Top News:
Bob Ryan / Boston Globe:
There is no cause for alarm — ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — I suppose you want to know what's going on. — Baseball's going on. The Big 162. The ebb and the flow. — They go to Minnesota, drop three in a row, and you want someone to hijack their plane and drop them off in the middle of the Pacific Ocean somewhere.
Discussion:
Dan Shaughnessy Watch
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Jeff Horrigan / Boston Herald:The Crawford Show — Rays star steals spotlight vs. Sox
Discussion:
The Soxaholix
NY Daily News:
Chacon could be on the way out — CLEVELAND - It appears unlikely that Shawn Chacon will make his scheduled start Sunday, but that could be the least of his concerns. With Chacon failing to show any of the magic he had last season, his time with the Yankees could be coming to an end.
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Tyler Kepner / New York Times:The Yankees Rebound, but Damon Falls to the Side
Discussion:
NY Daily News
Kat O'Brien / Dallas Star-Telegram:
RANGERS NOTES — Loe could move to bullpen — ARLINGTON - Right-hander Kameron Loe, who is on the disabled list with a right elbow bone bruise, played catch on flat ground from 90 feet Wednesday. He is scheduled to throw bullpen sessions Friday and Sunday, then begin a rehab assignment at Double A Frisco.
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Juan C. Rodriguez / Sun-Sentinel:
Eight-run inning ties Marlins mark; Marlins 18, Nationals 9 — WASHINGTON — The Marlins completed a double play to end the fifth inning and retreated to their dugout, but they could just as well have converged on the RFK Stadium diamond and started shaking hands.
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Clark Spencer / Miami Herald:
Marlins win with ample support system — Yusmeiro Petit won his first major-league start thanks to an outburst by Florida's offense, which produced 19 hits and tied a team record with an eight-run inning. — cspencer@MiamiHerald.com — WASHINGTON - It looked for the longest time that Wednesday wouldn't be Yusmeiro Petit's day.
Mike Kiley / Chicago Sun Times:
Dusty's lifeline — winning — HOUSTON — A day after prompting speculation about manager Dusty Baker's future by saying he will evaluate the Cubs' situation during the All-Star break, general manager Jim Hendry tried to temper all the guesswork. — Hendry said Wednesday that Baker might …
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Paul Sullivan / Chicago Tribune:
Hendry backs off Baker deadline — GM says evaluation of Cubs' staff could take days—or weeks — HOUSTON — General manager Jim Hendry met with Dusty Baker before Wednesday's game and discussed published reports that the Cubs' manager and some of his coaching staff could be in danger of losing their jobs during the All-Star break.
Discussion:
Goat Riders of the Apocalypse
Ben Shpigel / New York Times:
METS 5, PIRATES 0 — Slow-Pitch Baseball as Hernández Quells the Pirates Softly — Cliff Floyd scored one of the Mets' five runs in the first inning in a 5-0 win over Kip Wells and the Pirates. Orlando Hernández earned the victory. — Orlando Hernández threw …
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Dave Studeman / Hardball Times:
Ten Things I Didn't Know Last Week — Interleague play finished this past Sunday and the American League gave the National an old-fashioned whuppin': 154-98. I'm not the biggest fan of interleague play, but I don't hate it either, and it certainly does give me good material for this column.
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Patrick Reusse / Minneapolis Star Tribune:
Twins option Bonser to Class AAA Rochester — The Twins optioned Boof Bonser, a righthanded starting pitcher, to Class AAA Rochester on Wednesday. Bonser was 2-2 with a 5.30 ERA in seven starts for the Twins. He lasted only three innings, allowing four runs on four hits and four walks, in Tuesday night's 7-2 loss to Kansas City.
Rob / The Birdwatch:
THE CAVALRY — As you've probably heard, the Cardinals have made a move to bolster a struggling pitching staff, trading outfield prospect Terry Evans to the Angels for Jeff Weaver. I'm old enough to remember another Weaver riding to town to save the day. Let's hope this one isn't quite as preposterous.
Discussion:
Associated Press, Viva El Birdos, Cardinals Diaspora, Get Up, Baby!, The 26th Man, Reverend Redbird and Baseball Musings
USA Today:
Greg Maddux plus Randy Johnson equals Chris Young — SAN DIEGO — Chris Young, wearing a blue golf shirt and shorts, trying to look like any other San Diego tourist, still draws stares as he heads out walking for lunch. — "It's OK now," Young says. "People walk up and ask questions about the Padres.
Discussion:
Gaslamp Ball
Juan C. Rodriguez / Sun-Sentinel:
Elbow surgery will end Martinez's season — WASHINGTON — Carlos Martinez's season is over. — As the Marlins feared, the right-hander needs Tommy John surgery. Dr. James Andrews, who examined Martinez on Wednesday, will perform the operation today in Birmingham, Ala.
John Branch / New York Times:
60 Years and 1,000 Tales Since 14 Were Ejected — Sixty years is a long time to stretch a memory. But Dario Lodigiani is certain that the reason that he and 13 other Chicago White Sox players and coaches were ejected from a game against the Boston Red Sox had nothing to do with a ventriloquist in the stands.
Paul Kelso / Guardian:
Scowling Scolari blames referee — It was always unlikely that Portugal would leave this World Cup quietly and so it proved last night as Cristiano Ronaldo and coach Luiz Felipe Scolari laid the blame for their semi-final defeat at the feet of the Uraguayan referee Jorge Larrionda.
Dejan Kovacevic / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Pirates Notebook: Burnitz, Randa amenable to being traded — NEW YORK — Neither Jeromy Burnitz nor Joe Randa has asked the Pirates for a trade. — But neither sounds as if he would be terribly troubled if one were to happen. — Check out Burnitz's typically candid response to a question on the matter yesterday:
Discussion:
Bucs Dugout
