Top News:
Bob Klapisch / NorthJersey.com:
Yanks draw assist in giving Johan to rival — This was late Monday night, about 12 hours before the Mets would pounce upon their most dramatic trade in recent history. Twins' general manager Bill Smith, in a panic to move Johan Santana, called the Yankees and admitted surrender: Phil Hughes was no longer a prerequisite, he said.
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Sports Illustrated:
John Donovan: With Santana, Mets are the class of the NL — Adding Santana makes the Mets the favorites — Take the best pitcher in baseball and put him into the lesser of the leagues. Move him from a killer division to a tepid one. Stick him into a good pitcher's park against thinner lineups …
Michael Rosenberg / Fox Sports:
Cashman should have pulled the trigger for Santana — Detroit Free Press columnist Michael Rosenberg is a contributor to FOXSports.com. An archive of his Free Press columns can be found here. — So if you're Brian Cashman, what is the worst part of this? — That somebody else got Johan Santana?
Discussion:
iYankees
La Velle E. Neal III / Minneapolis Star Tribune:
Second Twins pillar departs — Faced with a Tuesday deadline invoked by Johan Santana, the Twins ended months of speculation by agreeing to deal the two-time Cy Young award winner to the New York Mets for four prospects, according to persons with knowledge of the discussions.
John Hickey / Seattle Post-Intelligencer:Santana deal could spur Orioles to move Bedard
Discussion:
Phillies Nation, Camden Chat, Newsday, Oriole Post, MLB Trade Rumors, Roch Around the Clock and Baltimore Sun
Baltimore Sun:
MacPhail: Angelos didn't veto Bedard deal — O's president says owner not obstacle to proposed trade with Seattle — Orioles owner Peter Angelos didn't veto a proposed trade that would have sent ace pitcher Erik Bedard to the Seattle Mariners for a package headed by young outfielder Adam Jones …
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Jim Street / MLB.com:
Bedard deal remains undecided — Last-minute attempt by O's to sign ace holding up trade — SEATTLE — A last-minute attempt by the Baltimore Orioles to sign Erik Bedard to a multi-year contract appears to be the only thing standing in the way of a proposed trade that would send the left-hander …
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors
Roch Kubatko / Roch Around the Clock:Commercial break — Be sure to watch closely when an Under …
Discussion:
Oriole Magic
Marty Noble / MLB.com:
Notable Mets trades — Since their inception in 1962, the Mets have made numerous trades, dealing the likes of Hall of Famers Nolan Ryan and Tom Seaver, while acquiring legends like Keith Hernandez, Gary Carter and Mike Piazza. — April 5, 1972: Acquired Rusty Staub from the Expos for Ken Singleton, Tim Foli and Mike Jorgensen.
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com
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Maury Brown / The Biz of Baseball:
MLB Investigation Asks if Umpire is Member of KKK — File this under “ugly”. — In August of last year, MLB announced that it was going to conduct credit checks for all umpires in the wake of the Tim Donaghy betting scandal in the NBA, much to their chagrin. The umpires are unionized under the World Umpires Association.
Discussion:
FanHouse
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Ronald Blum / Associated Press:
MLB umpires angry over background checks — NEW YORK (AP) — Umpires are livid that Major League Baseball has sent investigators to their hometowns, asking neighbors a series of questions that include whether the ump belongs to the Ku Klux Klan. — “The questions that we found out are being asked …
Discussion:
Yanksfan vs Soxfan
Jerry Crasnick / ESPN:Umpires' union: MLB background checks go too far
Discussion:
It IS about the money, stupid
Alyson Footer / MLB.com:
Clemens present at Astros' Elite Camp — Vet shrugs off recent controversy to coach third straight year — HOUSTON — Roger Clemens' son, Koby, doubted his dad would show up at the Astros' Elite Camp this week, but on Wednesday, the Rocket emerged from the Astros' dugout, ready to throw batting practice.
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Joe Cowley / Inside the White Sox:
Cowley's Top 5 ... Top 5 observations to come out of the SoxFest weekend: — 5. Make room: Speedy outfielder Jerry Owens might not win a starting job out of camp, but he will undoubtedly win a spot on the 25-man roster. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen wants him to make it, as does GM Ken Williams.
Tom Haudricourt / Brewers Blog:
No spot for Cirillo — Veteran infielder Jeff Cirillo, back in town for a couple of days to pursue some business matters, met with Brewers general manager one last time to see if there might be a spot for him on the club this year. — The answer, again, was no.
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors
Baseball Prospectus:
Player Profile — James Shields — Recently the Rays locked up James Shields to an extension, one that serves both parties very well. Shields gets paid well with a guaranteed contract for a few seasons before he would have been arbitration-eligible, and the Rays win out even if Shields …
Discussion:
Dan Agonistes
Chris Kline / Baseball America:
Oakland Athletics — Baseball America's Top 10 Prospects lists are based on projections of a player's long-term worth after discussions with scouting and player-development personnel. All players who haven't exceeded the major league rookie standards of 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched (without regard to service time) are eligible.
