Top News:
Bob Ryan / Boston Globe:
Warning: These truths may hurt — You want the truth? — OK. Let's see if you can handle the truth. — The truth is that at present the Red Sox have two reliable pitchers, Curt Schilling and Jonathan Papelbon. — The truth is that, while you cannot blame everything on not having Jason Varitek …
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Tyler Kepner / New York Times:
4 Days Later, Race for First Is a Runaway — The Yankees celebrated after finishing their first five-game sweep of Boston since 1951 and their first at Fenway since 1943. Scoreboard aside, the Red Sox trail by six and a half games. — More than 35,000 sad souls had shuffled out of Fenway Park by 5 p.m. on Monday.
Discussion:
Bronx Banter
Jackie MacMullen / Boston Globe:
Wreckage from this series leaves a sweeping sense of devastation — This mercifully completed series has been like a horrific house fire burning out of control, the flames licking higher and higher, inflicting more and more damage as the games raged on and the losses piled up.
Discussion:
NY Daily News
Joe Sheehan / Baseball Prospectus:
Prospectus Today — The Sweep — No one saw that coming. — The Yankees' brutal, and at times ugly, dispatch of the Red Sox over 75 or so hours was perhaps the biggest surprise of the 2006 baseball season. As disparate as the two teams' fortunes had been since the All-Star break …
Discussion:
NY Daily News
Sam Borden / NY Daily News:
Slaughter house five — Massacre of '06 does in Fenway — BOSTON - The idea of a Yankees sweep lingered in the back of Joe Torre's mind as his team touched down at the airport here Thursday night. He did not share it with anyone. — "Managers like to dream," Torre said before the series finale …
NY Daily News:
Wells finally delivers — Dazed Boston limps to West Coast — BOSTON - The Red Sox hadn't been able to depend on David Wells all season. Now he might be performing better than any pitcher on their staff. — Wells was a hard-luck loser in yesterday's 2-1 loss.
Amalie Benjamin / Boston Globe:Wells hangs tough but Sox can't avert a Yankees sweep
Discussion:
Surviving Grady
Barry Svrluga / Washington Post:
Nats' Clutch Hits A Long Way Off — It's as if they're playing basketball, and they go to the free throw line, where they haven't made a shot in a month. Or perhaps they're golfers with the yips, unable to stride confidently to three-foot putts and knock them solidly into the back of the cup.
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Associated Press:
Gibbons, Lilly feud in Jays loss; A's overcome eight-run deficit — CBS SportsLine.com wire reports — TORONTO — While the Oakland Athletics keep fighting for a playoff spot, the Toronto Blue Jays are still tangling with each other. — Manager John Gibbons wound up with a bloody nose …
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Jordan Bastian / MLB.com:Jays lose tight game after altercation
Discussion:
Batter's Box Interactive …
Mark Hale / New York Post:
TOM'S TERRIFIC — SOURCE: TEST SAYS GLAV CAN — RETURN IN WEEK — Tom Glavine will be taking the mound again. — A source told The Post last night that the Mets' All-Star left-hander - feared done for the season, maybe even for his career with a possible blood clot in his pitching shoulder …
Discussion:
Hot Foot
Juan C. Rodriguez / Sun-Sentinel:
Willingham's hot streak defies explanation — · Josh Willingham hasn't spent much time looking for answers. He has resigned himself to the fact that streaks are part of the game and trying to explain them is counterproductive. — He's hot now and can't pinpoint why.
Discussion:
FishStripes
Paul Sullivan / Chicago Tribune:
O'Malley to lure hometown flock — A caravan of Ryan O'Malley fans will be traveling up Interstate Hwy. 55 from Springfield on Tuesday to watch the Cubs' rookie make his Wrigley Field debut against ex-Cub Jamie Moyer. — O'Malley made a big splash in his major-league debut, throwing eight shutout innings Wednesday against Houston.
Discussion:
Metsblog.com
Mark Gonzales / Chicago Tribune:
Cubs' woes no mystery to Perez — Says rookie starters, injuries made it tough — DETROIT — Neifi Perez displayed the same joy Monday that he had during his tenure of almost two seasons with the Cubs. — But as he moved from a fifth-place team to the first-place Detroit Tigers …
Discussion:
GROTA
Adam Rubin / NY Daily News:
Mets get 'closer' to Green — The Mets are closing in on Diamondbacks outfielder Shawn Green, though sources familiar with the discussions cautioned that no deal is final until the sides agree to exact financial terms. — GM Omar Minaya and Diamondbacks counterpart Josh Byrnes …
Discussion:
Metsblog.com
Ken Rosenthal / Fox Sports:
Seat gets warmer for several managers — Rarely do teams fire managers in August, but the Mariners easily could justify the dismissal of Mike Hargrove. — The mounting case against Hargrove includes 20 consecutive losses to AL West opponents, highlighted by a just-completed 0-11 trip to Texas …
Rick Sutcliffe / ESPN:
Furcal, Lofton leading the charge — The NL MVP should be unanimous this season: Los Angeles Dodgers GM Ned Colletti. If you look back to when he was hired, there was a huge mess in L.A. that needed cleaning up. Within 58 days, Colletti hired a new coaching staff and manager, made three trades and acquired seven free agents.
