Photo by Kirby Lee/US Presswire

CLEVELAND (AP)—The Cleveland Indians have agreed to a minor league
contract with free agent catcher Matt Pagnozzi(notes), who played briefly with Colorado
and Pittsburgh last season.

The 29-year-old Pagnozzi spent most of last season with the Rockies’
Triple-A team at Colorado Springs. He batted .275 with three homers and 29 RBIs
in 54 games. He played in seven games for Colorado and was claimed off waivers
by the Pirates on Sept. 14. He finished the year with Pittsburgh, appearing in
five games.

Pagnozzi began his pro career in 2003 with St. Louis, which selected him in
the eighth round of the draft. He spent eight years in the Cardinals
organization, making his major league debut in 2009.

Pagnozzi is the nephew of former NL All-Star catcher Tom Pagnozzi.

CLEVELAND — Edwin Rodriguez has been hired by the Cleveland Indians to manage their Double-A affiliate, the Carolina Mudcats.

The 51-year-old Rodriguez managed the Florida Marlins for parts of two seasons before resigning this year during a long losing skid. He went 78-85 with the Marlins and became the first Puerto Rican-born manager in major league history.

Before taking over the Marlins, Rodriguez managed in Florida’s farm system for five years. In that role, he worked as the Mudcats’ hitting coach in 2004.

Rodriguez played in the majors for the New York Yankees and San Diego Padres before retiring in 1987.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

CLEVELAND (AP)—Edwin Rodriguez has been hired by the Cleveland Indians to
manage their Double-A affiliate, the Carolina Mudcats.

The 51-year-old Rodriguez managed the Florida Marlins for parts of two
seasons before resigning this year during a long losing skid. He went 78-85 with
the Marlins and became the first Puerto Rican-born manager in major league
history.

Before taking over the Marlins, Rodriguez managed in Florida’s farm system
for five years. In that role, he worked as the Mudcats’ hitting coach in 2004.

Rodriguez played in the majors for the New York Yankees and San Diego Padres
before retiring in 1987.

Mudcats name Edwin Rodriguez manager

Posted 22 minutes ago

Cleveland — The Cleveland Indians today named Edwin Rodriguez as Manager of the Class-A Advanced Carolina Mudcats of the Carolina League.

Rodriguez, 51, compiled a two-year managerial record of 78-85 (.479) over his two seasons as Manager of the Florida Marlins from June 23, 2010 to June 18, 2011, becoming the first Puerto Rican-born manager in Major League history. Prior to his stint as Marlins skipper he managed in the Florida Player Development System from 2005-2010, first joining the Marlins in 2004 as hitting coach for the then Double-A Mudcats.

In 2004, Rodriguez mentored future major leaguers Josh Willingham and Chip Ambres as the Mudcats finished 73-66. He then spent time as manager of the Marlins’ Gulf Coast rookie league team (2005-2006), Class-A Greensboro Grasshoppers (2007-2008) and Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs (2008-2010).

“We are excited to start both a new era in the Carolina League and new partnership with the Cleveland Indians by welcoming back Edwin Rodriguez to Zebulon,” said Carolina Mudcats owner Steve Bryant. “Edwin has had a successful career as a manager in both the Minor Leagues and Major Leagues and we look forward to working with him in 2012.”

Rodriguez spent parts of three seasons in the Major Leagues with the New York Yankees and San Diego Padres from 1982-85 before concluding his player career in 1987. He has been in the game as a player, coach, scout and manager for the last 32 seasons.

The Carolina Mudcats will play their 22nd season in Wake County and first in the Carolina League in 2012. The 70-game regular-season begins on Friday, April 6 2012 as the Mudcats host the Winston-Salem Dash.

Copyright 2011 Carolina Mudcats. All rights reserved.

There has been plenty of chatter about Cardinals manager Tony La Russa’s debacle in the fifth game of the World Series.

You remember?

La Russa goes to the mound, makes a pitching change — and the wrong reliever comes in from the bullpen.

News-Herald reporter Jim Ingraham writes how the same thing happened to Cleveland Indians manager Manny Acta.

Good thing it wasn’t in a Major League game.

“The exact same thing happened to me a few years ago when I was managing in winter ball in the Dominican Republic,” said Acta. “It’s really embarrassing. because people think you’re a fricking idiot.”

 ”I looked at the guy,” said Acta, “and said, ‘What the hell are you doing here?’ ”

Acta’s debacle happened didn’t happen in the Majors, but it doesn’t make it any less embarassing.

“In some ways, mine was even worse,” he said, “because the guy who came in was a right-hander, and so was the batter, but I had to tell that pitcher to walk the hitter, and then I brought in a left-hander to face the right-hander. It was one of the worst days in my career.”

More Tribe

Here are Paul Hoynes’ thoughts about Grady Sizemore and the Tribe.

Jim Thome plans to return to MLB.