Top News:
Nick Cafardo / Boston Globe:
Sox eye Nats shortstop Guzman — NEW YORK - The Red Sox have been searching to find a major league shortstop for quite some time and that search intensified this weekend after Jed Lowrie reinjured his left forearm and went on the disabled list. — Major League sources indicate that the Red Sox …
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Jon Weisman / Dodger Thoughts:
Another tough one to take, but Kershaw and Scully stood out — Clayton Kershaw was magnificent Saturday. Attacking the plate from the outset — he had nearly as many strikeouts (six) as balls (nine) in his first three innings — Kershaw struck out 10 while allowing only two hits and no runs over seven innings.
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David Ely / MLB.com:
Dodgers' rotation remains in flux — Billingsley's status uncertain; Elbert optioned to Triple-A — LOS ANGELES — The state of the Dodgers' pitching staff has deteriorated to the point that all manager Joe Tore can do is chuckle when asked about his current crop of starters.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors
David Ely / MLB.com:
Dodgers done in by Braves in extras — Kershaw's start spoiled; rally falls short after Atlanta homer — LOS ANGELES — On a night when the Dodgers desperately needed a standout outing from one of their starting pitchers, left-hander Clayton Kershaw delivered the goods.
Los Angeles Times:
Dodgers waste Clayton Kershaw's effort. — Young left-hander strikes out 10 in seven innings, but Braves win it in the 10th. — The silence in the Dodgers' dressing quarters was pierced by an expletive. — For the second consecutive night, the Dodgers fell to the Atlanta Braves …
Discussion:
LADodgerTalk.com
Mark Bowman / MLB.com:
Braves survive to down Dodgers in 10 — After Johnson's homer, Escobar's play preserves win — LOS ANGELES — After Kenshin Kawakami delivered what manager Bobby Cox termed “the game of his life,” and Kelly Johnson proved he still possesses clutch power, the Braves ended another chapter …
Discussion:
Talking Chop
Associated Press:
Tigers' Leyland ‘sick and tired’ of steroids saga — DETROIT - Tigers manager Jim Leyland laments the way names have trickled out in baseball's drug scandal, and says he has grown weary of the disclosures. — Leyland usually sidesteps conversations about steroids, but on Sunday …
Discussion:
Boston Herald
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David Lefort / Boston Globe:Ortiz: I never used steroids
Discussion:
sox1fan.com, Dan Shaughnessy Watch, The Mighty Quinn Media Machine, Deadspin and The Joy of Sox
Maury Brown / The Biz of Baseball:Prior to Ortiz Press Conference, MLBPA Releases Statement Regarding 2003 Drug Test
MLB:David Ortiz of Boston Red Sox apologizes, says he never used or bought steroids
Discussion:
The Biz of Baseball, Boston Globe, MLB Daily Dish, Circling The Bases, Yahoo! Sports and SPORTSbyBROOKS
Jorge Arangure Jr / ESPN:
New world of hope awaits Chapman — Confident Cuban pitching phenom dreams of fortune and fame as major leaguer … BARCELONA, Spain — As he sits under a starry night on the patio of a restaurant, Aroldis Chapman plays with a small, hand-held video camera used to record his workout from earlier that day.
Eddie Schmid / MLB Rumors:
Pirates Sign Sixth-Rounder For $1.2MM — The Pirates continue to pony up quite a bit of cash into the draft in their efforts to rebuild: According to John Perrotto at Pirates Report, they signed their sixth-round pick, Zach Von Rosenberg, for a bonus of $1.2MM.
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Joe Resnick / Associated Press:
Hamilton admits to relapse with alcohol — Buzz up! — ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP)—Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton — once again addressed his troubled history with alcohol abuse, after a Web site published photos of him cavorting with several scantily clad women in a bar last January.
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George A. King III / New York Post:
REGGIE BUYS PIECES OF OLD STADIUM — Reggie Jackson has acquired two very big pieces of the old Yankee Stadium. — SHUTOUT PUTS YANKS UP 5 1/2 — Jackson has purchased the letters that spelled “YANKEE STADIUM” on the upper ring of the old ballpark and the concrete from the blacked …
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Peter Abraham / The LoHud Yankees Blog:
Wrapping it up from the Bronx — Just a few quick notes. — I spoke to Josh Towers after the game and he said he was told his trip to the big leagues will last one day. — Towers, who is put of options, will be DFA'd tomorrow to make room for Chad Gaudin.
Ron Berler / New York Times:
Arms-Control Breakdown — Most baseball pitchers pitch with pain. Alden Manning's elbow pain began when he was 14, playing for his Greenville, N.C., middle-school baseball team in the spring of 2008. He would throw five or six innings and afterward, at Cubbie's, a local burger joint …
Troy E. Renck / Denver Post:
Cubs clip Rockies 6-5 — Marquis issues five walks in six innings vs. former team — This is not meant to diminish their victory. The Cubs won 6-5 on a night that had a decided Chicago vibe. Winds swirled like Wrigley, and every Cub achievement was greeted with throaty screams …
