Top News:
Bob Klapisch / NorthJersey.com:
Bombers let Santana, Twins off the hook — NEW YORK - We can only imagine what Mike Mussina was thinking as he glanced at the lineup cards Wednesday morning, taking in the bad news (Miguel Cairo, Kevin Thompson and Wil Nieves were all starting) and even worse news (he'd drawn Johan Santana …
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors
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Tyler Kepner / New York Times:
Two Final Pitches Leave Mussina Taking the Blame — Mike Mussina has pitched long enough to know the nuances of each loss, and he usually shows his feelings. He reacts differently depending on what happened, whether the umpire squeezed him, or his teammates let him down, or the other team simply hammered him.
John Harper / NY Daily News:
Santana's a money pitcher fit for the Bombers' bucks — As Johan Santana's pitch count reached 74 by the fourth inning yesterday, the Yankees no doubt had visions of forcing the Twins ace out of the game early and winning a third straight game. — After Santana had buckled down and pitched …
Adam Rubin / NY Daily News:
Williams to start 1st-half finale — DENVER - The Mets expect Dave Williams to start Sunday's first-half finale in Houston. Jason Vargas originally had been listed as the starter, but he was sent back to Triple-A New Orleans after allowing nine runs in 3-1/3 innings in Tuesday's 11-3 loss to the Rockies.
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CBS SportsLine.com:
Mets report: Notes, quotes — The Sports Xchange —C Paul Lo Duca's appeal hearing on his two-game suspension will be held Friday. If the suspension isn't overturned, he must serve it immediately and would miss one or two games of the Houston series.
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com
Michael Phillips / MLB.com:
Notes: Slumping Church gets some rest — Escobar targets post-break return; Acta to mix up rotation — WASHINGTON — Ryan Church was kept out of Wednesday's lineup by manager Manny Acta, who is trying to get the outfielder out of a hitting slump. Church hit just .239 in the month of June.
Discussion:
Oleanders and Morning Glories
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Arnie Stapleton / Associated Press:
Rockies finish rare sweep of NY teams — DENVER (AP) — If they can do it against New York, the Colorado Rockies figure they can knock anybody around. — Todd Helton and Garrett Atkins both drove in a season-high five runs and the Rockies pounded out 20 hits and routed the Mets again Wednesday night …
Discussion:
New York Post, Mets Geek, The Musings and Prophecies …, Archie Bunker's Army, Mets Today and New York Times
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Troy E. Renck / Denver Post:
The Rockies love beating N.Y. — Hot bats help sweep other team from the Big Apple — The sound began at 6:21 p.m., piercing a sunlit evening straight from a postcard. Either somebody had wrecked their car into the backstop or the Rockies were hitting.
Joe Frisaro / MLB.com:
Johnson headed to disabled list — Right-hander exits after five scoreless innings vs. Padres — SAN DIEGO — Sailing along through five stellar innings on Wednesday, Josh Johnson's night came to a close while throwing warmup pitches before the sixth inning.
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Steve Popper / NorthJersey.com:
Beltran seeing Stars — DENVER — When David Wright was selected to the National League All-Star team last year, it signified a public relations coming-out party, jetting from David Letterman to the home run derby. But for Carlos Beltran, the invitation meant business.
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com
CBS SportsLine.com:
Detroit vs. Cleveland — GameCenter · Full Play-by-Play · Box Score · Recap · Game Chart · Live Commentary (Glog) — INDIANS 1ST — Nate Robertson pitching: — Sizemore reached on bunt single to first. — Pickoff attempt to first …
Discussion:
Baseball Prospectus
Rob Bradford / Boston Herald:
Lugo: Playing here has great a-peel — He didn't have any hits, but Julio Lugo [stats] still considered last night a success. — "Bananas," Lugo said when asked how he was doing after the Red Sox [team stats]' 7-3 win against Texas. "I feel bananas every day.
Discussion:
Surviving Grady
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Ken Rosenthal / Fox Sports:
Buehrle wants no-trade protection — LIKE THIS STORY? — The staredown continues. — Jeff Berry, the agent for White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle, said Wednesday night that Buehrle will not sign a proposed four-year, $56 million contract with the Sox unless it includes complete no-trade protection.
Dejan Kovacevic / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Pirates Notebook: LaRoche asks fans to lay off Bay — Adam LaRoche was asked, after his big day in the Pirates' 5-3 victory against Milwaukee, how it felt to get cheered by the crowd of 35,878 after nearly half a season of being booed. — And he responded by calling upon the team's fans to lay off struggling left fielder Jason Bay.
