Top News:
Michael Silverman / Boston Herald:
Foulke puts team ahead of himself — ARLINGTON, Texas - For one game at least, Jonathan Papelbon became the Red Sox closer. — To the man who held the job the last two years, Keith Foulke, the decision was not only the right one but it was handled properly.
Discussion:
The Baseball Desert
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Ian Browne / MLB.com:
Young guns strong-arm Rangers — Beckett settles down, gets first Sox win thanks to Papelbon — ARLINGTON — His adrenaline still heightened after pitch No. 109 baffled Michael Young for an inning-ending strikeout, Josh Beckett pumped his fist with vigor and hopped off the mound.
Discussion:
Boston Red Sox
Boston Globe:
Lowe report cites drinking — Website details divorce deposition — ARLINGTON, Texas — Former Red Sox pitcher Derek Lowe said in a deposition during divorce proceedings that the Red Sox believed he had a drinking issue but that he disagreed, according to RonFineman.com …
Ken Gurnick / MLB.com:
Kent injured as Dodgers drop finale — Pitching struggles as four-run first inning goes for naught — LOS ANGELES — Starter Odalis Perez lost a five-run lead and the Dodgers went on to lose Jeff Kent, Olmedo Saenz and Wednesday night's finale to the Atlanta Braves, 9-8.
Discussion:
6-4-2
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Steve Henson / Los Angeles Times:
For Loney, It's Night to Remember — Rookie first baseman is thankful as he makes his debut for the Dodgers in a 5-4 victory over the Braves and gets his first hit. Garciaparra goes on DL. — James Loney sounded for all the world like Reese Witherspoon the night of the Academy Awards …
Discussion:
6-4-2
Tom Krasovic / San Diego Union-Tribune:
Baptism at Petco Park — Rainout is Padres' first since Qualcomm Stadium days in 1998; make-up scheduled July 1 — How fitting that when rain last night postponed a Padres home game for the first time since May 12, 1998, Shawn Estes was the team's scheduled pitcher. — Drought-stricken farmers should hire Estes.
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Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Pesky Nats rally past Mets in extras — Zimmerman ties game in ninth; Guillen homers in five-run 10th — NEW YORK — On Wednesday night, the game-time temperature between the Nationals and Mets was 44 degrees at Shea Stadium, and the Nationals' bats were just as cold for the most of the game.
Discussion:
Federal Baseball
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Anthony Rieber / Newsday:Ready to get started — Confident Bannister has done his homework …
Discussion:
Metsblog.com
Kevin Goldstein / Baseball Prospectus:
Future Shock — 2006 Draft Notebook, Part One — The upcoming draft is even more wide open than it was when last we checked in. As more players continue to take steps backwards instead of forwards, the first round remains highly unstable—teams are struggling to find players they believe …
Discussion:
JinAZ On Baseball and the Reds
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Will Carroll / Baseball Prospectus:
Under The Knife — West Coast Love — Late West Coast games are simultaneously one of the best and worst things about baseball. On the one hand, it's more baseball, and that's almost always a good thing. Mixing in three good games in a day (day game, night game, West Coast game) …
Mike Scarr / MLB.com:
Angels shut down by familiar face — Offense kept in check by former teammate Washburn — SEATTLE — Wednesday couldn't have turned out much better for Jarrod Washburn. — The left-hander hit his spots, caused batters to miss badly with his breaking pitches and otherwise commanded …
Discussion:
6-4-2
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Mike DiGiovanna / Los Angeles Times:
Mariners Cash In on Lackey — SEATTLE — It was a game that almost defied explanation for the Angels, who were supposed to ride their starting pitching, defense and bullpen to contention in the American League West but suffered major breakdowns in all three areas in Tuesday night's 10-8 loss to the Seattle Mariners in Safeco Field.
Paul Sullivan / Chicago Tribune:
GM Jim Hendry has made some shrewd moves with the Cubs, outweighing mistakes, writes Paul Sullivan — Studs offset duds — CINCINNATI — Jim Hendry is an unapologetic throwback, the kind of front-office executive who still values his scouts' opinions over a computerized printout of every statistic imaginable.
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Rick Hummel / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Thumbs Up! New Busch earns accolades — How does Busch Stadium play? — 1. The mound — "I like it. I was really comfortable, like I'd pitched here before. I think everybody on the staff is going to like it." Sidney Ponson — 2. The field — "I can't believe how good the field is. ...
Joe Cowley / Chicago Sun Times:
Guillen gets a tad upset with Iguchi — White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen did his best to make sure his initial conversation with second baseman Tadahito Iguchi did not get lost in translation. — But when he heard that Iguchi had snapped off a "no comment'' to the media …
Matthew Leach / MLB.com:
Notes: Schumaker in the mix — Eckstein fine day after collision; Rodriguez improving — PHILADELPHIA — Skip Schumaker's stock has risen considerably, while So Taguchi's has fallen only slightly. Larry Bigbie is unavailable, but John Rodriguez is merely limited.
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Richard Sandomir / New York Times:
On ESPN, Bonds Is Shaken, Not Perturbed — "Bonds on Bonds," the ESPN vanity series that made its debut last night, shows a Barry Bonds that few of us know: he weeps, he talks to his father at his gravesite, he mops up the mess from a busted aquarium pipe in his house, he wonders why he is not GQ's most-hated athlete.
Discussion:
Ben Maller
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Mitch Stacy / Associated Press:
Gooden sentenced to a year in prison for violating probation — Gooden sentenced to a year in prison for violating probation — TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Former baseball star Dwight Gooden was sentenced Wednesday to a year and a day in prison for violating his probation by using cocaine …
Discussion:
The Eddie Kranepool Society
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