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ESPN:
Rod Beck dies at 38 — Rod Beck, who saved 286 games in a 13-year major league career, has died at the age of 38. — The cause of death is unknown at this time. — Beck, who played for the Giants, Cubs, Red Sox and Padres, was a three-time All-Star and saved a career-best 51 games with the Cubs in 1998.
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Awful Announcing, El Guapo's Ghost Rambles …, Lone Star Ball and The View From The Bleachers
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Maury Brown / The Biz of Baseball:
Former All-Star Closer Rod Beck Dead at 38 — Rod Beck, the bushy Fu Manchu mustached former All-Star Closer that played 13 years in the major leagues was found dead yesterday in his northeast Phoenix home. He was 38. Police do not expect foul play, and the cause of death has not been released.
Greg Beacham / Yahoo! Sports:
Former reliever Rod Beck dead at 38 — When news of Rod Beck's early death spread through the major leagues' clubhouses Sunday, former teammates and opponents of the colorful reliever shared countless stories with a common theme. — Though Beck was a fearsome closer for 13 major league seasons …
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Chad Gramling's Baseball Blog
Post / Washington Post:All-Star Relief Pitcher Rod Beck Is Found Dead
Discussion:
The House That Dewey Built
The Biz of Baseball:
Griffey Says: "I want to retire a Mariner" — Written by The Staff — Prior to Sunday afternoon's Mariners-Reds game, Fox Sports Northwest's Angie Mentink scored an exclusive one-on-one with former Seattle Mariner and current Cincinnati Red Ken Griffey, Jr.
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David Andriesen / Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
Mariners Notebook: Guardado, Hargrove talk, make peace — It was inevitable that Mike Hargrove and Eddie Guardado would cross paths over the weekend, and it happened quickly. — Hargrove, the Mariners manager, and Guardado, Hargrove's former closer now with Cincinnati, saw each other on the way into Safeco Field on Friday.
Gregg Bell / Associated Press:
Griffey homers twice to pass McGwire — SEATTLE (AP) — Ken Griffey Jr.'s homecoming to Seattle got even sweeter on its final day. — Griffey hit his 583rd and 584th home runs during the Cincinnati Reds' game Sunday against the Mariners, tying and then passing Mark McGwire for seventh on the career list.
Discussion:
Baseball Musings
John Hickey / seattlepi.com Mariners blog:
Griffey shows interest in coming to Seattle (some day) — The post-game interview room with Ken Griffey Jr. Sunday figured to be something. — During a pre-game interview with the folks at FSN, Griffey opened the door for the first time since his trade to Cincinnati in February of 2000 …
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Associated Press
Scott Merkin / MLB.com:
Williams: 'Buehrle staying ... for now' — GM hints change is coming; lefty could still be traded — CHICAGO — The first three questions asked of Ken Williams during an hour-long session with the media prior to Sunday's series finale against the Cubs dealt with the same topic.
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Charles Odum / Associated Press:
Tigers extend run, Braves shut out again — ATLANTA (AP) — Andrew Miller and the Detroit Tigers certainly enjoyed interleague play. — Miller threw six sharp innings and the Tigers beat the slumping Atlanta Braves 5-0 Sunday night for their seventh straight win — all on the road against National League teams.
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Bless You Boys
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Bill Konigsberg / Associated Press:
Maine pitches Mets to sweep of A's — NEW YORK (AP) — A blooper to right, an inexperienced outfielder and Jose Reyes' speed became a messy combination for the Oakland Athletics. — Reyes led off the bottom of the first inning with a popup down the line that Jack Cust, normally a designated hitter, couldn't run down.
Ben Hubbard / Associated Press:
Pro baseball league kicks off in Israel with broadcast culture shock — PETAH TIKVA, Israel (AP) — Puzzled broadcasters calling the first professional baseball game in Israeli history struggled with rendering baseball lingo into the holy tongue of Hebrew. — After a valiant effort …
Discussion:
The Griddle
Associated Press:
Beavers repeat as College World Series champs — OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The first title was hard for Oregon State. The repeat seemed easy. — Oregon State ended one of the most dominant runs in the 61-year history of the College World Series with a 9-3 victory over North Carolina on Sunday night.
Discussion:
Baseball America
Bernie Wilson / Associated Press:
Red Sox's Beckett outduels Padres' Peavy — SAN DIEGO (AP) — While Jake Peavy got dirty, Josh Beckett's stuff was simply filthy. — Beckett topped Peavy in a matchup of two of baseball's top pitchers, becoming the first 11-game winner in the majors and leading the Boston Red Sox to a 4-2 victory Sunday over the San Diego Padres.
Dawn Klemish / MLB.com:
Gonzalez homers, but Dodgers sink — Left fielder hits milestone blast as Interleague Play ends — ST. PETERSBURG — Luis Gonzalez has a lot of fond memories here. — A Tampa native, he always seems to play well at Tropicana Field. Entering Sunday, he was a career .295 hitter and had poked nine of his 18 hits for extra bases.
George King / New York Post:
JETER AIMS TO PLAY THROUGH THE STRAIN — Joe Torre said there is a chance Derek Jeter may have to sit out today's game against the Giants with a strained left hip flexor muscle. As usual, Jeter scoffed at the idea he can't play. — "I wasn't able to move too well but it's not a problem …
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The Bronx Block
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Amalie Benjamin / Boston Globe:
Padres put on display — Wakefield offers up the fireworks — SAN DIEGO — Somehow, on a night when Padres starter Chris Young dominated for seven innings and Josh Bard and Khalil Greene (twice) blasted Tim Wakefield offerings out of the ballpark, prompting center-field fireworks that befitted …
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