Top News:
CSNPhilly.com:
Phillies Sign Howard to $125 Million Extension — The Phillies have signed first baseman Ryan Howard to a five-year, $125 million contract extension, as first reported by CSNPhilly.com's Jim Salisbury. The extension runs from 2012 to 2016 and includes a sixth-year club option.
Discussion:
Sabernomics, Yahoo! Sports, HardballTalk, MLB Daily Dish, SBNation.com, The Good Phight and The Fightins
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Philly.com:
Howard agrees to 5-year extension — First baseman Ryan Howard has signed a five-year contract extension with a sixth-year club option with the Phillies that could take him through the 2017 season, the Phillies announced. — The deal guarantees Howard $125 million over five years and could reach $138 million over six years.
Discussion:
The Good Phight
Todd Zolecki / MLB.com:
Howard signs five-year extension — Slugging Phillies first baseman guaranteed $125 million — SAN FRANCISCO — The Phillies took an enormous step Monday to keep the main power source in their lineup through 2016. — They announced they had signed Ryan Howard to the largest contract in franchise history.
Discussion:
Brew Beat
MLB:
Phillies sign Howard to $125M extension — Ryan Howard will remain in a Philadelphia Phillies uniform through the 2016 season after agreeing to a five-year extension worth an average of $25 million per year. — The slugging first baseman has agreed to a five-year, $125 million extension …
Peter Abraham / Boston Globe:
Red Sox sign Cuban catcher — According to the Cuban Ball Players web site, the Red Sox have signed a catcher named Adalberto Ibarra to a major league contract worth $4.3 million. He is said to have an “elegant” swing. — It's an interesting move considering how highly the Sox think of Mark Wagner …
Discussion:
Clubhouse Insider, sox1fan.com, SBNation.com, Over the Monster, HardballTalk and PRO Rumors
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Cubano / Cuban Ball Players:
Adalberto Ibarra is a Red Sox — Former Camagüey standout Adalberto Ibarra has reached a Major League deal with the Boston Red Sox. The contract is a 5 year deal worth $4.3 million that includes a signing bonus of $1.5 million. The Red Sox see Ibarra as a future catcher.
Marc Carig / New Jersey Online:
Anatomy of an indecisive moment: A lost inning with Yankees manager Joe Girardi … ANAHEIM, Calif. — “I screwed up,” manager Joe Girardi said, a blunt assessment of a seventh-inning meltdown on Sunday that capped what became an 8-4 Yankees loss. — The Yankees trailed the Angels 5-4 …
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Dan Barbarisi / Projo Sox Blog:
Embree says he'll opt out if not called up to majors this week — It's do-or-die time for Alan Embree. Either the Red Sox want to call him to the majors this week, or he's leaving the organization. — “There's not going to be any extending of the deadline anymore.
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David Biderman / Wall Street Journal:
No Rush, A-Rod, We Have All Day — In case New Yorkers needed another way to compare Derek Jeter to Alex Rodriguez, we've found something new. When Mr. Jeter hits a home run, it takes him 20.19 seconds to round the bases, the second-fastest time among Yankees starters.
Thomas Boswell / Washington Post:
This year's Washington Nationals look like a different bunch — On Saturday, after they had lost in 13 innings to the Dodgers in a game they could and should have won several different times, the Nationals were so silent you could hear the sweat drip in their clubhouse.
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Bryan Hoch / MLB.com:
White House is next stop for Yankees — President welcomes team Monday to honor Series win — The Yankees' road-trip itinerary contains one additional stop, and it will not be found on any pocket schedule — the White House. — President Barack Obama will be welcoming the team through …
Fox Sports:
Nats looking out for Strasburg or themselves? — Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since Aug. 2005. He appears weekly on MLB on FOX. Follow him on Twitter. — Stephen Strasburg was the No. 1 pick in last year's amateur draft. Mike Leake was the eighth overall selection.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors
Nick Collias / MLB Rumors:
Dominican Scouts, MLB At Impasse Over Prospects — Amidst three hours of meetings with Dominican baseball officials, trainers, and scouts last Thursday, MLB Dominican office boss Sandy Alderson gave a description of his work on the island to Yahoo's Jeff Passan in terms extending beyond talk of steroids, bonus-skimming and age fraud.
Peter Abraham / Boston Globe:
Matsuzaka on the mound — Here we are at the Rogers Centre where Daisuke Matsuzaka is throwing a simulated game. — He's facing Jeremy Hermida, Jonathan Van Every and coaching assistant Eno Guerrero. The evaluators on hand include Ben Cherington, Terry Francona, John Farrell and the rest of the coaches.
Discussion:
The Joy of Sox
