…Detroit designated hitter Gary Sheffield is still just four home runs shy of the vaunted 500 mark, but with this two home runs against the Oakland Athletics yesterday he’s put his mark on the record books. Sheffield’s second home run of the game was the 250,000th home run in Major League history.

…From Ace to Closer, it’s been done before and that might be what the St. Louis Cardinals do with Chris Carpenter. Coming off of injury, Carpenter has been limited to relief duty and with no clear closer in the back end of the Cardinals bullpen - Manager Tony LaRussa isn’t above the idea of using the former staff Ace to finish out ball games.

“I’m looking forward to giving it to Carp,” La Russa said Sunday, echoing remarks from the previous day. “We’d have some fun.”

…Everyone’s second favorite Steinbrenner told the Associated Press that they will indeed retain manager Joe Girardi for the 2009 season. The team will miss the playoffs (barring some sort of intervention of a deity) for the first time since 1993.

Hank on Joe:

“Joe will be back,” co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner said Monday at the club’s spring training complex. “He’s done everything he could. That’s the bottom line.”

…Barry Bloom of MLB.com is reporting that San Diego Padres closer Trevor Hoffman and General Manager Kevin Towers have begun talks about having “Trevor Time” return for the 2009 season. Hoffman would like to return next year, and maybe a couple more after that. Hoffman walked away from the meeting (which took place Saturday in Milwaukee) feeling very positive about his return in 2009.

Hoffman feels like he’s got more gas in the tank.

“Well, I think I have more than one [season left],” Hoffman told MLB.com in an exclusive interview while seated in front of his PETCO Park locker several hours before the Padres played the Dodgers on Monday. “My body feels good. My arm feels a heck of a lot better than it has the last few years. The competitive juices are still there. You can’t put a number on how long. If I was 30 years old, we wouldn’t even be talking about it.”

…The Dallas Morning News is reporting that Rangers Manager Ron Washington would love to have designated hitter/outfielder Milton Bradley on his team in 2009. There’s a couple of problems though, first off Bradley is a free agent at the end of the year. Second, there would be a huge log jam of outfielders. But Washington doesn’t see it that way..

“You’re never 100 percent confident [that a free agent will return],” he said. “I know he wants to be here and I know we want him here. It’s just a matter of how that gets done. He’s productive and makes other things happen in the lineup. Who wouldn’t want that?”

Washington added that any potential crowd in the outfield “is a good problem to have.” Josh Hamilton, David Murphy, Marlon Byrd and Cruz, among others, also will be vying for outfield time.

…Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post Dispatch talked with Mark McGwire on the tenth anniversary of his recorded breaking home run beating Roger Maris’ home run mark of 61. At the end of the article McGwire notes that he’s open to playing again.

“I can still hit, if somebody wants me,” he said. “Now, wouldn’t that be a shocker?”

Maybe this was tongue in cheek? He goes on to say that he’s still working out twice a day and like in the quote he can still hit.

…Rick Freeman of The Times of Trenton takes a look at the Seattle Mariners, more specifically their search for a new General Manager. One of the things the new GM in Seattle will have to do is deal with a meddling ownership, and trying to find a new manager. Interim-Manager Jim Riggleman wont be returning as skipper in 2009 according to the article sighting that the clubhouse is more disarray then when Manager John McClaren was at the helm.

All I can say is it’s going to be an interesting winter in the Emerald City.

…Could Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz pitch for someone other than the Braves? Well in an interview with Jay Busbee of Atlanta Magazine Smoltz didn’t dismiss that possibility.

“I say this for the first time, without reservation, if I’m going to bust my butt and if I feel like I’m good enough and it doesn’t work out here, I will be pitching somewhere else … My dream scenario would be to pitch in the playoffs again, and that’s coming from a guy who’s been in 13 of them. (Smoltz missed the 2000 playoffs with Tommy John surgery.) To me, that’s what I’m about. So if the door gets closed here, it’ll have to be explored somewhere else.”

If you read on he makes it pretty clear that he’d prefer to remain and finish his career with a tomahawk across his chest. Smoltz is known for speaking his mind, just ask “The Homeboy Upstairs”.