ST. LOUIS — Brewers manager Ken Macha will be back for a second season in 2010.
General manager Doug Melvin announced before Sunday’s regular-season finale that Macha was being retained. The club holds an option for 2011.
The Brewers finished 80-82, dragged down by injuries after being one of the NL Central favorites.
Macha has a career record of 448-362 in five seasons and won the AL West with the Athletics in 2003 and 2006.
Cabrera tight-lipped
DETROIT — Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera said he just wanted to concentrate on the final scheduled game of the season. A bruise and cut on his left cheek made that difficult.
“I’m focused on one thing — the game,” Cabrera said.
Between playing Friday and Saturday nights against Chicago, Cabrera’s face took the brunt of something.
“I have had a conversation with Miguel,” Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski said. “It is a personal situation, and I am not at liberty to discuss it further.”
Sox’s rotation is set
BOSTON — The Red Sox have set their rotation for the first three games of the playoffs — Jon Lester will start the opener against the Angels on Wednesday or Thursday, followed by Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz.
Footnotes.
San Diego’s Kevin Kouzmanoff, an Evergreen High School graduate, set an NL single-season record for third basemen with a .990 fielding percentage, committing three errors in 309 total chances. Kouzmanoff broke the record of .987 by Colorado’s Vinny Castilla in 2004.
The Cardinals’ Albert Pujols set the major-league record for assists by a first baseman, getting his 185th.
• Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez will be evaluated, leaving the winningest manager in team history with no guarantee he’ll return for 2010.
