Stevie Ire retires

Good guy Scott Eyre, who will forever be remembered as "Stevie Ire," the name bestowed on him by Cubs manager Lou Piniella in one of Lou's "senior moments," has announced his retirement at 37.

Eyre had stints with both the Sox and the Cubs, and was mostly effective as the Cubs' southpaw specialist until a horrible stretch in mid-2008 resulted in his being moved to the Phillies, where he did better and won the World Series ring that everyone had assumed he wouldn't get that year once he got shipped out of Chicago (for those who don't remember, the Cubs were a lock to win the World Series in 2008).

Retiring before the age of 40 seems a bit early for a lefty who can always find bullpen work somewhere, so who knows, maybe he'll play again.

Not much else going on: Rumors that the Cubs are interested in Heath Bell, the Padres closer, as insurance against whatever disasters might befall Carlos Marmol. And, Scott Podsednik signed with the Royals. He had a great 2009 with the Sox, but almost no one believed he could keep it going in 2010. Juan Pierre probably will be better than Pods this year--or at least let's hope.