Top News:
Ben Shpigel / New York Times:
Yet Again, a Final Swing From Wright Settles It — With Endy Chávez on second base and no outs in the ninth inning and the Mets trailing the Arizona Diamondbacks by a run, José Reyes was asked to do something he rarely does: lay down a sacrifice bunt.
Discussion:
Amazin' Avenue
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Metswalkoffs / Mets Walkoffs And Other Minutiae:
Save the Last Dance — In the interest of preventing guilt feelings, apparently I'm not the only Mets blogger to title his post in this way. See Metstradamus for another such perspective. — So we substitute die-hard Mets fan Julia Stiles (it says so in her IMDB.com bio) …
Peter Botte / NY Daily News:
Mets rally to snake out win — They were wet, they were tired and they still were filling Shea with soccer-style chants more befitting the upcoming World Cup than what would have seemed a lost cause for most teams in baseball. — But Mets fans have come to realize that nothing is truly …
Discussion:
the metropolitans
Peter Botte / NY Daily News:
Delgado can't snap 1st slump — It happened with Alex Rodriguez and others with the Yankees, and it happened in a big way with Carlos Beltran last season with the Mets. — Carlos Delgado has had no such problems adjusting to his first year in New York, but the slugging first baseman …
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Julian Garcia / NY Daily News:
Jose's 2nd chance — The Mets signed Jose Valentin in the offseason because of his versatility. But the veteran handyman is also showing he's pretty good with the bat. — Making his second straight start at second base, Valentin went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in last night's 8-7 win over the Diamondbacks.
Discussion:
Metsblog.com
Evan Grant / Dallas Morning News:
Rangers' rookie is spot-on in 2-0 win — ARLINGTON - John Rheinecker went out and messed up the Rangers' plans Monday night. He did it by stifling Seattle. — Rheinecker made the Rangers' decisions about the roster a whole lot tougher by pitching the crispest game a Texas starter has pitched this year.
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball
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Tyler Kepner / New York Times:
Johnson Shows He Can Still Play the Ace — DETROIT, May 29 — In the bottom of the second inning at Comerica Park on Monday, Randy Johnson tried to throw a fastball off the plate. It sailed over the middle. Chris Shelton laced a bullet to the gap in right-center field.
Discussion:
Bronx Banter
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NY Daily News:
Defiant Unit finds change is good — DETROIT - If Randy Johnson has given in to the need to reinvent himself as a pitcher, as the Tigers seemed to think and even Ron Guidry indicated, he doesn't seem to want to admit it. — And you can't blame him for that.
Discussion:
Baseball Musings
Juan C. Rodriguez / Sun-Sentinel:
Hermida just about back to full speed — · A popular preseason National League Rookie of the Year pick, Jeremy Hermida has to make up ground to prove the prognosticators right. — One of his swings Sunday showed he might not be far from starting his push.
Discussion:
FishStripes
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Nick Cafardo / Boston Globe:
Injury stops Wells before he can start again — TORONTO — David Wells was trying his best to be a medical miracle. — Whacked off the right kneecap with a line drive Friday night, Wells has made better progress than he thought, but his attempt to show that he could make his scheduled start tomorrow …
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Associated Press:
Wood earns first win in 10 1/2 months, hits clutch RBI for Cubs — CBS SportsLine.com wire reports — CHICAGO — Kerry Wood delivered his best start of the season when the Chicago Cubs needed him the most. — Wood pitched six solid innings and hit a key RBI single to get his first win since July 15 …
Discussion:
The Cub Reporter
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Marc Topkin / St. Petersburg Times:
New pitch is born out of compromise … BALTIMORE - When Doug Waechter was warming up to pitch in Boston on Thursday, he didn't have a good feel for the split-finger fastball he had debuted in his previous start. — He fidgeted with his grip until it felt comfortable and ended up somewhere between …
Barry Svrluga / Washington Post:
For Jackson, A Starting Adjustment — PHILADELPHIA, May 29 — A week ago, Damian Jackson had started only five games all year for the Washington Nationals. Then, he reeled off six straight starts — all in center field — during a stretch in which Ryan Church was sent to the minors and his replacement …
Discussion:
Washington Times
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Dodger Thoughts:
Let It Go — "It was the first jam I get in all year and I don't get a chance to get out of it," said Penny, who voiced his displeasure with Little on the mound before taking a swing at a water cooler with a bat in the dugout and yelling in anger. — "I wanted a chance to get that inning out of the way …
Rich Lederer / The Baseball Analysts:
Jered Weaver Rises to the Occasion in His MLB Debut — Jered Weaver made his much-anticipated major-league debut on Saturday night vs. the Baltimore Orioles. He allowed only five O's to reach base (one by error) while putting up nothing but O's on the scoreboard over seven innings as the Angels beat the Birds, 10-1.
Baseball Crank:
Baseball's Best Pitching Teams — Following yesterday's look at the Tigers and how their team ERA stands head and shoulders above the American League, I thought I would take a look - as I did here and here with slugging and OBP - at the all-time great pitching teams in terms of team ERA compared …
Jeffrey Flanagan / Kansas City Star:
A's general manager still has high hopes for Teahen — I t's going on two years since the Royals made the big three-team Carlos Beltran trade that netted them Mark Teahen. And we still don't know whether Teahen can be a productive major-league player.
John Perrotto / Beaver County Times & Allegheny Times:
Players, GM, yes, and Tracy responsible for Bucs' woes — Jim Tracy says the fact that the Pittsburgh Pirates have struggled to win one-third of the games with the season at nearly the one-third point of the season is his players' fault. — He is only one-third right about that.
Discussion:
Bucs Dugout
Marc Topkin / St. Petersburg Times:
Sternberg's ballgame … NEW YORK- He, obviously, has a considerable workload in trying to turn around the Devil Rays. He participates in a handful of investment groups. He still works occasionally with some of the Wall Street colleagues with whom he made hundreds of millions of dollars.
