Flannery steps down

Tim Flannery is ready to leave the baseball grind. Flannery announced he is retiring as the San Francisco Giants third-base coach. “The grueling grind, the schedule, the demands have taken a toll, and I feel it is the time to step off the highway and heal. This baseball life is a blessing, but collateral damage comes with it,” Flannery said. Flannery, 57, who managed for the Spokane Indians in 1993, was also Giants manager Bruce Bochy’s third-base coach when he was manager of the San Diego Padres from 1996-2002. The two have teamed up in San Francisco since 2007. Flannery also fronts a band called Lunatic Fringe.– Associated Press