Top News:
Paul Sullivan / Chicago Tribune:
Cubs swept out of playoffs by Dodgers — Big bats fail again as L.A. completes sweep — LOS ANGELES - It's going to take some time for the Cubs second straight playoff disaster to really sink in, but the mood in the clubhouse after Saturday's 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 3 …
Discussion:
wrigleyville23
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David Pinto / Baseball Musings:
Lovable No More — The Cubs choked. This wasn't a typical Cubs bizarre defeat. There was no unprecedented come back, no fan knocking the ball away. It wasn't even a hard fought set of games in which luck just went the other way. The Cubs simply stunk in a series in which they should have dominated.
Gordon Wittenmyer / Chicago Sun Times:
Retirement one options for Edmonds — LOS ANGELES — If Jim Edmonds has proved nothing else this season — to himself and the Cubs, if not the Cardinals and Padres who sold him short before that — it's that he can still play at a high level. — But whether he wants to do it again next year probably …
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MLB Rumors
Tyler Kepner / New York Times:Once Ramírez Picks Up A Bat, He Drops Worries
Discussion:
Respect Jeter's Gangster
Lyle Spencer / MLB.com:
Angels' chances hinge on offense — Halos' lack of timely hitting has Sox in command for Game 3 — BOSTON — Transforming adversity into opportunity is the Angels' new mission statement, as they navigate dire straits on the Atlantic Seaboard after going down twice on the shores of the Pacific.
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Amalie Benjamin / Boston Globe:
Script is near perfect — Beckett set up as the executioner — Josh Beckett, who has been battling a strained oblique, takes a 6-2 postseason record into tonight's start against the Angels. (Barry Chin/Globe Staff) — Before Game 1 of the American League Division Series, Josh Beckett passed along a bit of advice to Jon Lester.
David Pinto / Baseball Musings:
Playoffs Today — Kudos to TBS for spreading today's games out so we can see all of them. I understand the strart time of the LAnaheim-Boston game changed to 7:27 from 7:05. — The Phillies play their second match point in Milwaukee at 1:00 PM EDT, send Joe Blanton against Jeff Suppan.
Marc Topkin / St. Petersburg Times:
Speedy Rays expect damp field in Chicago — Matt Garza, second from right, gets ready for today's Game 3 start with the rest of the Rays as they work out at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago. — Times] — CHICAGO — The Rays played hard and did a lot right to win the first two games …
Discussion:
SPORTSbyBROOKS
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Ken Davidoff / Newsday:
Padres' Peavy could be an option for the Yankees — In this baseball winter that will be dominated by free-agent starting pitchers, the most intriguing commodity might be a young, frontline starter who already is signed to a reasonable contract. — Whom would you rather have?
Discussion:
MLB Rumors, The Final Score, On the Yankees beat, iYankees, Ken Davidoff's baseball … and Sliding Into Home
Associated Press:
Selig receives a standing ovation for this strike — MILWAUKEE (AP) — Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig got a standing ovation for a strike. — Selig threw out the first pitch Sunday before Game 4 of the NL division series between his old team, the Milwaukee Brewers, and the Philadelphia Phillies.
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Mark Feinsand / NY Daily News:
Three-year deal with Yankees tops Bobby Abreu's wish list — Bobby Abreu loves New York. In the coming weeks, that love will be put to the test. — The outfielder will have to decide on his baseball future in the next month or two, as he hits the free agent market for the first time in his 12-year career.
Discussion:
Bugs & Cranks, Pinstripes, Pa., WasWatching.com, The Yankees, River Ave. Blues, Sliding Into Home and iYankees
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Sports Illustrated:
Why White Sox have best chance to comeback — Cliff Corcoran breaks down today's Division Series games. All games are on TBS; all times are Eastern. — Phillies at Brewers — Series: NLDS, Game 4; Phillies lead 2-1 — Starters: Joe Blanton (9-12, 4.69) vs. Jeff Suppan (10-10, 4.96)
Baseball Prospectus:
Prospectus Hit List: Season Wrap-up by Jay Jaffe — The Red Sox finish atop the Hit List for the second year in a row, but their MLB-high 7.1 Pythagorean shortfall means they'll be defending their title as the Wild Card. Without Manny Ramirez and with a diminished David Ortiz …
Discussion:
The Futility Infielder
Andrew Vazzano / The 'Ropolitans:
WCBS-AM's Suzyn Waldman singing a tribute to Tom Seaver — This is priceless. — Via The Final Score. — I'm waiting for “THOMAS SEAVER IS IN WILPON'S BAWX!! SEAVER IS IN WILPON'S BAWX!!”
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Ed Price / New Jersey Online:
New York Yankees' Mariano Rivera to have surgery Tuesday — Closer Mariano Rivera will undergo arthroscopic surgery Tuesday to remove a calcification from the AC joint on top of his right shoulder. The procedure will be performed by David Altchek at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.
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