Top News:
Jeff Horrigan / Boston Herald:
Wells may go to Dodgers — OAKLAND, Calif. - Left-hander David Wells, who is scheduled to start the first game of the homestand tomorrow against the Blue Jays, flew back to Boston yesterday to rest up for the outing. — General manager Theo Epstein refused to discuss a report that he is prepared …
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Nick Cafardo / Boston Globe:
Contending teams may come after Wells — OAKLAND, Calif. — The days on the West Coast have been action-packed for the Red Sox — mostly in the trainer's room, but not on the field, where they are free-falling into oblivion. — Yesterday, there was talk of the Sox trying to get something for David Wells …
Joe Strauss / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Cards pursue trade for Wells — Increasingly uncertain about the identity of their potential No. 3 playoff starter, the Cardinals have joined a mix of National League clubs involved in trade discussions for Boston Red Sox lefthander David Wells, sources told the Post-Dispatch on Tuesday.
Buster Olney / ESPN:
Source: Sox appear likely to trade Wells … The Red Sox are shopping veteran pitcher David Wells, and a source familiar with the conversations has put the odds at "80-20 or 90-10" that Boston will trade him in the next 48 hours. — St. Louis, the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego appear …
David Heuschkel / Hartford Courant:
There's No Pain Relief For Red Sox — OAKLAND, Calif. — Unless you count the final day of the regular season when the Orioles play at Fenway Park, there will be no October baseball in Boston this year. At this rate, the majority of games in September could be meaningless.
Discussion:
The Joy of Sox
Jessica Fargen / Boston Herald:
Caution urged in diagnosing Ortiz: MDs wait for tests — Doctors say it's unlikely that David Ortiz' irregular heartbeat, which sidelined him this week and left Red Sox nation stunned, would end his career or stymie the star slugger for too long, but they cautioned that it's just too early to know for sure.
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Liz Kowalczyk / Boston Globe:
Fibrillation wouldn't threaten career — The Red Sox released few details about David Ortiz's medical condition yesterday, but cardiologists said several clues, including the decision not to rush him to a hospital in Oakland where the team is playing, indicate he probably is not suffering …
Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Notes: Vidro critical of Nationals — Second baseman doesn't like the effort he's seen this year — WASHINGTON — Second baseman Jose Vidro played on some bad Expos teams during his eight years in Montreal, but, according to Vidro, those teams battled every night and the 2006 season is the worst he has ever experienced.
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Ryan Mink / MLB.com:
Notes: Matsui cleared for BP — Yankees outfielder is expected to hit indoors on Wednesday — NEW YORK — Hideki Matsui was cleared to take full batting practice for the first time on Tuesday, a big step in his hopeful return to the Yankees' lineup this season. Matsui is scheduled to hit indoors on Wednesday.
Tyler Kepner / New York Times:Matsui Ready to Take His Bat Out of Mothballs
Discussion:
Bronx Banter
Ronald Blum / Associated Press:
Pavano scratched from rehab start — NEW YORK (AP) — Carl Pavano was scratched from a scheduled rehabilitation start Wednesday, and New York Yankees manager Joe Torre isn't counting on having the oft-injured pitcher return to the major leagues this year. — The decision was made Tuesday …
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Newsday:
Pavano rankles all involved — As Cashman looks to void his contract, rig driver considers suit — Carl Pavano got it from all sides yesterday. While his teammates pretty much threw him under the bus, and Joe Torre said he doesn't expect him to pitch this season, it was the Aug. 15 car accident …
Troy E. Renck / Denver Post:
Skipper Hurdle pulls plug on Barmes — Character is admirable. But as the Rockies have proved the past few weeks, even the best of men can be on the worst of teams. Once on the verge of being a postseason threat, Colorado has plunged into the National League West basement, falling 10-5 to the New York Mets on Tuesday night.
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Ian Browne / MLB.com:
Schilling to try to end skid vs. Zito — Boston (71-61) at Oakland (76-56), 3:35 p.m. ET — Though not as hallowed as baseball's 3,000-hit club, the 3,000-strikeout list is actually tougher to crack. — Red Sox ace Curt Schilling, who enters Wednesday's start against Oakland with 2,999 K's …
Discussion:
The Joy of Sox
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Kristie Rieken / Associated Press:
Oswalt, Astros agree to $73 million, 5-year extension — HOUSTON (AP) — Roy Oswalt and the Houston Astros agreed to a $73 million, five-year contract extension on the ace's 29th birthday Tuesday, the biggest multiyear deal the team has ever given to a pitcher.
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Nick Cafardo / Boston Globe:
Offense is absent in 5th straight loss — OAKLAND, Calif. — The margin of error is so tiny that Josh Beckett was actually chiding himself for throwing a fastball high and away to Eric Chavez in the fourth inning that resulted in the A's first run. — ``That was a dumb pitch to Chavez," …
Baltimore Sun:
Like an old car, Orioles need more than recycled parts — I've got some sad news. My '92 Celica, which carried me to countless local sporting events over the past 15 years and provided regular fodder for the Kickoff page, announced its retirement yesterday on a lonely stretch of Highway 10 in Anne Arundel County.
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball
Jim Thomas / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Records detail Steussie's steroid use — WHAT HAPPENED A newspaper reports that medical records show several instances in which the Rams' Todd Steussie obtained illegal steroids while with Carolina and Tampa Bay. — Medical records made public in court documents showed …
Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Nationals' Escobar out for season — Outfielder expected to be ready for start of Spring Training — WASHINGTON — Nationals center fielder Alex Escobar had an MRI on his right shoulder on Monday and it revealed that he has a tear in his right labrum and will have surgery within the next seven to 10 days.
