Top News:
Anthony McCarron / NY Daily News:
Officially, race is on for Cano — ST. PETERSBURG - Robinson Cano jumped into second place in the American League batting race when he came to the plate for the fourth time last night because he finally had enough plate appearances to qualify for the title.
Discussion:
Bronx Banter
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Dom Amore / Hartford Courant:
Johnson To Miss Final Start — ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Randy Johnson is having back problems and will not make his last scheduled regular season start. He will rest up for the playoffs, but the Yankees' October pitching plans are now in flux. — "I'd rather have 10 or 12 days between starts …
Discussion:
NY Daily News
Jim Baumbach / Newsday:
Tee time stays same for Giambi — ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Jason Giambi's hopes of speeding up his rehab schedule and swinging off a tee yesterday were put to rest not too long after he showed up in the clubhouse. — Joe Torre approached Giambi when he was in the trainer's room and told …
George King / New York Post:
NATS EYE PEÑA AS SKIPPER — ST. PETERSBURG - With talk that manager Frank Robinson won't be brought back next season by the Nationals, Yankees first base coach Tony Peña has surfaced as a possible replacement. — According to several industry sources, Washington general manager Jim Bowden …
Troy E. Renck / Denver Post:
Tonight's start may be Jennings' last this year — Jason Jennings knows the end will come someday. But will it be today? There's a strong possibility Jennings will pull the curtain on one of the best years by a Rockies starter when he faces the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight.
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Jack Etkin / Rocky Mountain News:
First pitch, September 26 — HOLLIDAY HONORED — Rockies left fielder Matt Holliday on Monday was chosen co-Player of the Week in the National League with Andruw Jones of the Atlanta Braves for Sept. 18-24. — Holliday went 10-for-25 in seven games with three doubles, one triple, four home runs, 12 RBI and 12 runs.
Discussion:
Purple Row
Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Mailbag: Nats pulling out broom for '07? — Beat reporter Bill Ladson answers Nationals fans' questions … Where can we send a get-well card to Nick Johnson? My entire family wants to wish him well. — The Landa family, Washington D.C. — There are many who have expressed …
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David Heuschkel / Hartford Courant:
Foul Performance Drops Red Sox Into Third — TORONTO — There was no doubt the ball David Ortiz hit in his third at-bat Wednesday night was high enough and had the distance. But it hooked foul, landing in the second row of the upper deck. — That was the closest he came to hitting …
Discussion:
Empyreal Environs
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Murray Chass / New York Times:
Tales of the Two Who Got Away: Minaya and Randolph — In leading their team to the playoffs next week, Omar Minaya and Willie Randolph are headed there with what is most likely a record. — The Elias Book of Baseball Records doesn't list it. Neither Elias nor anyone else keeps track of it.
Alan Schwarz / New York Times:
Baseball's Oldest Old-Timer Opens a Window on the Past — Silas Simmons was handed a photograph and asked if he recognized anyone in it. He fixed his eyes on the sepia stares and moved his curled fingers over the glass and frame, soaking in the faces for more than 20 silent seconds.
Discussion:
Blinq
Tom Haudricourt / JSOnline:
Turnbow blows control experiment — Adjusting his pitching mechanics backfires — thaudricourt@journalsentinel.com — Derrick Turnbow was so erratic with his control in 2004 that the Los Angeles Angels gave up on him after the season and placed him on waivers.
Chris Haft / Contra Costa Times:
Farewell week begins with a dud — Giants are eliminated from wild-card race in what is likely the final homestand for some players — SAN FRANCISCO - As the Giants began their version of Finals Week — a season-ending homestand that could serve as an extended goodbye for many of them …
Deadspin:
Our Teams: A Requiem In Three Acts — I. So now it can be written and known: The spinning, sprinting 12-yard sideaways rugby punts are not, in fact, a device that has come to revolutionize the sport of football. Sorry, Coach Zook. Our Illini very well might be the worst team in Division I-A …
Peter Botte / NY Daily News:
Willie pitches in Trach talk — The games have grown so mundane that each passing day at Shea now is spent trying to read between the lines rather than dissecting what's actually happening between them. — Will Steve Trachsel or John Maine round out the playoff rotation?
Eduardo A. Encina / St. Petersburg Times:
Rays have little time to end road agony — ST. PETERSBURG - With six games left in the season, Rays manager Joe Maddon sees one more challenge left: success on the road. — Six games, two in Boston and four in Cleveland, finish Tampa Bay's season, with the Rays a moribund 19-56 away from Tropicana Field …
Associated Press:
Chartered Amtrak train carrying Nationals derails near Wilmington — WASHINGTON (AP) — A chartered Amtrak train carrying the Washington Nationals derailed early Tuesday near Wilmington, Del., but no one was injured. — "It was a very minor derailment," Amtrak spokeswoman Tracy Connell said.
Discussion:
Just A Nats Fan
Joe Capozzi / Palm Beach Post:
Girardi, not wild card, story of final week — PHILADELPHIA — With the Marlins all but eliminated from playoff contention, the only drama remaining for the club concerns the fate of manager Joe Girardi. — Not whether he will be fired but when. — "I don't think anything would shock …
Discussion:
FishStripes
Associated Press:
Padres-Cardinals Preview — Now that their star closer has set a new all-time saves record, the San Diego Padres can focus on wrapping up the National League West for the second straight year. — Trevor Hoffman will try to help the Padres to their fifth straight victory when they open …
Discussion:
Ducksnorts
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