Baseball-Major League Baseball roundup

Oct 23 (The Sports Xchange) - Veteran baseball executive John Hart reversed course and opted to accept a three-year deal to become president of baseball operations with the Atlanta Braves. The 66-year-old Hart, who has been acting as interim general manager, said earlier this month he preferred to remain with the team as its top adviser rather than committing to a job with such significant time demands. - - Right-handed reliever Tim Lincecum is happy to be heading out of Kansas City after vomiting in the bullpen in Game 1 and leaving the second game for the San Francisco Giants back stiffness. Lincecum pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings before he left the game with tightness in his lower back. The Giants will do further tests on his back to assess his status. He is listed as day-to-day. - - The Philadelphia Phillies signed outfielder Grady Sizemore to a one-year, $2 million contract, CSNPhilly.com reported. The signing came one day before Sizemore would have become a free agent. The Phillies signed Sizemore in June after he was released by the Boston Red Sox. Sizemore hit .233 with five homers overall in 2014, and he hit .253 with three homers in 60 games with the Phillies. - - The Colorado Rockies fired their pitching coach Jim Wright and assistant pitching coach Bo McLaughlin, the team announced. Colorado had the worst ERA in baseball, at 4.84, although playing at Coors Field tends to inflate all pitchers' ERAs. - - Former Yankees batting coach Kevin Long is staying in New York to take the same job with the Mets. Long, who was fired by the Yankees two weeks ago, replaces Dave Hudgens, who was fired as the Mets' hitting coach at midseason. The Mets also added Dustin Clarke as their strength and conditioning coach. (Editing by Frank Pingue)