Top News:
Tim Sullivan / San Diego Union-Tribune:
The swing voters — Gwynn will get in, but it won't be unanimous; it never has been — Tony Gwynn has as many batting titles as an octopus has arms. He owns eight Silver Bats, five Gold Gloves and, come July 29, a bronze bas-relief likeness in Cooperstown, N.Y.
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Derrick Goold / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
The 500 Club — For one scintillating season, he was the talk of baseball, the rousing, larger-than-life, muscle-bound superstar whom children wanted to be and fans wanted to see. He was about to do what no one had ever done in the history of baseball, and do it with such panache.
Murray Chass / New York Times:
Ballot First-Timers Could Keep Repeaters Out of Hall of Fame — Conventional wisdom doesn't have a vote, but it says that Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn will be elected to the Hall of Fame this week. History says that no one else will be. — Of the 20 players elected in the past 14 years …
Scott Merkin / MLB.com:
Williams would like to hear from Uribe — White Sox GM still unsure of shortstop's spring availability — Kenny Williams had nothing new to report on the troublesome legal situation involving Juan Uribe in the Dominican Republic. — He would have liked to explain how Uribe's comments Friday concerning …
Discussion:
South Side Sox
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Enrique Rojas / ESPN:
Uribe maintains innocence, expects case to be resolved … MIAMI — Chicago White Sox shortstop Juan Uribe is confident his legal problems in the Dominican Republic will be resolved in a few days and will not keep him from attending spring training in February.
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Estes agrees to deal with Padres — UNION-TRIBUNE FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS — The Padres may have found a No. 5 starting pitcher - provided they can wait until roughly the All-Star break. — Left-hander Shawn Estes, who suffered a season-ending elbow injury in his first start April 5 …
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Hot Stove: LaRoche remains hot topic with Pirates ... including players — By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette — Yesterday marked the one-month anniversary of the Atlanta Braves pulling the plug on the trade that would have sent slugger Adam LaRoche to the Pirates for closer Mike Gonzalez.
Discussion:
Bucco Blog
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Evan Grant / Dallas Morning News:
Blalock rehabilitating his shoulder and attitude — DEL MAR, Calif. - The sun-splashed deck of The Brigantine restaurant encourages people to linger. A wall of windows overlooks sculpted gardens and the backstretch of Del Mar Race Track. More windows peek out at Del Mar Beach …
Boston Globe:
'1' is now a lonely number — True pitching aces seem to get scarcer — Baltimore scout Deacon Jones, who has seen major league baseball up close and personal for more than 50 years, recently raised the question, "Where have all the aces gone? How many guys now can you actually identify as No. 1 pitchers?"
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors
Troy E. Renck / Denver Post:
Gonzalez out, Lawrence on waiting list — Former Rockies starting second baseman Luis Gonzalez is heading to Japan, pending a physical, and starting pitcher Brian Lawrence is awaiting a Rockies' contract offer to pursue a second chance to play in the National League West.
Discussion:
Purple Row
Mike DiGiovanna / Los Angeles Times:
Erstad appears to have options, though Angels may not be one of them — Free agent continues to recover from ankle injury and hopes to play in the outfield again. — Though his 10 1/2-year run with the Angels might be over, it appears Darin Erstad's baseball career …
Discussion:
BBTF's Baseball Primer …
Tony Massarotti / Boston Herald:
Ca$h bag Yanked shut — There are still roughly six weeks to go before the start of spring training, so there is still work to be done. But as things stand, the Red Sox [team stats] do not appear to have merely closed the gap on the New York Yankees in the American League East.
Ken Davidoff / Newsday:
Johnson, D-Backs coming to contract terms — Randy Johnson and the Diamondbacks will officially come to terms Sunday on a contract extension for 2008, and then Johnson must simply pass a physical examination to complete his trade away from the Yankees. The 72-hour window to negotiate that extension …
Rex Immensae Majestatis Chapman / WIZZNUTZZ:
Exclusive Arenas Express Soiree Incites!! — PRELUDE A LA NUIT D'UN INTERNE — The invitiation turned up at Wizznutzz Central a couple days before the party. Like a good intern, I swiped it. Strindberg can have his own shindig with a black silk handkerchief and an album of Grieg's Lyric Pieces …
Fox Sports:
SCOUTING REPORT BY STATS INC. — Belliard is a line-drive hitter with more than enough power to reach the gaps. He batted leadoff against lefties and wore them out, helping stabilize the top of the lineup by making contact and showing patience. He concentrated on driving the ball from gap to gap.
