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CHICAGO -- Commissioner Rob Manfred says baseball wants to study high-profile positions within the sport to see if certain qualifications predict success, a step that has everything to do with minority hiring.Baseball had no Latino managers before Rick Renteria took over the Chicago White Sox last month. Dusty Baker of the Washington Nationals and Dave Roberts from the Los Angeles Dodgers are the only black skippers among the leagues 30 teams.But there were 10 minority managers as recently as 2009, according to Richard Lapchick of The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida.Certain perceptions develop as to what people are looking for in particular positions and then people write stories saying, `Oh, thats a problem on the minority front because, you know, maybe minorities are less likely to share these characteristics, Manfred said Thursday at the conclusion of two days of owners meetings.I think a first step in addressing those concerns is identifying which ones really matter and then you start to identify candidates who have all those qualifications and say, hey this may be the perfect guy for you and I have some science behind it in order to demonstrate that he is the best candidate, or she.Major League Baseball hired Korn Ferry last year in part to help top minority candidates in their interviews for positions in baseball operations. But Manfred said the search firm is going to focus on openings for individual clubs when its retained because of the potential for conflicts when it works for the central office and teams at the same time.When the White Sox announced Renterias promotion, they highlighted his ability to communicate in English and Spanish. But Manfred said there are all sorts of factors that could be considered.You could name probably 20 things off the top of your head, he said. The question is, once youve named them, do any of them really predict success on the field?While MLB briefed the owners on baseballs highly successful postseason and the upcoming World Baseball Classic, the ongoing labor talks with the players occupied a significant portion of the meetings at a downtown Chicago hotel, already decked out in its best Christmas decorations.The collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1. Negotiators for owners and players have been meeting since spring training.I remain optimistic that were going to make a deal, Manfred said. This process is not predictable in terms of time. I said there were certain natural deadlines out there. The beginning of the market was one and the expiration of the agreements another, and Im hopeful that were going to get a deal done before that latter deadline.Manfred declined to address any details from the bargaining sessions, but he said an international amateur draft remains on the table.Manfred also touched on several other fronts with the sport and the owners quarterly meetings:-The owners approved changes with the leadership structures in Oakland and Philadelphia, with John Fisher becoming the control person of the Athletics and John Middleton taking over the same position with the Phillies. The As announced that Lew Wolff will be transitioning from managing partner to chairman emeritus, and that he had agreed to sell most of his interest to the remaining owners.Fisher and Middleton each controlled the biggest stake in their specific teams before taking over their new roles.I think the ownership committee has a strong preference that the individuals who are either the largest or one of the largest equity owners in clubs be the individual who is the baseball control person, Manfred said.-Manfred also reacted to supermodel Kate Uptons online support of fiance Justin Verlander after the Detroit Tigers ace finished second to Bostons Rick Porcello in voting for the AL Cy Young Award. Verlander was left off the ballot by two voters, prompting a series of tweets by Upton that were widely circulated on social media.The particular content of the tweet Im not going to comment on, a chuckling Manfred said. I do think that engagement on social media by players and people close to players is important in todays world. I think that it brings attention to the sport at a point during the year when its our offseason and we have less going on.-The Cubs first World Series title since 1908 helped generate great ratings during the playoffs, and there is talk around the sport about how to build on the success from the postseason.Were not going to have the Cubs and 108 years every year, Manfred said. But I think there are lots of compelling baseball stories that can help us produce the kind of postseason popularity that we enjoyed this year.---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap Dallas Goedert Youth Jersey . PAUL, Minn. Clayton Thorson Youth Jersey . LOUIS -- Alexander Steen scored a power-play goal with 59. http://www.theeaglesshoponline.com/Youth-Brian-Westbrook-Eagles-Jersey/ . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Tommy McDonald Womens Jersey . -- Matt Kuchar and Harris English ran away with the Franklin Templeton Shootout, shooting a 14-under 58 on Sunday in the final-round scramble to break the tournament course record. Dallas Goedert Jersey .In my heart and mind Im competing for India, luge competitor Shiva Keshavan told The Associated Press in an email interview. Every day Im flooded with messages from Indians all over the world telling me they are supporting me. NEW YORK -- Four young pitchers helped the New York Mets reach the World Series last season.Only one has not spent time on the disabled list this season.Noah Syndergaard can be considered the survivor of the young rotation and he will be on the mound Monday night when the Mets open a three-game series with the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field.Syndergaard is 13-8 with a 2.43 ERA to go along with a 1.12 WHIP and 205 strikeouts. Those are similar numbers to what the Mets thought Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz might individually provide before injuries derailed the trio.Instead, Harvey was limited to 92 2/3 innings and 17 starts before having thoracic outlet surgery in July.DeGrom was supposed to bookend the top of the rotation with Syndergaard until GM Sandy Alderson announced Saturday he was not pitching the rest of the season because of an ulnar nerve in his elbow, which requires surgery.Matz might return from a strained left shoulder that has kept him sidelined since Aug. 14. Even though he had a 30-pitch bullpen session Saturday, its unknown when he will be back.Those three have combined for 373 innings, but none since deGrom pitched five innings on Sept. 1 against Miami. Last year, the quartet combined for 651 1/3 innings during the regular season and postseason.Even without three-fourths of their rotation, the Mets are a game ahead of San Francisco for the first wild-card spot. They have won 20 of 27 after Gabriel Ynoa struck out eight in 4 2/3 innings, Michael Conforto had a two-run single and T.J. Rivera homered in a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday.Its a tremendous feeling because Im so proud of the way theyve handled themselves in there because they could have (folded), Collins said. They dont because theyre pros, but at any time when things were really tough, they could have insisted, Oh, Jesus, its not going to happen this year and theyve never done that.I think they realize, theyve played this hard, this long, might as well finish it out. Itd be a tremendous achievement to have that (wild card) game here, but itd be a tremendous achievement to get in.Syndergaard has helped matters by going 3-1 with a 1.06 ERA in his last five starts since a 2-0 win at San Francisco on Aug. 21. He has 34 strikeouts in that span, including 10 on Tuesday at Washington when he pitched seven innings but did not get a decision in a 10-inning win decided by Riveras home run.Atlanta willl be second straight last-place team to visit New York after winning a series from a playoff contender.dddddddddddd The Twins visited New York after getting two games in Detroit and the Braves are making their trip after taking two of three from Washington.The Braves scored 13 runs in their last two wins after dropping the series opener. In Sundays 6-2 victory, Matt Wisler pitched 5 2/3 innings before the game was called because of rain with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning.We told him, going back isnt a bad thing all the time, Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. A lot of guys that have been successful here have had to do it over the years. Its good when they go down, work on things and put it use. We just want him to trust himself, conviction in his pitches. If he can believe in himself the way we believe in him, hes going to be something.The Braves are hoping Snitker might make similar comments about Aaron Blair at some point. Blair takes a 0-6 record and an 8.28 ERA into Monday.He has been on the disabled list since Sept. 3 with a right knee strain and has not pitched since allowing five runs and eight hits in four innings during a 13-4 loss at San Francisco on Aug. 28.Blair made 11 of his 12 starts before the All-Star break. Three of those starts have been against the Mets and the right-hander is 0-2 with an 8.04 ERA in those outings.Besides seeing if Blair can pitch effectively, the Braves will see if Freddie Freeman can keep rolling.Freeman had two hits to extend his hitting streak to 22 games, tying Minnesotas Brian Dozier for the longest active streak in the majors. He is batting .342 (29-for-85) with four homers and 19 RBI since the streak began Aug. 24 and Atlanta is 12-10 in those games, with the last two after his wife gave birth to their first child.Freeman also has reached base in a career-best 38 straight games. It is the longest by an Atlanta player since Chipper Jones had a 41-game streak in 2008.Freeman often hits the Mets well and this year has a .365 average (23-for-63) in 16 games against New York. During Atlantas three-game sweep in New York on June 17-19, he was 7-for-13.The Mets have won seven of nine meetings this season. They won five of the first six, but the Braves completed a three-game sweep on June 17-19 in New York. ' ' '