by Ken Rosenthal

How does each GM plan to fix his team?

I get why Minaya and Hendry will keep their jobs. Both are under contract through 2012. Hendry produced three postseason teams in the previous six seasons. Even Minaya built a club that came within one victory of the World Series in 2006.

The problem is, both general managers have created messes that could take years to untangle. The Mets and Cubs rank second and third in the majors, respectively, in payroll, and that's just this season. Their future financial commitments also are stifling.

Yes, the Cubs' fan base will remain loyal even through another 100 Years' Bore. But I'd love to know how the Mets plan to sell tickets in their second season at Citi Field if they bring back both Minaya and manager Jerry Manuel.

The Mets, if Wilpon is to be believed, will not even take the modest step of elevating assistant GM John Ricco and moving Minaya into an advisory position. Ricketts, meanwhile, would be more likely to initiate a regime change after the '10 season, when manager Lou Piniella's contract expires.

Again, good luck.

The Mets are expected to reduce their payroll from $149.3 million next season. They rightly bemoan their injuries, but this club was not exactly a portrait of grit and determination even before most of its core players got hurt.

The departures of first baseman Carlos Delgado and other potential free agents will create some financial flexibility, but not enough for the Mets to fix all of their problems — particularly when the man doing the fixing is the one who re-signed free-agent left-hander Oliver Perez for $36 million last off-season.

Hendry, too, has paid sticker price or above in many instances — $136 million for left fielder Alfonso Soriano, $91.5 million for right-hander Carlos Zambrano, $48 million for outfielder Kosuke Fukudome, $30 million for outfielder Milton Bradley, to name a few.

At least one of those players should be traded this offseason, but how will Hendry do it? If he includes money — a virtual necessity for any such trade — then he might only be creating holes without generating enough savings to upgrade the team.

Fans often want immediate change: Trade Jose Reyes! Bench Soriano! Fire Minaya! Fire Hendry! Well, problem solving in baseball rarely is that simple. And in the cases of Minaya and Hendry, forcing them to stay in their jobs might be a greater punishment than firing them.

Their respective challenges are that enormous.

The secret to Jeter's success, Part I

Not only did Derek Jeter turn 35 in June, but he also has played in 123 career postseason games, or more than three-quarters of an extra regular season.

After the 2007 season, Jeter decided that he needed to work harder to combat the effects of age. He began training with Jason Riley, the director of athlete performance at the Saddlebrook training center in Tampa.

The leaner, more tapered Jeter has been notably healthier this season, not that he ever admits to injuries. His improved conditioning — with an emphasis on lateral movement and first-step quickness — has led to improved defensive performance.

"He came in two years ago with the idea to evaluate his body, see what needs to be worked on," Riley said. "His goal is to play many more years. We wrote up a program for him not just for the offseason, but for over the next five years.

"We're starting to see the results of having two good offseasons under his belt. You can't ask for a more dedicated, loyal player in terms of work ethic and everything else."

Jeter worked to achieve more power and distance with each step while also seeking to gain greater efficiency, Riley said. The two studied video to assess Jeter's body position, and even extended their analysis to the angle of Jeter's toes when he is in the ready position.

To improve his mobility, Jeter did resistance running, flexibility work and plyometrics, a type of exercise training designed to produce fast, powerful movements.

During the season, Riley communicates with Dana Cavalea, the Yankees' strength and conditioning coach, to discuss Jeter's progress.

The secret to Jeter's success, Part II

Yankees infielder Jerry Hairston, a 12-year veteran, says Jeter is the player who has surprised him most in his brief time with the club.

"He reminds me a lot of Cal Ripken," says Hairston, who was Ripken's teammate during his early years with the Orioles. "He comes to the ballpark and expects to play well. If he's got one hit, he wants two. If he's got two, he wants three.

"He's a grinder. There's a lot of fight in him. A lot of guys who are 5-foot-10, 5-11, we get the grinder label because we're shorter. He's got that mentality and he's 6-3.

"He plays every day like he's got something to prove, and yet he doesn't have anything to prove. I really admire that about him.

Rockies' Gonzalez on rise

The Rockies' trade of left fielder Matt Holliday last offseason not only landed them closer Huston Street, who leads the NL with 33 saves in 34 chances, but also outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, who finally is fulfilling his vast potential.

Holliday has performed at a high level since getting traded again from the A's to the Cardinals, batting .398 with a .457 on-base percentage and .644 slugging mark. Gonzalez, however, has produced even better numbers in that span — .371-.439-.786.

The Rockies were particularly impressed when Gonzalez, after hitting home runs in four straight games, tried to bunt for a base hit rather than extend his streak streak last Thursday against Pirates lefty Sean Burnett, whom he had taken deep two nights earlier.

Carlos Gonzalez, left, has been much more than a throw in fromthe Matt Holliday deal for the Rockies. (David Zalubowski / Associated Press)

Gonzalez's surge came at the right time, considering the second-half declines of right fielder Brad Hawpe (.973 OPS before the All-Star break, .799 after); second baseman Clint Barmes (.802-.673), catcher Chris Iannetta (.814-.696) and third baseman Ian Stewart (.795-.719)

Alas, Gonzalez suffered a freak injury over the weekend, cutting his left hand with a steak knife. He will be out until at least Wednesday, according to the Denver Post.

Sox's Tazawa: A rare case

Many Japanese pitchers have methodical deliveries, but not Red Sox right-hander Junichi Tazawa.

Sox manager Terry Francona says Tazawa is remarkably quick to the plate — 1.1 to 1.2 seconds. Yankees manager Joe Girardi agrees, saying Tazawa "almost jumps at you."

Tazawa's stuff is not overpowering, so he needs to command his pitches. Still, Francona notes that he does not beat himself, an encouraging sign for the future.

One more note on Tazawa, who was pitching in the Japanese industrial league a year ago. Despite his limited knowledge of English, he is working hard to be a good teammate, Francona says.

During a recent game against the Blue Jays, Francona ran out of chewing tobacco. He walked over to Tazawa at the end of the dugout and said, "Run to my office, get me some tobacco and put some honey on it."

Tazawa bounced up, ready to honor his manager's wishes despite having no idea what Francona was talking about. Francona stopped him, saying he was just kidding.

Carp for Cy?

Cardinals right-hander Chris Carpenter is emerging as a serious NL Cy Young candidate despite missing more than a month with a strained left ribcage muscle.

Carpenter leads the league with a 2.16 ERA, though Giants righty Tim Lincecum, who is second at 2.43, has thrown nearly 40 more innings.

Chris Carpenter can make a strong case for NL Cy Young. (Jamie Squire / Getty Images)

Right-hander Joel Pineiro, the Cardinals' No. 3 starter, might not be in the Cy Young discussion, but he leads the league in groundball percentage and boasts the second-lowest home-run rate.

Where's Johnny? Maybe back in the Bronx

One Yankees official says that it is "very likely" the team will re-sign left fielder Johnny Damon — provided that Damon is willing to accept a paycut from his current $13 million salary as a free agent.

The Yankees reduced their payroll from $209 million in 2008 to $201 million this season, and they expect to further reduce that number next season.

Damon, though, still could fit, particularly if the Yankees do not make a run at Matt Holliday or Jason Bay; they figure to be in the mix for one or both, despite commitments of $164.9 million to 10 players in 2010.

"A lot depends upon October," Damon says. "First, getting there, and maybe getting deep and winning the whole thing. If that happens, I've got a very strong case."

The Brewers' next step

For the Brewers to contend, their starting pitching needed to resemble the Rockies', with Yovani Gallardo playing the role of Ubaldo Jimenez, Manny Parra pitching like Jorge De La Rosa, Braden Looper emerging as a Jason Marquis and David Bush serving as the rough equivalent of Aaron Cook.

The question now is whether manager Ken Macha will return after such a disappointing season. A manager-pitching coach combination of Willie Randolph, the team's current bench coach, and Rick Peterson, Randolph's former pitching coach with the Mets, might be appealing.

Peterson, for that matter, also should intrigue the Nationals and Orioles. The Brewers, Nationals and Orioles rank 27th, 29th and 30th in ERA.

A really limited no-trade clause

Shortstop Alex Gonzalez had to approve his trade from the Reds to the Red Sox; a clause in his contract allows him to block deals to three teams, and the Red Sox were one.

Gonzalez first learned of the potential deal when his agent, Eric Goldschmidt, phoned him at midnight while he was aboard a team flight from St. Louis to Cincinnati. His first thought when he saw Goldschmidt's number pop up was, "Something happened. He never calls late at night."

Gonzalez played for the Reds the next night in Cincinnati, then manager Dusty Baker talked to him after the game about the deal. The next day, Gonzalez agreed to the trade, saying that Sox GM Theo Epstein told him, "We need you."