Respect for these elders

The market for over-40 pitchers will likely be enticing for teams looking to add the final piece to the rotation this offseason. After all, there will be no top-of-the-rotation starters available (short of Andy Pettitte leaving the Yankees), unless you consider Carlos Silva or Kyle Lohse of that ilk (and if you do, you probably won't be employed as a general manager very long).

So Tom Glavine, Curt Schilling, possibly Tim Wakefield, David Wells, and - dare we say - Roger Clemens may be in demand. They are veterans who could solidify the middle to the end of the rotation, much as Jamie Moyer, Greg Maddux, and John Smoltz do for their teams now.

Agent Gregg Clifton, who will peddle both Glavine and Wells, thinks there's a comfort level with older pitchers who have proven reliable.

"Tommy made 34 starts, pitched over 200 innings, won 13 games at age 41, which in many cases is better than many pitchers in their prime," said Clifton. "For Tom at this stage, it's about his family and a place where he can be comfortable finishing out his career."

The feeling among agents and baseball people is that Schilling can probably get a year guaranteed and a vested option for a second year based on innings, or even a straight two-year deal in the $22 million-$24 million range.

Schilling's lack of conditioning may cost him a chance to end his career in Boston. One would think he would not make that mistake again, because if he had come out of the barn strong, the Red Sox might have seriously considered reupping him before spring training began.

Here's a closer look at the older pitchers headed for the market:

1. Glavine (13-8, 4.45, 34 starts, 200 1/3 innings): The lefthander, who earned his 300th win with the Mets this season, has a limited list of teams he would consider. On that list are the Mets, Braves, Nationals, and Cardinals. Glavine makes his home in Atlanta, so that would be the prime spot. At this stage of his career, he's also looking for a spot where he wouldn't have to be the No. 1. In Atlanta, he'd be behind Smoltz and Tim Hudson, a more comfortable situation than New York. So often this season, Glavine was matched up against the opponent's No. 1, which is a lot to ask of a 41-year-old. St. Louis is attractive because it's a short flight to Atlanta. Glavine also may retire.

2. Schilling (9-8, 3.87 ERA, 24 starts, 151 innings): He's made positive statements about Tampa and Philadelphia as cities that could be on his short list should he not come back to Boston. If Glavine leaves the Mets, Schilling would likely be high on GM Omar Minaya's list. One problem with that: Pedro Martínez. As one veteran manager said, "It's Pedro's team. Don't know if he'd want Curt there." The Giants could use a veteran to help out the younger pitchers on the staff.

3. Wakefield (17-12, 4.76 ERA, 31 starts, 189 innings): By all accounts, he will be back in Boston. He has a perpetual option in his contract and is cheap at $4 million. He had a terrific season until physical problems set in toward the end. To accommodate older pitchers, teams need to adjust their schedules to give them more rest before and after the All-Star break so they can re-energize. Wakefield used to be able to pitch between starts; now the Sox treat him like any other pitcher and are cognizant of his age.

4. Wells (9-9, 5.43, 29 starts, 157 1/3 innings): He feels he can keep going as long as teams understand he can make a maximum 20-25 starts. While he'd prefer to stay on the West Coast, he'll sign where the money is and where he can pitch a little more than half a season. Hey, he's lefthanded, and that's a valuable commodity. He could be like Clemens, and not necessarily start the season with a team but then be summoned when there's an injury. He did make 29 starts between the Padres and Dodgers, which is more than most people expected

5. Clemens (6-6, 4.18 ERA, 17 starts, 99 innings): Again? The gut reaction of those closest to him is that he won't return. He has elbow issues (anyone else would need surgery) and the hamstring woes that took him out early from his playoff start. The feeling is that nobody will pay him that much money again (a prorated $28 million) given his production. All of this may be true, but the fact that he hasn't ruled out returning makes him a possible candidate for a team that needs a starter at midseason. Crazy as it sounds, Clemens might be in play again.

6. Kenny Rogers (3-4, 4.43, 11 starts, 62 innings): He's trying to decide in the next few weeks whether he wants to continue playing. He had shoulder surgery, which kept him out until July, then battled elbow issues. We've witnessed the impact he made on the Tigers in 2006.

The view on instant replay

General managers may again discuss the possibility of implementing some form of replay at their annual meetings next month. Should there be limited instant replay in the playoffs? We asked Red Sox outfielder J.D. Drew and Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter.

Drew: "I don't think so. I've always believed you have to keep the human element in the game. I know there are times when everyone wishes that the play could be reviewed like football, but that's the beauty of baseball. You have to make the call on the field. I think with all the umpires getting together and making sure they all saw the same thing gets the call right. I think that would be too drastic a change for the game. We all grew up in the game with the same set of rules. To start changing things because there's a controversial call once in a great while, for me, isn't worth the dramatic change you'd see. There'd be long stoppages in play and I think that could affect the pitchers out there staying warm and staying loose. I think baseball is just fine the way it is."

Carpenter: "Not a fan of it. The great thing about the game is it's run by human judgment and human nature. Incorrect calls are a part of that. Over the past few years, we've been about speeding up the game, reducing the time between pitches and trying to keep the pace going, so I think any form of replay would go counter to that. As a pitcher, I'd hate to see it. If you had a play you had to review, it could take upwards of four or five minutes, and you'd be out there on the mound trying to stay loose. It would be very tough on a pitcher. I understand this wouldn't happen very often, but if you start doing it for anything - if you start reviewing the boundary calls like the ball Manny Ramírez hit the other night - does that open the door for more replay?"

GM Sabean addresses a Giant reconstruction project in San Francisco

A few questions for Giants general manager Brian Sabean:

It's life after Barry Bonds. How do you replace him on the field and at the gate?

BS: "My job is to replace him on the field, and we feel we will be able to do that, probably through a trade. We've stockpiled some young pitching over the last few years and we feel we have some ways to match up with teams that we can acquire a hitter who can make an impact in our lineup. I know in surveying our season-ticket base we found that it was 70-30 in terms of our fans feeling it was time to move on. It's always difficult because Barry meant so much to us, but now we're trying to go in that different direction."

Will your team look a lot different?

BS: "We have to reshape the lineup, and our emphasis is going to be pitching, speed, and defense. Given what's going on in our division - where we have a team like San Diego, which is a strong team on their pitching alone - we need to be able to have that on our team as well as other components that can help us score runs for them. We have a good nucleus of young pitching and we're going to keep building on that. It's important as an organization that you keep developing as much pitching as you can."

Is there great faith that Barry Zito can turn things around?

BS: "I sure think so. In terms of his statistics, he made all of his starts, pitched a lot of innings, and there was never any issue with his durability or his toughness or anything like that. We saw the good, the bad, and the ugly with Barry this year, but after evaluating his season, there were factors involved. There was the change of league, which to me was a huge factor. After a year under his belt in the league and knowing the hitters a lot better, I think we'll see Barry's performance improve.

Do you feel pressure to revamp quickly given that Colorado and Arizona are young teams who figure to be very good in your division for a long time to come?

BS: "I don't know if pressure is the word, but the common theme on those teams is pitching. I know people consider Colorado a good hitting team, but take a look at their pitching and what those guys have done. We play in a pitcher's ballpark, so that has to be the emphasis. We really have to build our team our own way. We have some payroll flexibility and we have to make the right decisions."

Etc.

Touching the bases

Apropos of nothing: 1. Larry Lucchino confirmed he won his bet with Terry Francona, who was not able to stop chewing tobacco for a full season. Francona will donate $20,000 to the charity of Lucchino's choice; 2. Rockies righthander Josh Fogg was born in Lynn; 3. Jed Lowrie might not be that far off from replacing Julio Lugo (who hit .190 on the road) at shortstop; 4. The perfect backup catcher for the Red Sox would be Brad Ausmus, but it looks as if he'll stay in Houston for one more year; 5. Colorado's late-season run is the most amazing thing I've seen since Morgan Magic.

What's his next move?

Potential destinations for Joe Torre? If Dodgers owner Frank McCourt doesn't care for the direction of the team early next season, don't bet against them making a run at Torre. Big market. Big name. Instant credibility. Ditto for the Mets. Torre could also be considered a possible successor to Bobby Cox in Atlanta after next season, if he wants to wait that long. There are plenty of teams that will take comfort in knowing Torre is out there, in case they aren't performing up to par. "Joe could wind up making more money out of this than he did with the Yankees," said one veteran baseball executive. "He may go to TV for a while, but he won't be there very long if he does. It sounds as if he still wants to manage, and I know his motivation in winning again someplace else must be pretty high."

Advantage, Colorado

Mariners manager John McLaren came away with this observation on the NLCS: "The Rockies took advantage of every single opportunity they had against Arizona. If there was a mistake made, they seized upon it. If there was any room to make something happen, they did. I've never seen anything like it. They really have something special going on over there."

Bowling them over

The Rangers absolutely love Engel Beltre, the young outfielder they acquired from Boston in the Eric Gagné deal. Beltre has tremendous raw ability and is a great athlete. Beltre's instructional league team in Arizona recently went on a bowling excursion as a bonding activity. The Dominican-born Beltre had never been bowling before and had to be instructed on how to hold the ball. He rolled a strike on his first ball. The team erupted.

No direct answers

Red Sox ownership is protective of George Mitchell, who holds the title of "director" with the team. When team officials are asked what his role entails or whether he has a limited partner stake in the team, tight lips prevail. Mitchell, the former Maine senator, is about two months or so away from revealing the findings of his steroid investigation, possibly naming names. There's always been the conflict-of-interest element because of his affiliation with the Sox. Would it be fair to question whether the Sox will have no names or fewer names named because of this relationship? Mitchell's integrity has never been questioned, but is it fair to ask these questions? Absolutely.

Pitching turn

Chris Carpenter, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, isn't surprised that Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan was able to turn Joel Piñeiro in the right direction. "I think they clicked, just as Dave and I clicked from the moment I joined him," Carpenter said. "Dave can be very helpful to a pitcher's career. He'll throw a lot of things at you, a lot of information. But if you can absorb it and you don't let it overwhelm you, the things you learn from him are just invaluable. I think Joel was at that point where he was just open to hearing it. He needed to have something like that to get his career going again and he certainly pitched well for us after he joined us." Carpenter expects to start throwing in March.

Extra bases

A few quick things: Mike Easler, Ron Jackson, and Victor Rodriguez - all hitting coaches with Red Sox ties - are being considered for Giants hitting coach . . . Sox assistant GM Jed Hoyer may interview for the Cardinals' GM job . . . Agent Scott Boras said he might stay out of the Japanese market this offseason . . . Theo Epstein is the organizer for the GM meetings in Orlando the first week of November . . . A veteran baseball man, asked about the Rockies' future and whether they'll be good again next season: "Absolutely they will. They're young guys motivated by playing for their first big contract.". . . . Happy 34th birthday, Bryan Corey.

Nick Cafardo can be reached at cafardo@globe.com