General manager Brian Cashman has a lot of work to do this offseason with the Yankees, but his re-signing of his manager takes care of the biggest thing on his check list. In Joe Girardi, the Yankees have one of baseball’s best on the job, and the 2013 season might have been his finest hour as a manager.

Former Reds and Yankees outfielder Paul O’Neill has been talking to the Reds about their managerial opening, according to a report that surfaced on Wednesday evening.

Between the Silver Sluggers and Cy Young hopefuls are a group of players this October who just don’t seem to get their due on a national level. Guys who, in certain circles, are more valuable than their numbers may dictate. Front and center in that group is Boston Red Sox 28-year-old catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Pirates slugger Pedro Alvarez wanted more, but at least he pushed across the team’s first run against Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright with two outs in the seventh inning of the deciding fifth game of the National League Division Series on Wednesday night. Alvarez’s RBI was his sixth of the series and seventh of the postseason. He is the first player in Major League history to drive in a run in each of his first six playoff games.

Oakland’s decisive affair with the Tigers on Thursday evening will mark the seventh time in 13 years the A’s have played in Game 5 of the American League Division Series. Five of the previous six ended in a loss. Talk about heartbreaking.

For the second time in five days at O.co Coliseum, A’s rookie Sonny Gray will be facing veteran Detroit right-hander and former AL Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander, who has owned the A’s in his last three ALDS starts during the past two postseasons.

In a decisive Game 5 in Oakland on Thursday night, the Tigers will send Justin Verlander to the hill and the A’s are turning to Sonny Gray as the two clubs try to punch a ticket to the ALCS.

The choice not to start Bartolo Colon in Game 5 of the American League Division Series was difficult enough for A’s manager Bob Melvin. Deciding whether to use him out of the bullpen for Thursday’s elimination affair may prove even harder.

Yasiel Puig made an impact in the middle of the Dodgers’ lineup during the NL Division Series against the Braves, but manager Don Mattingly was more impressed by the outfielder’s poise in his first postseason experience.

Jack Morris used to live for this time of year. The MLB.com analyst earned four World Series rings over an 18-year career, creating indelible memories such as a 1991 Game 7 duel with John Smoltz, and helping Detroit, Minnesota and Toronto to their most recent crowns. On Wednesday, he toured the Big Apple with the World Series trophy, stopping by the MLB Fan Cave, Maxim magazine and elsewhere to talk postseason.

Hall of Famer Lou Brock was on hand for Game 5 of the National League Division Series at Busch Stadium, where he tossed the ceremonial first pitch to pitcher Joe Kelly.

After some struggles earlier in his career, Hanley Ramirez is on baseball’s big stage for the first time, and the shortstop is playing a starring role for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Jim Leyland often likes to stick with a regular lineup when he can, but the Tigers manager can sometimes be a tinkerer.

Andrew McCutchen comes up with the big hits and the big plays for the Pirates, but the center fielder doesn’t have to be between the lines to come through in the clutch. Pittsburgh’s three-time All-Star stepped up after word got out that the 12-year-olds on a Florida girls softball team were scammed by a company that took their hard-earned money and never delivered their promised uniforms.

Maybe we should have expected the Tigers to be back here all along. After all, this is where the last two Detroit trips to the American League Division Series have ended up, the Tigers needing to win a Game 5 on the road to advance or go home.

Joe Girardi has decided to stay with the Yankees, agreeing to terms on a four-year contract extension Wednesday that could keep him managing the club through the 2017 season.

Tampa Bay’s biggest question during the offseason is whether David Price will be back with the team in 2014. Speculation about trading the 2012 American League Cy Young Award winner is already rampant.