Top News:
Associated Press:
Rays complete sweep of stumbling Red Sox — B.J. Upton and the Tampa Bay Rays played the bumbling Boston Red Sox [team stats] at the perfect time. — Upton capped a five-run third inning with a three-run homer and Tampa Bay completed a four-game sweep of the Red Sox with an 8-2 victory today …
Discussion:
Boston Herald, MLB, ESPN, Boston Globe, Halos Heaven, sox1fan.com, DRaysBay, South Side Sox and Yahoo! Sports
RELATED:
Rhett Bollinger / MLB.com:
Pineiro guides Angels to fourth straight win — ANAHEIM — When the Angels signed right-hander Joel Pineiro as a free agent this offseason, they knew exactly what they were getting — a sinkerball pitcher coming off a career year with the Cardinals in which he won 15 games and had a 3.49 ERA.
Discussion:
6-4-2
RELATED:
TSN.ca:
PINEIRO SOLID AS STREAKING ANGELS SHUT OUT TIGERS — The Sports Network — Anaheim, CA (Sports Network) - Joel Pineiro continued his solid April with 7 1/3 shutout frames, as the suddenly streaking Angels blanked Detroit, 2-0, in the first game of a four-game set.
Kevin Goldstein / ESPN:
Five things you need to know about Ike — Mets' new first baseman may have trouble with lefties, but hey, he's not Mike Jacobs — Smart people with lives went out on Saturday night, but plenty of baseball fans couldn't leave their couches, entranced by the marathon of comedic incompetence that was the Mets-Cardinals game.
RELATED:
Matthew Cerrone / MetsBlog.com:
Buzz: The Ike Davis Era to Start Tonight
Buzz: The Ike Davis Era to Start Tonight
Discussion:
Mets Merized Online
Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
Odds & Ends: Bell, Dye, Ortiz, Davis, Strasburg — Links for Monday... - The MLBTR Forums are rocking with over 3,600 members. Join the discussion today! Just added a prospects section; we've also got areas to discuss trade rumors, free agents, the draft, general baseball, fantasy baseball, and every team.
Roch Kubatko / School of Roch:
Pie could miss next three months — Orioles outfielder Felix Pie underwent an MRI this morning and learned that he could miss up to three months with an injury to his latissimus dorsi muscle. — Pie went on the disabled list April 16 with an injury classified as a strained muscle in his upper back …
Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Marquis trying to be too perfect on hill — Starter admits to not letting natural athleticism take over — WASHINGTON — A day after having the worst outing of his young season, Nationals right-hander Jason Marquis learned he will start against the Dodgers on Friday at Nationals Park.
Discussion:
The Nationals Enquirer
RELATED:
Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Marquis can't follow up on Livan's gem
Marquis can't follow up on Livan's gem
Discussion:
Purple Row, Federal Baseball, The Goessling Game, FJB, Nationals Inquisition and The Nationals Enquirer
Adam McCalvy / MLB.com:
Inbox: Too soon to fret over pitching? — Brewers beat reporter Adam McCalvy fields fans' questions — Is it too early to worry about the Brewers' pitching staff? — Too early to panic and start making drastic changes? Definitely. But too early to worry? I don't think so.
Discussion:
Al's Ramblings
Joe Posnanski:
Forbes and Yankees — Forbes has its awesome new Business of Baseball rankings up. I love these numbers for several reasons, one being that, year after year, within hours of them being released, people all over baseball will gripe that the numbers are WAY off. … And so on. This ALWAYS happens.
Discussion:
The Crawfish Boxes
Aaron Fitt / Baseball America:
Three Strikes: April 19 — Strike One: Quack Attack — The biggest story in college baseball right now is the incredible rise of Oregon, which is on track to reach regionals in just the second season since the program was started from scratch after a 28-year hiatus.
Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com:
LaRoche returns to D-backs lineup — First baseman missed four games with quad strain — PHOENIX — After missing four consecutive games with a strain in his upper right quadriceps, Adam LaRoche was back in the D-backs lineup Monday for their homestand opener against the Cardinals at Chase Field.
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports
Canadian Press:
JAYS POUND ROYALS IN FRONT OF SMALLEST-EVER CROWD AT DOME — TORONTO — They finally broke out after a weekend of relative silence. The Toronto Blue Jays batters sprayed the ball across the field and over the fence on Monday night, but whenever it left the playing surface …
Hal Bodley / MLB.com:
Everyone's rooting for Cantu now — Marlins' infielder hasn't stopped trying to prove himself — When it comes to bargains, Marlins third baseman Jorge Cantu is about as good as it gets. As their cleanup hitter he has driven in 195 runs the past two years for a measly $4 million.
Discussion:
omgreds.com
Alysonf / Alyson's Footnotes:
On Puma, Kaz and Kepp. — The only hope the Astros had on Sunday regarding Lance Berkman was that their star first baseman make it through his final rehab game at Round Rock without his knee giving him problems, such as the swelling that has caused at least two setbacks in the past.
RELATED:
Brian McTaggart / MLB.com:
Berkman expects to be back Tuesday
Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
Eric Gagne Retires — Eric Gagne has retired, reports Martin Leclerc of Rue Frontenac (English translation here). Gagne explained that he feels great physically, but has lost the desire to pitch. The 34-year-old was released by the Dodgers a month ago. — Gagne's run of dominant closing …
Discussion:
The Mighty Quinn Media Machine
RELATED: