BASEBALL ROUNDUP News and notes

Mariners: Bob Melvin was fired as manager Monday, a day after the team ended the season with its 99th loss. Melvin, who lasted two seasons, was told of the decision during a morning meeting at Safeco Field, and general manager Bill Bavasi called a news conference later in the day. In May, the Mariners exercised the option on Melvin's contract for 2005 despite a 9-16 start. He led the team to a 93-69 record in 2003 after Lou Piniella left for Tampa Bay. The Mariners left spring training expecting to contend for a playoff spot. Instead, they finished 63-99 and barely avoided their first 100-loss season since 1983. It was the team's worst season since going 64-98 in 1992. The Mariners last had a losing season in 1999, when they were 79-83. They had won at least 91 games every year since, and they tied an AL record by winning 116 games in 2001.
Blue Jays: John Gibbons, who took over as manager in August, will return to the Blue Jays next year. Gibbons was appointed interim manager on August 8, when Carlos Tosca was fired after the team went 47-64. Under Gibbons, Toronto went 20-30. General manager J.P. Ricciardi liked Gibbons' upbeat attitude and how he handled the bullpen. The 42-year-old Gibbons had been the Blue Jays' first-base coach since Tosca took over from Buck Martinez on June 3, 2002. The Blue Jays fired pitching coach Gil Patterson and first base coach Joe Breeden last week. Also, former Blue Jays catcher Ernie Whitt was hired as the new bench coach and Brad Arnsberg as the club's new pitching coach. Arnsberg was previously a pitching coach for the Florida Marlins and the Montreal Expos.
Brewers: Los Angeles investor Mark Attanasio was officially introduced as the new owner. Attanasio called purchasing the team the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. "This day is very special to me," Attanasio said shortly after putting on a Brewers cap for the first time. The Los Angeles investor said he grew up a New York Yankees fan and wanted to be a big league player but changed his mind when he realized he couldn't hit a curveball. Team chairwoman Wendy Selig-Prieb said Attanasio has signed a letter of intent to buy the team and described him as a strong leader and steward for the franchise long controlled by the Selig family. The deal was reportedly worth $220 million. A sale agreement must be approved by at least three-quarters of the 30 major league teams, a process that usually takes 6 to 12 months.
White Sox: Reliever Cliff Politte agreed to a one-year, $1 million extension through next year. The club will have an option for 2006 at a salary of $1.2 million with a buyout of $100,000. Politte originally signed a one-year deal in January and the White Sox had an option for 2005 at $1.3 million. Politte went 0-3 with a 4.38 ERA in 54 relief appearances this season, his first with the White Sox. He limited batters to a .208 average. He did not pitch after undergoing an emergency appendectomy on Sept. 1. He has a 13-20 record and 4.50 ERA in 230 major league games.
Home runs up: Despite preseason predictions that power statistics would decrease with the start of steroid testing in the major leagues, home runs and scoring were up this season. An average of 2.25 home runs were hit in each major league game, up 5.1 percent from last year's average of 2.14, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Runs per game increased 1.8 percent from 9.46 to 9.63, the major league batting average went up from .264 to .266 and the major league ERA climbed from 4.39 to 4.46. While offense increased, there was less of a concentration of it among the top sluggers. A year after no player reached 50 homers for the first time in a full season since 1993, Adrian Beltre of the Los Angeles Dodgers led the big leagues with 48. Nine players hit 40 more homers, a decrease of one and well below the record 16 in 2000. There were 37 who hit 30 or more, up seven but below the record 47 in 2000. Just 33 players had 100 or more RBIs, down four and the fewest in a full season since 1993. Strikeouts went up from 12.68 per game to 13.11, and walks climbed from 6.53 to 6.88. The average time of a nine-inning game was 2 hours, 47 minutes, up one minute from last year but below the 2:52 average of 2002.
Associated Press