Top News:
Adam Kilgore / Boston Globe:
Lester's newest moment — Jon Lester has a very important job tonight, the ramifications of which range beyond simply ensuring the Red Sox do not board a plane bound for Anaheim and Game 5 of the ALDS. — Lester, the new ace, is charged with keeping at bay the familiar — yet nearly forgotten …
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David Lefort / Boston Globe:
Amalie Benjamin Q&A — The Globe's Amalie Benjamin checked in earlier today to answer your questions about the Red Sox-Angels ALDS. Here's a transcript from the online chat: — Amalie Benjamin: Welcome all. I'm guessing we're all a wee bit tired, given the late hour of the game last night, but we'll have to power through.
Discussion:
Fire Brand of the …
David Pinto / Baseball Musings:Playoffs Today — The story is the same as Sunday in the ALDS …
Discussion:
BBTF's Baseball Primer …
Toni Ginnetti / Chicago Sun Times:
‘Blackout’ electrifies Sox — Home-field benefits becoming clearer as series goes along — The cowbells in Tropicana Field didn't impress White Sox closer Bobby Jenks at all. — “Dumbest thing I ever saw,” he said Sunday of the fans' rallying tactic. “Just annoying. Minor league.”
Discussion:
MLB FanHouse
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Marc Topkin / St. Petersburg Times:
Rays' Upton finding power stroke again — CHICAGO — CF B.J. Upton still isn't hitting the ball as often as he would like, going just 3-for-14, a .214 average, in the first three games of the AL Division Series. — But at least he is hitting the ball harder.
Discussion:
Rays Index
Paul Sullivan / Chicago Tribune:
Soriano blames flop in postseason on Cubs' make-up — A team of psychiatrists, theologians, numerologists and seamheads could convene at a secret location on the North Side in search of an explanation for the Cubs' latest October meltdown. — But Ryan Dempster said the reason is obvious to anyone paying attention.
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Rich Hofmann / Philly.com:
Charlie Manuel out to earn title of “winner” — MILWAUKEE - “Close the door,” Charlie Manuel said. We had walked into the visiting manager's office at Miller Park. It is like most of them - steel desk, black telephone, couple of chairs, impersonal, transient.
Discussion:
Dodger Thoughts
Keith Law / ESPN:
Addition of cutter has made Danks an elite arm — I've seen a lot of revisionist thinking in the last week regarding the Rangers' trade of the new White Sox ace, John Danks, a deal that two years later has left Texas with almost no return in exchange for one of the 10 best starters in the American League this year.
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Peter Abraham / The LoHud Yankees Blog:A-Rod: Ace recruiter for the Yankees
Discussion:
WasWatching.com
Anita Hassan / Houston Chronicle:
Backe among 8 held after scuffle with police at isle hotel — GALVESTON — Houston Astros pitcher Brandon Backe was among 10 people arrested early Sunday morning during a riot at the San Luis Resort, police said. — FEMA coordinator Jaime Forero was also placed in custody during the incident …
Fox Sports:
With Brewers out, CC sweepstakes can begin — Now that the Brewers' season is over, let the CC sweepstakes begin. Ken Rosenthal sets the stage with a jam-packed odds board.
Brian Costello / New York Post:
LEFTY LIKELY ON RADAR OF METS, YANKS — MILWAUKEE - CC Sabathia smiled when told Mets fans are dreaming of a starting rotation that begins with him and Johan Santana. — “That sounds good,” the premier free agent pitcher of this winter told The Post. — The 28-year-old's season came …
Discussion:
Mets Fever
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Adam Kilgore / Boston Globe:
Wobbly Beckett grits it out — Red Sox ace insists oblique not a factor — Josh Beckett insisted his pitches simply missed, just barely, nothing more. Beckett had transformed from baseball's reigning king of the postseason to just another pitcher not, he said, because of the injury …
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Bob Nightengale / USA Today:Notes: Sabathia would like a 2nd round as Milwaukee's finest
Discussion:
Baseball Digest Daily Blog
Andrew Beaton / Hot Foot:
My Outrage at Citi Field — I have come to terms with The Collapse Part Deux surprisingly easily. As a general sports fan, I understand that losses are a part of the game and so are devastating ones. As a Mets fan, I realize that those heartbreaking losses will come more often than they do for your average sports fan.
Discussion:
The 'Ropolitans
Mark Bowman / MLB.com:
Mailbag: Where will Atlanta find a bat? — MLB.com reporter Mark Bowman answers fans' questions — Who are the players Braves general manager Frank Wren will most likely look at while trying to find a power-hitting outfielder? — You mean after he's done pursuing Manny Ramirez?
