Top News:
Ben Shpigel / New York Times:
Theme for Martínez Could Be From 'Rocky' — On its own, the fastball that rammed into Jose Guillen's upper arm in the fifth inning last night was merely an errant pitch, one that got away from Pedro Martínez. But by that point, Guillen had had enough.
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Barry Svrluga / Washington Post:
Nats Get Hit, Run Over by Mets — Martinez Plunks Guillen Twice, Benches Clear: Mets 10, Nationals 5 — NEW YORK, April 6 — When the second pitch hit Jose Guillen's shoulder, it was on, because Guillen doesn't like that kind of thing, and he already had been hit earlier in the night …
Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Near brawl overshadows Nats' loss — Guillen hit by two Martinez pitches in 10-5 defeat to Mets — NEW YORK — A near brawl between Mets right-hander Pedro Martinez and Nationals outfielder Jose Guillen overshadowed Washington's 10-5 loss to New York in front of 25,839 at Shea Stadium on Thursday night.
Discussion:
Capitol Punishment
Mark Zuckerman / Washington Times:
Mets pound Nationals — NEW YORK — A little emotion is never a bad thing, and the Washington Nationals were playing with plenty of it last night at Shea Stadium. — Of course, emotion can take a team only so far. It also helps to have a little pitching, and that's something the Nationals …
David Lennon / Newsday:
From a no-hitter to no, no way — It all falls apart after Bannister holds Nats hitless for 51/3 in debut; Wagner blows save and Julio gives up 5 in 10th — The baseball that should have belonged to Brian Bannister wound up denting the second-deck façade in leftfield.
Discussion:
Metsblog.com
Associated Press:
Gagne's season in doubt with surgery looming — LOS ANGELES — Dodgers closer Eric Gagne will have surgery Friday to remove a nerve from his pitching elbow — his second arm operation in less than a year — leaving his season in doubt. — Dodgers trainer Stan Johnston …
Discussion:
The House That Dewey Built
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Ian Browne / MLB.com:
Clement out to ground Birds — Boston (2-1) at Baltimore (2-1), 7:05 p.m. ET, Friday — He enters the season under the radar, the forgotten man in a rotation that includes Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, Tim Wakefield and David Wells. — But that suits Matt Clement just fine. He just wants to pitch.
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Spencer Fordin / MLB.com:
Cabrera, O's face Red Sox — Boston (2-1) at Baltimore (2-1), 7:05 p.m. ET — The Orioles got shut out on Thursday night, but their season-opening series still brought some promising signs. Baltimore scored 25 runs in the first three games — 20 more than it scored in last season's opening series.
T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com:
Notes: Roster move expected Friday — DeRosa's injury, Dickey's outing could lead to changes — ARLINGTON — The Rangers are expected to make a roster move Friday and bring up pitcher Rick Bauer from Triple-A Oklahoma. — The question is if they'll have to put infielder Mark DeRosa …
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball
Troy E. Renck / Denver Post:
Omission raises question — Is Colorado the majors' most forgettable team? … Was the Rockies' "capsule" inadvertently left out of this morning's USA Today baseball preview? Does that say something about how the Rox are perceived by sports writers? — Dave, Centennial
Discussion:
Purple Row
Winnie Hu / New York Times:
Yankees Win as Council Approves Stadium — The New York Yankees' effort to build a new stadium cleared its biggest hurdle yesterday with lopsided City Council votes supporting the team's ambitious plan to knock down the Bronx institution known around the world as the House that Ruth Built.
Eric / Off Wing Opinion:
MLS Goals, Week #1 — I probably should have said something with MLS 2006 getting underway last weekend, so to make up for it, here's a highlight reel of goals from week one: — For more MLS news, check out DCenters, the favorite blog for the best fans in all of MLS.
Joe Strauss / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Cards Notebook: Looper is still waiting — The Cardinals won a game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday night without righthanded set-up man Braden Looper entering a tied eighth inning. — And that arrangement may not change for awhile, manager Tony La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan said Thursday.
Discussion:
Viva El Birdos
Bryan Hoch / MLB.com:
Mets unveil model of new stadium — Facility will pay homage to New York and club's history — NEW YORK — Speaking about the Mets' 21st century field of dreams on Thursday, Fred Wilpon struggled to maintain his composure, his voice cracking with emotion.
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Chris Snow / Boston Globe:
Error ball? — 'Fielding Bible' points out Red Sox' flaws — Meet John Dewan. He is effectively Bill James, without the name cachet, and with fewer years invested in experimenting with baseball statistics. Dewan, in 2002, founded Baseball Info Solutions, a company that logs each pitch …
Discussion:
Yanksfan vs Soxfan
Mark Gonzales / Chicago Tribune:
Garland gears up for stellar sequel — Starter says last year no fluke, believes he can win another 18 — After snapping a streak of three consecutive 12-victory seasons, White Sox right-hander Jon Garland believes he's capable of another 18 wins this year. And Garland doesn't care if people wonder whether he overachieved.
Discussion:
South Side Sox
