Top News:
Andrew Baggarly / Mercury News:
Carlos Beltran wants more from San Francisco Giants — DENVER — Carlos Beltran already escaped one ownership mess with the New York Mets. Now the Giants, his current club, are in the midst of their second palace revolt in three seasons. — Beltran insisted the stunning ouster …
Discussion:
San Francisco Chronicle, HardballTalk, Extra Baggs, MLB Rumors and Lookout Landing
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Sandoval Hits for the Cycle as Giants Beat Rockies — DENVER (AP) — Pablo Sandoval tripled in the sixth inning to complete the first cycle of his career and the San Francisco Giants beat the Colorado Rockies 8-5 on Thursday night to keep their slim postseason hopes alive.
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com, McCovey Chronicles, Purple Row and Associated Press
Nick Kosmider / MLB.com:
Sandoval hits triple to complete the cycle — DENVER — Pablo Sandoval used every ounce of speed his legs could provide to notch a sixth-inning triple against the Rockies on Thursday, and it was enough to give the Giants third baseman his first career cycle.
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports and BBTF's Baseball Primer …
Peter Abraham / Boston Globe:
The Red Sox still have time to recapture what they had — The Red Sox won 89 games last season and that was probably a few more than they should have. They didn't have Jacoby Ellsbury all year. They didn't have Dustin Pedroia for three months. They didn't have Kevin Youkilis for two months.
Discussion:
Over the Monster and DRaysBay
RELATED:
Jason Mastrodonato / MLB.com:
Buchholz could throw bullpen session Saturday — BOSTON — Prior to Thursday's game with the Rays, Clay Buchholz made another stride toward recovering from a back injury that has kept him sidelined since June. — Buchholz threw 15 pitches in the bullpen and 15 more “short box,” where the catcher sets up in front of the plate.
Discussion:
Over the Monster and HardballTalk
Jayson Stark / MLB:
Most unlikely offseason spenders — Believe it or not, Dodgers and Marlins could be big players this offseason — Frank McCourt is a lot more familiar with spending humongous sums of money than the Florida Marlins are. And we have the divorce court documents to prove it.
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com and MLB Rumors
Chad Jennings / The LoHud Yankees Blog:
Rodriguez eyeing return to Yankees lineup — Today will be the day that the Yankees get their third baseman back. That's Joe Girardi's hope, anyway. He's planning to put Alex Rodriguez in the lineup for tonight's series opener in Toronto. If Rodriguez struggles in batting practice …
Discussion:
Pinstriped Bible … and Sliding Into Home
RELATED:
Wallace Matthews / ESPN:
Yanks GM: A-Rod's thumb likely ongoing issue
Discussion:
YFSF, It's About The Money, HardballTalk, Bronx Baseball Daily and The Yankee Analysts
Amy K. Nelson / ESPN:
OTL: Marked for life — That was the question posed by former big leaguer Kevin Seitzer in December to Logan Morrison. Logan had heard the question before — you get such questions when people perceive your dad as being abrasive, overbearing and far too involved.
RELATED:
Amy K. Nelson / MLB:
Marlins' Logan Morrison files grievance
Discussion:
Fish Stripes, Baseball Nation, MLB Rumors, HardballTalk and baseballmusings.com
Brian Costa / Wall Street Journal:
The Man Not Named in ‘Moneyball’ — Paul DePodesta could have been like Billy Beane. He could have had his name, his image and his story immortalized on the big screen in “Moneyball,” the film about the 2002 Oakland Athletics set to premiere next weekend.
Discussion:
South Side Sox, DRaysBay, HardballTalk, AZ Snake Pit, ESPN, MetsBlog.com, Beyond the Box Score and baseballmusings.com
Associated Press:
Pirates Eliminate Dodgers With 6-2 Victory — LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ross Ohlendorf got his first win of the season in seven starts and hit a three-run homer to help the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 Thursday night, a loss that mathematically eliminated the bankrupt franchise from the NL West race.
Discussion:
True Blue LA, Gaslamp Ball, Bucs Dugout, Yahoo! Sports and Associated Press
Troy Renck / On the Rox:
Rockies' CarGo re-injures right wrist; Panda hits for cycle — DENVER — It's not enough for the Rockies to lose. They continue losing players as well. Carlos Gonzalez re-injured his right wrist while colliding into the right-field wall in the sixth inning, and will likely miss at least a few games.
Discussion:
HardballTalk
Matt Ehalt / ESPN:
Angry Collins believes Mets have ‘folded it up’ … NEW YORK — Terry Collins has reached his breaking point. — After defending his team's fight and will all season, the New York Mets manager said his team has “folded it up” following a 10-1 loss on Thursday to the Nationals that marked …
Discussion:
New York Post, NY Daily News, HardballTalk, New Jersey Online, New York Times and NESN.com
Associated Press:
Tigers' 12-Game Winning Streak Snapped by A's — OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — David DeJesus hit a three-run homer in the first, Brandon McCarthy pitched seven strong innings and the Oakland Athletics snapped Detroit's 12-game winning streak with a 6-1 victory on Thursday night …
Discussion:
Associated Press and Athletics Nation
