in a neat circle around an easel that holds a painting of Nick Adenhart in mid-throw. In the Angels' clubhouse, Adenhart's locker is largely still how he left it on the night of April 8, from cap to shoes. His image and No. 34 adorn the outfield wall, where Jered Weaver communes before each start with the new friend who was planning to room with him this season. "It's always ... Read Full Story

Be it Carlos Ruiz or David Price, every postseason seems to produce an unlikely star. Reserves turn key defensive plays, setup men get big outs and managers make decisions that lead to parades or long winters. Here are some of the X-factors to watch: THE SPEEDSTER The Yankees were clinging to a 1-0 lead in the eighth inning against Boston on Sept. 26 when manager Joe Girardi inserted Brett Gardner as a pinch runner. The blazer took second on a wild pitch, stole third and eventually scored on Johnny Damon's two-run single. New York completed a three-game sweep the next day to clinch the ... Read Full Story