Top News:
Jackie MacMullan / Boston Globe:
No relief in sight for Gagné — Ouch. — The wounds are multiple in the wake of Boston's bewildering 13-6 loss to the Cleveland Indians in 11 innings last night at Fenway Park. The obvious and most damaging byproduct is the Red Sox have suddenly coughed up home-field advantage …
RELATED:
Steve Buckley / Boston Herald:
It's clearly time to put ineffective Eric on ice … The Red Sox [team stats] had the right idea when they decided to gather a couple of talented youngsters named Kason Gabbard [stats] and David Murphy and use them as currency in their search for a veteran relief pitcher.
Dan Shaughnessy / Boston Globe:
In wee hours, Red Sox clobbered, 13-6 — In a time-honored tradition, the Red Sox and Cleveland Indians staged an epic duel into the wee hours last night at Fenway Park. — The Indians won, 13-6, in 11 innings, and tied the American League Championship Series at one game apiece.
Alex McPhillips / MLB.com:
Lonborg gets his day in the sun — Sox pitcher speaks about Impossible Dream club, 2007 team — BOSTON — No, Jim Lonborg's control didn't desert him on Saturday night at Fenway Park. Not quite. — Minutes after he delivered Game 2's ceremonial first pitch, wide of home plate …
Dan Shaughnessy / Boston Globe:Sox put a chill on Indians in opener
Discussion:
Dan Shaughnessy Watch
ESPN.com:
Dusty Baker gets three-year deal to manage Reds — Dusty Baker has agreed to become the next manager of the Cincinnati Reds and will be introduced to Cincinnati at a news conference Monday. — Baker, a former Cubs and Giants manager and current ESPN analyst, accepted a three-year deal to skipper the team …
RELATED:
Justin / On Baseball and the Reds:
Dusty Baker — Sometime in mid-August, I had a bizarre conversation with a mid-40's check-out clerk at Safeway who saw my Reds hat. He said that he was not a Reds fan, but asked what I thought about the Reds' managing situation, and said he thought that Pete MacKanin had done a heck of a job.
Discussion:
Babes Love Baseball
John Delcos / The Journal News:
Castillo could be key to second base stability for Mets — NEW YORK - Luis Castillo stood at home plate, the ball already past him and in the catcher's mitt for strike three. And with it, another Mets season had passed. — As Castillo turned toward the dugout, a question might …
Discussion:
Hot Foot
Barry Jackson / MiamiHerald.com:
Willis, Cabrera: tough duo to keep — Marlins offseason chatter: — • The Marlins, who are very open to making a major trade, have made pitching their clear-cut No. 1 priority but also will try to sign a veteran free agent catcher who works well with a young staff.
JSOnline:
Cecil Fielder speaks out — The hostility Milwaukee Brewer Prince Fielder has for his father, Cecil, is so pronounced he took the occasion of his hitting 50 home runs earlier this season to say he was motivated to reach levels his father did not. — What should have been a purely celebratory moment …
Bob Raissman / NY Daily News:
In rare moment, John Sterling actually criticizes Joe Torre — All that's missing in this Joe Torre media circus is Zippy the Pinhead wearing an interlocking NY tattoo. — This is some freak show - whether it was a suddenly screaming George Steinbrenner threatening to fire Torre in the pages …
Adam Rubin / NY Daily News:
Steve Phillips: A-Rod has no place with Mets — Steve Phillips regrets one thing about the Mets' short-lived but highly publicized flirtation with Alex Rodriguez seven years ago. The former Mets GM is sorry the "24-plus-one" label assigned to A-Rod because of his agent's demands …
Discussion:
BBTF's Baseball Primer …
Irv Moss / Denver Post:
Denver: A baseball town — Colorado's distinguished past featured many of the game's future stars — Maybe the most intriguing part of the Rockies' history-making season has been destroying the myth that championship baseball and Denver's mile-high elevation don't mix.
Discussion:
Bad Altitude
Kevin Youkilis / Yooooouuuuukkkkk:
Putting a tough loss in the rearview mirror — Was this a tough loss? Sure it was. But you can't dwell on it. It was just a bad inning, and you just move on. You can't worry about the past. This is the playoffs. You can't worry about what you did in your last at-bat or your last time on the mound.
Discussion:
Over the Monster
Marc Topkin / St. Petersburg Times:
For Wren, 'it worked out' — BOSTON - Frank Wren hoped things were going to work out differently in July 1995, when he lost out - by the slimmest of margins - to Chuck LaMar for the Devil Rays' GM job. — But it turned out that things couldn't have worked out any better for Wren, who Thursday was promoted to GM of the Braves.
