Top News:
Paul Sullivan / Chicago Tribune:
Wrist of fate — 2 broken bones likely to bench Lee at least 2 months; Cubs sift options — Derrek Lee could miss at least two months with a broken right wrist, putting the injury-plagued Cubs in the same boat in which they capsized last summer. — Lee will be in a cast for up to six weeks …
Discussion:
Goat Riders of the Apocalypse, 1060west, Cardinals Diaspora, The Cub Reporter, Dodger Thoughts and Chicagoist
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Rick Hummel / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Cards-Cubs: Not another series for fans — The Chicago Cubs and their fond faithful will make their first visit to the newest of the Busch stadiums tonight. And other than an aberration last year when they won the season series here five games to three, the Cubs have found wins difficult …
Discussion:
CardNilly
Jeff Horrigan / Boston Herald:
Wells may retire: Knee woes worry lefty — David Wells said he will abruptly pull the plug on his 20th and final major league season if his knee problems do not start to improve or if he discovers that he is risking his future health by continuing to pitch.
Discussion:
404
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Amalie Benjamin / Boston Globe:
Ortiz looking for upgrade — DH award not his first choice — As usual, David Ortiz's laugh entered the room before he did. The Red Sox slugger followed, clad in a red warmup shirt and clutching a bottle of pink vitamin water, sure to be the official drink of budding designated hitters across New England.
Discussion:
Reb Sox
David Lennon / Newsday:
Oldie is still a goodie — Franco's pinch HR sparks six-run rally as trip begins with a win — SAN DIEGO — The Mets approached last night's game against the Padres with an all-hands-on-deck mentality. They emptied the trainer's room and even the forgotten Kaz Matsui …
Discussion:
Mike's Mets
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Ben Shpigel / New York Times:
Becoming Oldest to Homer, Franco Rallies the Mets — SAN DIEGO, April 20 - More often than not, Julio Franco is the answer to questions that begin, "Who is the oldest player in baseball to..." — Franco, at 47 years 240 days, is by far the oldest player in the major leagues …
Discussion:
Metsblog.com
Barry Svrluga / Washington Post:
Johnson, Nationals Pound the Phillies — Traber Also Contributes as Robinson Wins 1,000th: Nationals 10, Phillies 4 — PHILADELPHIA, April 20 — Nick Johnson's manager knows something about hitting, and that means he knows something about the feeling Johnson must have right now.
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Marty Noble / MLB.com:
Notes: Piazza, Mets reconnect — Catcher tries to dowplay first meeting with former team — SAN DIEGO — The changes are conspicuous — facial hair, a smaller body, a smaller batting average. He's No. 33 on your scorecard. The only 31 in his new identity is concealed in his batting average — .231.
Discussion:
Metsblog.com
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Jim Moore / Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
Go 2 Guy: Where have all the M's fans gone? — For the third consecutive game, there were more empty seats than fans at Safeco Field Thursday night. — Tuesday's game set a record low for attendance at Safeco Field until Wednesday's game went even lower, down to 17,613 fans.
Discussion:
U.S.S. Mariner
Dave Scheiber / St. Petersburg Times:
He's no talk, all action — "George Hendrick is probably one of the best clubhouse coaches I've ever been around. He is universally liked by every baseball player or person who's ever been affiliated with him. He's very introspective and bright. He's very straightforward and honest.
David Lennon / Newsday:
Pedro forced to get more crafty — SAN DIEGO — Pedro Martinez has taken on a mythical quality with the Mets, and not just on the days that he's pitching. When principal owner Fred Wilpon stopped by the Shea clubhouse this week to congratulate him on his 200th victory, Martinez shook his hand and mentioned, "Donald Trump says hello."
Baseball Prospectus:
ANAHEIM ANGELS — Placed RHP Bartolo Colon on the 15-day DL (shoulder inflammation), retroactive to 4/16; recalled RHP Kevin Gregg from Salt Lake (Triple-A). [4/19] — Colon is notionally going to only miss the requisite two weeks, but we'll see how that works out.
Discussion:
The Transaction Guy
Dave Studeman / Hardball Times:
Developments in the Baseball Blogosphere — Toward the end of the 2004 season, I wrote about a key late-season Dodgers/Giants game, and I graphed the Win Expectancy of the game, play by play. As far as I know, this was the first time it had been done, and I was pretty proud of myself.
Mike Berardino / Sun-Sentinel:
BERARDINO: Tough to say it, but Uggla a beauty — Blending into the major leagues as a rookie second baseman hasn't been the hardest part for Dan Uggla. — Getting people to pronounce his last name properly has been the larger challenge. — Fans. Teammates. Visiting broadcasters.
Discussion:
FishStripes


