Top News:
Dan Shaughnessy / Boston Globe:
Indians rate preferential treatment — The story lines would have been predictable and bombastic had the Red Sox met the Yankees again in the American League Championship Series. Imagine the hysteria if the Sox and Yankees clashed in the playoffs for the first time since the historic hurt …
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Jeff Goldberg / Hartford Courant:
Picture These First Two Acts — Beckett Vs. Sabathia, Then Schilling-Carmona — BOSTON - David Ortiz was walking out of a movie theater Monday night, having taken his kids to see "The Game Plan," when he got a real-time update on the Yankees-Indians game.
Gordon Edes / Boston Globe:
Taking an overview — Francona tweaks rotation: Schilling will start Game 2 — David Ortiz was walking out of a movie theater Monday night with his kids, having just seen "The Game Plan" ("Outstanding," he said), when he heard someone yelling his name. — "This lady's screaming at me …
Discussion:
Peter's Red Sox Forever
Rob Bradford / Boston Herald:
Tribe throw 1-2 punch — Sabathia, Carmona have fought long fight … Mark Shapiro sat in the visitors dugout at Fenway Park [map] one rainy day in 2003, predicting that an emotional, 22-year-old mountain of a man named C.C. Sabathia could one day enter baseball's pitching elite.
Arizona Republic:
D-Backs still waiting for fever pitch — JJ Hensley — It's getting louder, but it's not deafening. — The buzz for the Diamondbacks' push through the National League playoffs has grown since the team started its series with the Cubs, but the excitement still fails to match the mood in Denver …
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Nick Piecoro / Arizona Republic:
NLCS features homegrown talent — Last week, on the day that the Diamondbacks were to play their first postseason game in the past five years, General Manager Josh Byrnes spent part of his morning with farm director A.J. Hinch in Tucson, watching some of the organization's top prospects compete in the instructional league.
Rocky Mountain News:
Yankees are mum on future of Torre — NEW YORK - Yankees fans wanted to know Tuesday whether owner George Steinbrenner will keep longtime manager Joe Torre or let him go after 12 straight playoff appearances. — No answers yet. — "Have some patience. Things take time.
Discussion:
Purple Row
RELATED:
NY Daily News:
Mariano Rivera wants Joe Torre back — DAILY NEWS STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS — Add Mariano Rivera to the list of Yankee players who want to see Joe Torre back with the Bombers next season. — Rivera isn't happy that Torre, who has guided the Bombers to the postseason in each of his 12 seasons …
Ken Rosenthal / Fox Sports:
Teams learn downfall of 3-days rest — LIKE THIS STORY? — If the Rockies activate right-hander Aaron Cook for the National League Championship Series, they probably will use him as a reliever and not as a starter. — Cook, sidelined since Aug. 10 with a strained right oblique muscle …
Matt Eddy / Baseball America Prospects Blog:
Minor League Transactions — This week's installment considers all transactions reported between Sept. 28-Oct. 5. Last week's transactions available here. — Arizona Diamondbacks — Recalled: RHP Emiliano Fruto, RHP Leo Rosales, RHP Max Scherzer, OF Carlos Gonzalez, OF Alex Romero
Discussion:
Nationals Farm Authority
Baseball America:
Texas League Top 20 Prospects List — Subscribers can read scouting reports on all 20 players (Click here to subscribe) — The Double-A Texas League, traditionally one of the more offensive circuits in the minors, wasn't loaded with can't-miss hitters this season.
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball
Bill Chastain / MLB.com:
Dukes to play in Winter League — Devil Rays say troubled outfielder is making strides — ST. PETERSBURG — Elijah Dukes is headed to the Dominican Republic to play winter ball for Licey. — "Elijah continues to make great strides," said Andrew Friedman, Devil Rays executive vice president of baseball operation.
Joe Strauss / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
He said, he said — Sitting in limbo somewhere near the Bay Area, Tony La Russa emphasized Tuesday that he won't commit to another term as Cardinals manager until chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. can at least provide direction where the club's general manager search might end.
Discussion:
Viva El Birdos
Peter Botte / NY Daily News:
Chien-Ming Wang's needs are sinking in — The Yankees' latest first-round meltdown was a team-wide affair, and it's unfair to pin their demise on any one culprit. — But two-time 19-game winner Chien-Ming Wang certainly didn't distinguish himself at the front end of the rotation against the Indians …
Discussion:
New York Post
