Top News:
John Tomase / Clubhouse Insider:
Source: Sox made play for Mets' Capuano — Their wild card lead evaporating, the Red Sox are on the hunt for reinforcements, even if only for a game, in an attempt to make the playoffs. — According to a source with knowledge of the talks, the Red Sox have spent the better part of a week trying …
Discussion:
WEEI, HardballTalk, MLB Rumors, Over the Monster, MetsBlog.com and Boston Herald
RELATED:
Joe McDonald / ESPN:
Source: Boston eyed Chris Capuano
Discussion:
Red Sox Monster, MLB Daily Dish and MLB Rumors
Rob Parker / ESPN:
Joe Girardi deserves a lot of credit
Discussion:
Pinstripe Alley, YFSF and The LoHud Yankees Blog
Roger Mooney / Boston Herald:
Rays playoff chances take another hit
Discussion:
DRaysBay and Associated Press
Ronald Blum / Associated Press:
Posada's 2-run single gives Yankees AL East crown
Discussion:
HardballTalk, Associated Press and Boston Globe
Andrew Marchand / ESPN:
Russell Martin: ‘I hate the Red Sox’ — NEW YORK — Adding fuel to baseball's bitterest rivalry, New York Yankees catcher Russell Martin said he hates the Boston Red Sox and would relish adding to their misery by helping to eliminate them from the playoffs during this weekend's series between the two teams.
Discussion:
ESPN.com and HardballTalk
RELATED:
Matt Ehalt / ESPN:
Yanks' Cano would vote for himself for AL MVP — NEW YORK — There's one candidate in the American League MVP race that sticks out to Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano. — “MVP is tough right now, you got a lot of guys, but I would give my vote to myself,” Cano said. “You can see the numbers.
Discussion:
HardballTalk and MLB
Bryan Hoch / Bombers Beat:
Russell Martin: “I hate the Red Sox” — Russell Martin didn't mince any words this afternoon, talking about how sweet it'd be to knock the Red Sox out of the postseason hunt by playing some serious spoiler this weekend. — “Anything to get the Red Sox out would be awesome for me,” Martin said.
Discussion:
It's About The Money
Peter Abraham / Boston Globe:
What if there's a tie? — As of this morning, the Red Sox …
Discussion:
FenwayNationWorld
ESPN:
Manny Ramirez seeks reinstatement — Manny Ramirez, upon learning he will not be able to play winter ball in the Dominican Republic because he's on MLB's inactive list, told ESPNdeportes.com Thursday that he will formally request reinstatement. — Ramirez said that upon reentry …
Discussion:
NESN.com, HardballTalk, Baseball Nation and MLB Rumors
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Jerry Crasnick / MLB:
Manny ineligible to join Dominican winter team — Manny Ramirez will have to scratch his plans to play winter baseball in the Dominican Republic. — Rob Manfred, Major League Baseball's executive vice president of labor relations, confirmed Thursday that Ramirez will not be able to play in the Dominican …
Discussion:
HardballTalk
Dan Connolly / Orioles Insider:
Guerrero chasing Dominican hits record; wants to play few more years
Discussion:
HardballTalk and MLB Rumors
Espn.Com / MLB:
Source: Manny ineligible to join Dominican team
Discussion:
ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, NESN.com and HardballTalk
Fox Sports:
Sports closer to art than science — I won't be going to see “Moneyball.” The movie celebrates the plague ruining sports: sabermetrics. — That is not intended as a shot at Bill James, Billy Beane or Michael Lewis. — James (the inventor of sabermetrics) and Beane …
Discussion:
Crashburn Alley, THE BOOK, BBTF's Baseball Primer …, Deadspin and HardballTalk
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Joe Posnanski / Joe Blogs:
Moneyball The Movie — WARNING: I don't THINK there are any spoilers or plot giveaways here — I suspect most of you know that Moneyball The Movie is about the 2002 Oakland A's and their attempt to win with new baseball knowledge — but if you are the sort of person who likes to go into a movie …
Discussion:
Bleed Cubbie Blue, Baseball America and THE BOOK
Associated Press:
Mets rally for six runs in 9th inning to top Cardinals — ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Cardinals blew a four-run lead in the ninth inning and hurt their wild-card hopes when shortstop Rafael Furcal misplayed a potential double-play grounder, allowing the New York Mets to rally for an 8-6 win Thursday.
RELATED:
Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
Cardinals Extend Lance Berkman
Discussion:
MLB Daily Dish, Baseball Nation and Yahoo! Sports
Associated Press:
Peacock and Morse lead Nats to four-game sweep of Phillies — PHILADELPHIA — Brad Peacock, making just his second major league start, pitched 5 2-3 scoreless innings and Michael Morse hit a three-run homer to lead the Washington Nationals to a 6-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, completing a four-game sweep.
Discussion:
Phillies Nation
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Craig Calcaterra / HardballTalk:
The Marlins place Leo Nunez on the restricted list — There are no details yet, but the Marlins have placed pitcher Leo Nunez on the restricted list. He has left the team and has returned to the Dominican Republic, so he's clearly done for the year. — No word on what happened to cause this …
Discussion:
MiamiHerald.com, MLB Daily Dish, MLB Rumors and Yahoo! Sports
Matt Eddy / Baseball America:
2011 Pioneer League Top 20 Prospects — Despite its Rookie-advanced classification, the Pioneer League plays more like the short-season New York-Penn or Northwest leagues than its sister Appalachian League. Whereas Appy Leaguers average about 20 years in age, the other three leagues come in just north of 21.
Discussion:
True Blue LA and Red Reporter
Josh Weinstock / Hardball Times:
Pitching repertoires and BABIP — People like trends. I like trends, you like trends, heck, even your mom likes trends. Why? Because we are human, and viewing the world in trends is intuitive and makes the big bad world just a little less scary. While tempting, this impulse does not always produce the best analysis.
Discussion:
U.S.S. Mariner and Patrick Flood
Associated Press:
Athletics beat first place Rangers, avoid series sweep — OAKLAND, Calif. — Coco Crisp hit a go-ahead single in the eighth inning, and the Oakland Athletics beat the first-place Texas Rangers 4-3 on Thursday to avoid a series sweep. — The reigning AL champion Rangers began …
