Check out Mini-Ballbug for simple mobiles or Ballbug Mobile for modern smartphones.
8:30 PM ET, February 29, 2012

Ballbug

 Top News: 
Fox Sports:
Sources: MLB playoffs expanding in 2012  —  Baseball's playoffs will expand from eight to 10 teams, starting this season, according to major-league sources.  —  The sport's new collective-barganing agreement stipulated that additional wild cards would be added in each league no later than 2013.
RELATED:
Buster Olney / MLB:
Sources: MLB, union closer to 10-team playoffs
Discussion: Plain Dealer
Jeff Passan / Yahoo! Sports:
Rangers' signing of Dominican phenom Jairo Beras is investigated by MLB over age discrepancy  —  Major League Baseball will investigate the Texas Rangers' signing of Dominican prospect Jairo Beras for $4.5 million after questions about his age arose.  The Rangers believe he is 17 and eligible …
Discussion: Baseball Prospectus and MLB Rumors
RELATED:
Phil Rogers / Chicago Tribune:
Your Morning Phil: Beras, Soler, Braun  —  Talking baseball: 1.  Uh, oh.  This could get ugly.  One source in the Dominican Republic has reported that The Next Big Thing in Latin America, outfielder Jairo Beras, has agreed to a $4.5 million deal with the Texas Rangers, and the signing raises questions.
Ben Badler / Baseball America:
Rangers' Surprise Signing Draws Industry Scrutiny
Discussion: Lone Star Ball
Tom Singer / MLB.com:
Burnett to Pittsburgh for exam on injured eye  —  Newly acquired pitcher hurt in freak bunting accident  —  BRADENTON, Fla. — A.J. Burnett is bound for Pittsburgh, where he will undergo additional medical examinations Thursday on his injured right eye.  —  Burnett bunted a ball …
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Pirates' Burnett struck in right eye by batted ball
Discussion: ESPN
Tom Singer / MLB.com:
Former O's righty Cabrera in camp with Bucs
Discussion: HardballTalk
Tom Haudricourt / JSOnline:
Brewers, Axford talking multi-year deal  —  By Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel  —  Phoenix — There's a good reason that closer John Axford is the last player on the Brewers' 40-man roster to sign a contract for the 2012 season.  —  Assistant general manager Gord Ash confirmed Wednesday …
RELATED:
Adam McCalvy / MLB.com:
Crew, Axford to continue work on multiyear deal  —  Both sides say they'd like contract extension; talks cordial  —  PHOENIX — Brewers closer John Axford was quick to explain why he's the only member of the 40-man roster yet to sign a 2012 contract.  —  “Just like last year, I'm holding out for billions,” he joked.
Discussion: MLB Daily Dish and Al's Ramblings
Associated Press:
Marlins RF prefers Giancarlo Stanton  —  JUPITER, Fla. — His mom calls him Cruz.  Teammates call him Bigfoot.  Most baseball fans know him as Mike Stanton, precocious slugger for the Miami Marlins, but his first name is actually Giancarlo.  —  “The man of a million names,” Stanton said.
Discussion: Fish Stripes and Deadspin
RELATED:
Joe Capozzi / Fish Tank blog:
Miami Marlins slugger will go by a new name — Giancarlo Stanton
Matt Gelb / Philly.com:
Howard sidelined indefinitely  —  CLEARWATER, Fla. — Ryan Howard has indeed suffered a setback in his recovery from Achilles surgery and will be sidelined indefinitely following a procedure to clean an infection from his original wound.  —  Foot specialist Mark Myerson performed a …
Discussion: HardballTalk and Yahoo! Sports
RELATED:
Bob Brookover / Boston Herald:
Phillies awaiting word on Ryan Howard's Achilles injury
Discussion: Phillies Nation
Greg Johns / MLB.com:
Gutierrez suffers right pec injury  —  PEORIA, Ariz. — Franklin Gutierrez is known as a Gold Glove center fielder who can catch anything hit his way on the baseball field, but the Mariners veteran can't seem to catch a break in the health department after suffering an injury to his right pectoral muscle Tuesday.
Susan Slusser / Oakland Athletics:
Miguel Tejada says he wants to return to the A's  —  Late last night, I spoke to Miguel Tejada, who won an MVP while playing shortstop for the A's in 2002, and Tejada told me his fondest desire is to return to the team that gave him his first start.  —  “I would love it,” Tejada told me by phone from Florida.
Adam Kilgore / Washington Post:
Davey Johnson's history lesson  —  The other day, Davey Johnson wanted to share a batting tip he had learned from an old player.  Standing around the batting cage, he had a conversation with Danny Espinosa and Ian Desmond about the importance of timing.  Johnson's story, just in case, needed a brief prologue about the source.
Discussion: HardballTalk
Doug Glanville / ESPN:
Appreciating Chipper Jones  —  Longtime Atlanta Brave has been killing opponents softly for a long, long time  —  Baseball locker rooms are full of debates.  Players often debate the best slider in the game, the best infield grass, maybe even the best postgame spread.
Discussion: MLB
Bill Chastain / MLB.com:
Final night of '11 still resonates with Rays  —  PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — Luke Scott called the final night of the 2011 season “the greatest night in baseball history,” and that seems to be the general sentiment among fans and players alike.  —  Rays fans won't soon forget that night at Tropicana Field …
Fox Sports:
Braun should have quit while ahead  —  Turns out, The Collector has a name.  And a reputation.  And a story.  —  The PR battle Ryan Braun lamented is raging anew.  For this, he has himself to blame.  —  I don't know if Braun knowingly used the synthetic testosterone that showed up in his October urine test.
RELATED:
Aaron Gleeman / HardballTalk:
Wisconsin man who collected Ryan Braun's urine sample issues statement “to set the record straight”
Discussion: Baseball Nation
Anthony McCarron / NY Daily News:
Bobby Valentine mocks Derek Jeter's ‘flip’ play, revels over how Jason Varitek ‘beat up’ Alex Rodriguez in 2004  —  New Red Sox manager continues to tweak the Yankees  —  Jason Varitek and Alex Rodriguez duke it out during 2004 game at Fenway Park.  —  It took Bobby Valentine 10 years to get back into a major league dugout.
Discussion: the joy of sox
RELATED:
Alex Speier / WEEI:
JASON VARITEK AND THE TRADE THAT CHANGED A FRANCHISE
 
 Archived Page Info: 
This is a snapshot of Ballbug at 8:30 PM ET, February 29, 2012.

View the current page or another snapshot:


 
 See Also: 
Ballbug: site main
Ballbug River: reverse chronological Ballbug
Ballbug Mobile: for phones
Ballbug Leaderboard: Ballbug's top sources
 
 Subscribe: 
Ballbug RSS feed
 
 
 More News: 
Mark Saxon / ESPN:
Mark Trumbo cleared for activity
Bob Harkins / HardballTalk:
Can Jesus Montero catch? He's motivated to show he can
Dgoold / derrickgoold:
The Promised Pujols Cartoon
Paul Hoynes / Plain Dealer:
Albert Belle enjoys a laugh-filled reunion with the Cleveland Indians
Discussion: NESN.com, HardballTalk and Deadspin
 Earlier Picks: 
Danny Knobler / CBSSports.com:
Nationals camp report: Harper decision might make all the difference
Discussion: baseballmusings.com
Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Prospect Solis to have Tommy John surgery
Brian Erni / MetsBlog.com:
Recap: Terry Collins conference call with bloggers
 

 
From WeSmirch:

Eileen Reslen / Page Six:
Christine Quinn alleges ‘abusive’ husband Christian Richard threw dog poop at her, peed on her floor in violent outburst

Tom Bryant / The Mirror:
Paul O'Grady's beloved dog nuzzled star's shoulder as devoted husband battled to save him

TMZ.com:
LEO DICAPRIO NOT ENGAGED TO GIRLFRIEND ... Despite Ring Speculation

 
Sister Sites:

Techmeme
 Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web
Mediagazer
 Top news and commentary for media professionals from all around the web
memeorandum
 What US political commentators are discussing online right now
WeSmirch
 The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page