10/4 Last day of school

Sean Marshall and Jeff Stevens got one more game of pre-game frisbee in on Sunday at Wrigley Field. Reed Johnson was packing his locker up for his drive home. Jeff Samardzija was prepping for his Mexican League stint in Mexicali. Johnson, Sam Fuld, and Geovany Soto were all gearing up for new babies this offseason.

“After today,” GM Jim Hendry said, “we’re going to put [the season] behind us and start working on putting together a better club for Spring Training.”

* Lou Piniella planned on meeting with the players to thank them for their efforts and say goodbye. An official announcement was expected Monday or Tuesday, but Piniella’s coaching staff was expected to be retained.

* Ryne Sandberg was expected to be invited back to manage in the Cubs Minor League system in 2010. Piniella didn’t want to get involved in whether Sandberg would replace him.

“I’m not the one who will be hiring the next manager here,” Piniella said.

* Here are some World Series picks:

Alfonso Soriano: Yankees over Phillies

Justin Berg: Yankees over Cardinals

Sean Marshall: Yankees over Cardinals

Jake Fox: Red Sox over Cardinals

Micah Hoffpauir: Red Sox over Phillies

Kevin Gregg: Tigers over Cardinals

Aaron Miles: Phillies over Yankees

Len Kasper: Yankees over Cardinals

John Grabow: Yankees over Cardinals

– Carrie Muskat