Wedge, Melvin win awards

Eric Wedge and Bob Melvin, former backup catchers who found far more success in the dugout than on the field, were honored Wednesday as managers of the year.

Wedge became the first Cleveland manager to win the American League award, picked by a wide margin after the Indians and Boston tied for the best record in baseball. Melvin was the first Arizona manager to get the National League prize, chosen after leading the young Diamondbacks to the best record in the league.

Wedge received 19 of the 28 first-place votes and got 116 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Assn. of America, finishing ahead of the Angels’ Mike Scioscia (62 points). Joe Torre, who walked away from the Yankees last month, was next with 61 and Terry Francona of the World Series champion Red Sox got 13.

“There’s always challenges and unexpected challenges you go through over the course of six months. I think we were the extreme of that,” Wedge said.

Wedge, a no-nonsense guy with a John Wayne calendar in his office, guided the Indians to a 96-66 record. Cleveland made its first playoff appearance since 2001, then lost to the Red Sox in Game 7 of the AL championship series.

Melvin was chosen on 19 of the 30 first-place ballots and got 119 points. Philadelphia’s Charlie Manuel (76) and Colorado’s Clint Hurdle (58) followed.

Melvin was chosen for his steady hand in leading a team that sometimes started six rookies to a 90-72 mark.

From the Associated Press

The Dodgers confirmed that they will play host to the Red Sox in a three-game exhibition series March 28-30.

The first and last games of the series will be played at Dodger Stadium, and the middle game is expected to be played at the Coliseum.

Major League Baseball and the players’ union announced that the Red Sox will face the Oakland Athletics in a two-game set in Japan to open the 2008 season. The games will be held March 25 and 26 in the Tokyo Dome.

Rick Honeycutt met with Dodgers Manager Joe Torre in New York on Monday to discuss his possible return as the Dodgers’ pitching coach next season.

“We’ve never met,” Honeycutt said. “It was more of a get-to-know-each-other.”

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Dylan Hernandez