Top News:
Providence Journal:
Ellsbury to replace Coco Crisp — BOSTON — Coco Crisp's postseason struggles, which culminated in three hitless games in Cleveland and was capped by his failure to lay down a sacrifice bunt in the second inning Thursday night, have prompted the Red Sox to make a lineup change.
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Paul Meyer / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Manager search: Huntington says he's ready to take 'action' — Neal Huntington is ready to go. — "We're through the 'gathering' [information] process," the Pirate general manager said yesterday. "We're into the 'action' process." — Thing is, the American League Championship Series didn't end Thursday evening.
Dan Shaughnessy / Boston Globe:
Schilling no doubt will be loaded for bear — There are times when it's good to have a blowhard/glory hog on your roster. This is one of those times. — Game 6, backs to the wall . . . it's Curt Schilling time. — Big Schill gets the ball against the Indians tonight at Fenway …
Discussion:
Dan Shaughnessy Watch
Kansas City Star:Hiring of Hillman should work
Discussion:
Baseball Musings, Babes Love Baseball, Can't Stop The Bleeding, The Griddle and Royals Review
Kat O'Brien / Newsday:
Pettitte laments loss of Torre — RYE, N.Y. - The Yankees received a reminder Friday that the loss of Joe Torre as manager could have an effect on their ability to retain potential free agents. Mariano Rivera issued an advance warning of that last week, and Andy Pettitte has echoed Rivera's thoughts.
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors
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Ian O'Connor / NorthJersey.com:
Yanks' front office be damned for ousting Joe — RYE BROOK, N.Y. — The Yankees just got meaner, uglier, far more difficult to embrace. Without Joe Torre as their manager, they go back to being the sports franchise that America loves to hate. — The people who ran out Torre …
Mike Vaccaro / New York Post:
EMPIRE GETS A NEW FACE OF EVIL — FROM the moment Joe Torre was hired to run the Yankees, he always talked about how temporary the life of a baseball manager is, how transient it can be. From the first moment he shook hands with George Steinbrenner, Torre accepted as a personal dare …
Corky Siemaszko / NY Daily News:Game 2 against Indians tied Joe Torre up with gnats
Discussion:
New York Post
Joe Strauss / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Tony La Russa expects to be back with Cards — Tony's back ... almost. — Cardinals manager Tony La Russa confirmed Friday that he is prepared to return for a 13th season in his current post, barring unforeseen complications in his ongoing talks with team chairman Bill DeWitt Jr.
RELATED:
Associated Press:
La Russa expects to return to Cardinals — ST. LOUIS (AP) — Cardinals manager Tony La Russa expects to return for a 13th season with St. Louis, and may commit to the team before it selects a new general manager. — La Russa told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he'd be back barring complications …
Discussion:
MY BASEBALL BIAS
Katie Liesener / Boston Globe:
Sox help Boston literally make a name for itself — (Photo by Charlie Nye/Getty Images for The Boston Globe) — For his firstborn son, George Hill IV wanted the perfect name to capture the family's colorful legacy: His great-grandfather George was a banker who handled finances for the Red Sox.
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Rick Morrissey / Chicago Tribune:
Baker bashers forget the facts — I can't tell you how many people came up to me last week and made light of the Reds' hiring of Dusty Baker. Five? Ten? I lost track after the second joke about the distinct possibility the Cubs would go 15-0 against Cincinnati next season.
Murray Chass / New York Times:
Making Commercials for Seats and for Love — Manny Ramírez and David Ortiz are not the stars of baseball's postseason. Kenny Lofton is not the star of the postseason. Neither is Matt Holliday or Kazuo Matsui. Alex Rodriguez is certainly not the star of the postseason.
Discussion:
Can't Stop The Bleeding
Marty Noble / MLB.com:
Hernandez undergoes foot surgery — Veteran expected to be ready in time for Spring Training — NEW YORK — Orlando Hernandez, who pitched merely 9 2/3 innings in the final seven weeks of the season because of foot problems, underwent surgery to remove a bunion on the second toe on his right foot on Friday.
Discussion:
BBTF's Baseball Primer …
Kirby Arnold / The Olympian:
M's could announce coaches within days — SEATTLE - The Seattle Mariners have all but settled their coaching staff for 2008, and an announcement is expected within days. — Mariners manager John McLaren said Thursday that most positions are set, but no announcement would be made until every job is filled.
Saeed Ahmed / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Fan pleads guilty to bomb threat at Braves game — Frustrated Giants fan facing 50 years in jail for trying to disrupt game — We've all been there. — Our beloved team is headed for a humiliating trouncing. We shake our fists at the TV in frustration, we mumble obscenities, we strike deals with God for a miracle.
