Top News:
Kat O'Brien / Dallas Star-Telegram:
RANGERS NOTES — Slump sends Blalock off course — DETROIT — One of Hank Blalock's main goals for this season was to be consistent at the plate from Opening Day to the end of the year. He has had a tendency to fall off pace in the second half of the season and wanted to change the pattern.
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball
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Joe Lapointe / New York Times:
Yankees Win, but Lidle's Postseason Pitch Misses — Among the subplots of last night's 8-4 Yankees victory over Tampa Bay at Yankee Stadium was the audition for the fourth slot in the postseason rotation. Cory Lidle, the starter, had a chance to make his case.
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Jim Baumbach / Newsday:
Sampling the bigs — Top-prospect Hughes works out at Stadium and gains experience — A year from now Phil Hughes very well could be on the mound for the Yankees pitching meaningful games. But for now he's been watching from the stands, in the family section. — Understandably, he hasn't been recognized once.
David Heuschkel / Hartford Courant:
Manny Has It Made In The Fade — Seems To Laugh It Off As Sox Plummet — BALTIMORE — Even though the Red Sox have fallen out of playoff contention and he isn't playing, Manny Ramirez is having a blast. He's laughing in the clubhouse before the game. He's clowning around at the batting cage as the team stretches.
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Will Carroll / Baseball Prospectus:
Under The Knife — Doom and Gloom — If anyone really wants to know the answer, it's not a million. It's 328, though all 328 got the same answer from me when they e-mailed. "1,000,001," I said. No one cares about an intro today. There's only one story out there, so we'll skip the formalities.
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Richard Sandomir / New York Times:
50 Years in Game Is Enough for Kaat — Jim Kaat figures it is time to retire from calling Yankees games, to spend more time with his family, play more golf at home in Stuart, Fla., and tour the country in his recreational vehicle with his wife, Mary Ann, a pursuit inspired by the example of Bill White, a former Yankees announcer.
Bob Ryan / Boston Globe:
Choice is clear: Jeter — What fun would life be without a good old-fashioned baseball MVP argument? — I know poor Papi never imagined the consequences of just being a loyal member of Sluggers, Inc. David Ortiz was simply stating the case for his fellow boppers, as opposed to the table setters of the world.
Discussion:
Canyon of Heroes
Scott Miller / CBS SportsLine.com:
Cheating talk steams scout who hit home run with Howard — As Ryan Howard streaks toward the realm of Roger Maris, the man who helped discover him rolls on across the Midwestern portion of Interstate 70, mining for more talent just south of Maris country. — Jerry Lafferty has been scouting …
Discussion:
Phillies Nation
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Gregg Doyel / CBS SportsLine.com:Howard's stellar slugging inspires more cynicism than awe
Discussion:
USA Today
Scott Merkin / MLB.com:
Garcia nearly perfect in finale win — Starter goes 7 2/3 before allowing a single — ANAHEIM — During the course of the past 10 days, both White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen and pitching Don Cooper have been talking with great enthusiasm and excitement concerning the amazing run …
Discussion:
South Side Sox
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Pirates Notebook: Wilson vows to shed weight, improve defense — By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette — Jack Wilson spent the past winter — five days a week, three hours a day and buckets of sweat — bulking up by 20 pounds in an attempt to stay stronger over the course of the long, hot summer.
Tom Lederer / Baseball Analysts:
Remembering the Ryan Express — "God gave Nolan the ability to throw a baseball faster than anybody else." —Phil Garner, former Astros teammate — The recent rant from Joe Morgan regarding radar gun readings while watching Detroit Tigers rookie fireballer Joel Zumaya placed a spotlight …
NY Daily News:
Waiting nothing new to Randolph — The names of the teams are no longer important to Willie Randolph. One is the same as another now. Being told for years that he wasn't good enough, wasn't qualified enough, that is another matter entirely, and something you never forget.
Marty Noble / MLB.com:
Terrific trio of MVP candidates — Mets' triumvirate of stars may end up splitting votes in tight race — NEW YORK — The talk of David Wright as a candidate for the National League Most Valuable Player Award was quite legitimate though rather premature in June. The Mets' season was weeks short of its midpoint.
Kansas City Star:
Royals can't just hit it off — A scuffle like the one between Buck and Hernandez is not that unusual in sports. — CLEVELAND | Throw a hissy fit if you must, treat it like a civil war if you like. But understand this: teammates John Buck and Runelvys Hernandez throwing haymakers …
Discussion:
Sports Scope
Tracy Ringolsby / Rocky Mountain News:
First pitch, September 14 — STARTING UP — Left-handed pitcher Justin Hampson will make his first major-league start Monday against the Giants at Coors Field. — Hampson, who worked as a starter and reliever with Triple-A Colorado Springs, has allowed one run in five innings of two relief appearances.
Joe Strauss / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Short and sour for Marquis — Monday and Tuesday moved the Cardinals closer to the playoffs. Wednesday's ugly loss to the Houston Astros reminded them that they still haven't figured out what to do when they get there. — Pitching on short rest, Jason Marquis fell deeper into an enigmatic season …
Discussion:
Baseball Musings
