Top News:
Amy K. Nelson / ESPN:
The good son returns home … BOSTON — The wrapped bottle of Cristal champagne was sitting in his new chair. A case of his country's Presidente beer was nearby on the floor with a card on top from Jason Varitek addressed to "Petey." Tommy McLaughlin, the visitors' clubhouse manager at Fenway Park …
Discussion:
Hot Foot
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Associated Press:
Gammons in good condition after surgery — BOSTON (AP) - Peter Gammons, an ESPN analyst and member of the writer's wing of the baseball Hall of Fame, was in good condition Wednesday at a Boston hospital after surgery for a brain aneurysm. — The 61-year-old Gammons was treated at Brigham …
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Gordon Edes / Boston Globe:
Gammons has an aneurysm — ESPN icon placed in intensive care — ESPN baseball analyst Peter Gammons, whose Sunday notes column in the Globe had a seminal impact on the way the sport is covered, came out of surgery and was in intensive care last night for a brain aneurysm.
Jeff Horrigan / Boston Herald:
Baseball guru Gammons stricken by aneurysm — Telephone calls and e-mails from the highest ranks of the baseball and music worlds flooded the press box at Fenway Park last night as word filtered out that Peter Gammons had been stricken by an aneurysm earlier in the day.
Associated Press:
Bowden's fiancee accepts plea deal — MIAMI (AP) — The fiancee of Washington Nationals general manager Jim Bowden accepted a plea agreement Wednesday to settle charges of battery and resisting arrest while in Miami Beach. — Joy Browning, 36, must complete 25 hours of community service …
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Barry Svrluga / Washington Post:
Hill Focused On Results, Not Return — TORONTO, June 27 — Shawn Hill grew up in Mississauga, Ontario, perhaps 30 minutes from Toronto's Rogers Center, and his earliest baseball memories include rooting for the Blue Jays as an 8-year-old in 1989. It would seem, then, that his start …
Barry Svrluga / Washington Post:
Nats Are Mowed Down by Burnett — TORONTO, June 27 — There was a time in December when hope filled a Dallas hotel suite, one packed with executives from the Washington Nationals. General Manager Jim Bowden worked the winter meetings, browbeating agents and other general managers, trying to make a splash.
David Lennon / Newsday:
Reyes OK after scary collision — BOSTON — The Mets admit they have plenty to learn about the complexities of Fenway Park. Fortunately, last night's lesson did not come at a greater expense to Jose Reyes, who could have been badly hurt in a fifth-inning collision with Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek.
Discussion:
Metsblog.com
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Evan Grant / Dallas Morning News:
Rangers' catching platoon a solid hit — Barajas and Laird are swinging mean bats at the same time — SAN FRANCISCO - Just three weeks ago, Rangers manager Buck Showalter said he heard Gerald Laird's noisy bat speaking loud and clear and indicated the backup catcher's playing time might increase.
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Mark Sheldon / MLB.com:
Reds reward Narron, Krivsky — Manager, GM have helped Cincinnati to surprising success — CINCINNATI — The Reds have been surprise playoff contenders this season, but chief executive officer Bob Castellini didn't wait for the race's final outcome to reward his two main architects.
Discussion:
Red Hot Mama
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Tim Sullivan / San Diego Union-Tribune:
Padres continue to treat fallen LaChappa as one of their own — Matt LaChappa hasn't thrown a pitch professionally in 10 years. He is confined to a wheelchair, and constrained by the physical fallout from back-to-back heart attacks. — Yet the Padres continue to pay him as if he were an active player.
Chris De Luca / Chicago Sun Times:
Can the Cubs be fixed? Here are 6 ideas — Let's assume the Cubs will fire Dusty Baker and part ways with pitcher Kerry Wood before Opening Day 2007. Plenty of other work lies ahead if the Cubs are going to avoid that century-mark stigma in 2008 of putting 100 years between them and their last World Series championship.
Discussion:
1060west
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Associated Press:
Red Sox continue to roll in interleague play; Pirates in 12-game skid — The Boston Red Sox are beating up on the National League while the Pittsburgh Pirates keep losing to every team they face. — Mike Lowell and Alex Gonzalez homered to back rookie Jon Lester on Tuesday night …
Discussion:
The Catbird …
Associated Press:
Former pitcher Howe had meth in system when he died in crash — RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — Former major league pitcher Steve Howe had methamphetamine in his system when he died after his pickup truck drifted off a desert highway, a coroner's autopsy showed. — Howe, a former NL Rookie …
Steve Treder / Hardball Times:
Mid-Season Blockbusters: June (Part Three: 1975-2005) — We've examined the most prominent June trades from the early portion of the 20th century, as well as from the middle period. Now we'll take a look at the big deals from the past few decades. — June 13, 1975: The Texas Rangers …
Discussion:
Batter's Box Interactive …
Tom Haudricourt / JSOnline:
Notes: Sore arms are healing — Ohka, De La Rosa to go on rehab assignments in minors — thaudricourt@journalsentinel.com — Chicago - The Milwaukee Brewers moved a step closer Tuesday to getting back one of their injured starting pitchers when right-hander Tomo Ohka was scheduled …
Basil / Federal Baseball:
Freewriting — Sometimes, I feel like this blog is too focused on reacting to things or constrained by the day's news or pigeon-holed by who else is saying stuff about what other people are saying. I don't mean to make this style sound so desultory; by the nature of the medium …
Baseball Prospectus:
Prospectus Notebook — Astros, Mets, Blue Jays — HOUSTON ASTROS — Last week's Roger Clemens-Francisco Liriano matchup was a disappointment for Astros fans looking for a splashy return from the Rocket, but it underscored a bigger problem for Houston.
Discussion:
Mike's Mets
Sasha Talcott / Boston Globe:
Firm seeks Sox radio network name deal — Entercom looks to recoup portion of cost of broadcast rights — The owner of radio stations WEEI and WRKO, fresh from signing one of Major League Baseball's most expensive radio rights deals, has found a way to get some money back: selling naming rights to the Red Sox radio network.
