Top News:
Ben Shpigel / New York Times:
Mets Fall Into Tie With Phillies — No matter how many losses piled up and no matter how poorly they had played at times over the last four months, the Mets could take comfort knowing one thing: First place in the National League East still belonged to them and them only.
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John Harper / NY Daily News:
Mets show how much pressure they are feeling — Until now you could blame it on the bullpen, on bad pitching up and down the staff, and while that may not soften the fall, pitching is pitching. Last night was different. Last night the Mets played scared.
Greg / Faith and Fear in Flushing:
C'mon — What Else Are We Gonna Do? — I can't tell you with any great conviction that there's any good reason to invest your faith in our team this weekend. Of course I can't. I was at the same game Thursday night that you were or watched. There was nothing about the Mets' performance …
Anthony DiComo / MLB.com:
All good things must come to an end — Alou's 30-game hitting streak snapped in Mets' loss to Cards — NEW YORK — As if the pain of watching the Phillies climb into a first-place tie with the Mets in the National League East weren't enough, Moises Alou also had to sit helplessly …
Roger Rubin / NY Daily News:
Mets drop into NL East tie, but Randolph guarantees title — As this Mets season has careened out of control, manager Willie Randolph has taken a lot of heat for his stoic demeanor. But in the moments after the worst loss of this epic breakdown, he was the one making noise in what had to be the quietest clubhouse in baseball.
Discussion:
New York Post
Chris De Luca / Chicago Sun Times:
Murray gives Cubs batting tips, jokes about buying team — MIAMI — Cubs manager Lou Piniella held a rare postgame meeting Wednesday, then took it one step better Thursday. — Famous Cubs fan Bill Murray, who arrived in South Florida from his home in New York to commiserate with the Cubs during …
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Geoff Baker / Seattle Times:
M's celebrate in win over Indians — A smiling Jose Guillen sat by his locker after a game in which his first-inning home run had put the Mariners ahead to stay. — But with his team's manager and general manager having been confirmed for 2008 earlier in the day, Guillen was already looking ahead to next year.
Discussion:
U.S.S. Mariner
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Associated Press:Mariners CEO: GM, manager will return in '08
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seattlepi.com Mariners blog
John Hickey / Seattle Post-Intelligencer:Baek, Guillen audition for 2008 with 6-inning gem, HR
Discussion:
Associated Press
Gordon Edes / Boston Globe:
Chilling reminder — Bubbly on hold; Sox' lead cut to 2 — It wasn't for a lack of trying. While Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter were given the night off by the Yankees, 20-game winner Josh Beckett threw 99 pitches for the Red Sox, David Ortiz reached base five times …
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MLB.com:
Hal Steinbrenner elected chairman of the board of Yankee Global Enterprises LLC — The Board of Directors of Yankee Global Enterprises LLC announced today that Harold Z. (Hal) Steinbrenner has been elected as Chairman of the Board. — Mr. Steinbrenner is the General Partner …
Mark Feinsand / NY Daily News:
Wang and Pettitte are Bombers' 1-2 punch in playoffs — ST. PETERSBURG - The Yankees won't announce their rotation for the division series until the matchups are officially set, but Joe Torre stated the obvious yesterday, saying that Chien-Ming Wang and Andy Pettitte will pitch the first two games one way or another.
Discussion:
New York Post
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David O'Brien / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Sounds like Andruw's good as gone — My phone rang while I was in the visiting manager's office this afternoon at Philly's corporate-bank ballpark. I stepped out to answer, and 25 minutes later, the conversation with Scott Boras had ended. — I'm writing a lead note about it for my Braves notebook …
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors
Matthew Cerrone / MetsBlog.com:
Opinion: Let Them Know — Willie Randolph, after last night's game, explaining to reporters how he can remain positive in the face of adversity... Phillies RHP Brett Myers, as quoted by the Inquirer...
Tim Marchman / New York Sun:
The Mystical Collapse of a Bullpen — For the Mets and their fans, the last two weeks have been less like a late season collapse and more like a mystical experience in which science and religion have converged and become one. Many baseball teams have lost a lead down the stretch, but few …
Tom Krasovic / San Diego Union-Tribune:
Trade winds blow true — Padres' deals pay off nicely as former no-names keep team in playoff chase — MILWAUKEE - You wonder if other front offices will finally figure it out. — Trading with the Padres is risky. Maybe even foolish. — For some four years running …
Discussion:
Gaslamp Ball
David Pinto / Baseball Musings:
Games of the Day — As we go into the final weekend, unless you really care about the race for the best record in the AL, there are five series that matter. The Phillies host the Nationals with Cole Hamels facing Tim Redding. The two have identical ERA, although Tim's comes from throwing 2/3 …
Discussion:
Bucs Dugout
