Top News:
Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Hanson superb before Braves awaken late — Starter tosses four strong innings; Parraz, Constanza clutch — VIERA, Fla. — The Nationals and Braves found themselves in a pitchers' duel on Wednesday afternoon before the Braves tied it in the ninth and eventually won it in the 10th, 3-2, at Space Coast Stadium.
Discussion:
Federal Baseball
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Evan Drellich / MLB.com:
Hughes completes five against Rays — PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — Right-hander Phil Hughes let up two runs over five innings in Wednesday afternoon's 5-2 Yankees victory over the Rays, as his bid to be New York's fifth starter continued. — With the game tied at 2 entering the top of the ninth inning …
Discussion:
Pinstripe Alley
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Associated Press:
Hughes Solid in Start for Yankees — PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (AP) — Phil Hughes allowed only three hits — one, a two-run homer by Matt Jocye — in five innings, and the New York Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-2 Wednesday. — After walking Carlos Pena to lead off the bottom of the second inning …
Bryan Hoch / MLB.com:
A-Rod instrumental as Yanks' bats erupt
Howard Ulman / Globe and Mail:
New-look Red Sox hope to put collapse behind — The Red Sox begin their second century at Fenway Park with a lot of changes. Considering the way the first century ended, that's good. — Since missing the playoffs with the worst September collapse in baseball history …
Discussion:
Boston Globe and Over the Monster
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Dominic Massa / WWL-TV:
Mel Parnell, N.O. native and former Red Sox pitcher, dies at 89
Mel Parnell, N.O. native and former Red Sox pitcher, dies at 89
Discussion:
Over the Monster, Surviving Grady, Yahoo! Sports, baseballmusings.com, HardballTalk and NESN.com
Ian Browne / MLB.com:
Shoppach goes deep in loss to Blue Jays
Shoppach goes deep in loss to Blue Jays
Discussion:
Boston Globe and Over the Monster
Joe Strauss / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
New setback for Carpenter — JUPITER, Fla. • Cardinals co-ace Chris Carpenter returned to St. Louis on Tuesday to be further examined by nerve specialists after experiencing renewed symptoms associated with a bulging cervical disc. — Carpenter, who threw live batting practice Sunday …
Discussion:
Getting Blanked, MLB Daily Dish, HardballTalk and Baseball Nation
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Jenifer Langosch / MLB.com:
Carpenter shut down; likely to start year on DL
Mike Ozanian / SportsMoney:
The Business Of Baseball 2012 — Click for full photo gallery: Baseball's Most Valuable Teams — The National Pastime is flourishing thanks to cable companies' desire for live baseball programming. — The average Major League Baseball team rose 16% in value during the past year, to an all-time high of $605 million.
Discussion:
The Yankee Analysts, Bats, Los Angeles Times and baseballmusings.com
Jason Beck / MLB.com:
Seeking fifth-starter job, Oliver's rhythm off — Lefty prospect's control issues continue as he walks five — LAKELAND, Fla. — Andy Oliver is too young to be outrunning a reputation. — He's also trying to show he's not too young yet to hold down a rotation spot on a team that's expected to win.
Discussion:
Bless You Boys
Brittany Ghiroli / MLB.com:
Britton receives platelet rich plasma therapy — SARASOTA, Fla. — Zach Britton received two rounds of platelet rich plasma (PRP) therapy on Wednesday, a new and increasingly popular procedure that he hopes will help heal the inflammation in his left shoulder that has plagued him since August.
Discussion:
Britt's Bird Watch
Sports Illustrated:
Timmons, real-life Crash Davis, may finally get Hollywood ending … PHOENIX — Wes Timmons thought it was another march to the baseball gallows. — Eight of his A's teammates had already been cut from big-league camp in the previous 24 hours, so when he received a summons to the manager's office …
Discussion:
Beaneball and Athletics Nation
T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com:
Inbox: Does Washington get enough respect? — Reporter T.R. Sullivan answers Rangers fans' questions — Everybody says that Ron Washington's main asset is that he gets players to play hard, and during the playoffs last year they kept making a big deal about how excited he gets.
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball
David Laurila / FanGraphs Baseball:
Q&A: Doug Glanville on Defensive Metrics — Had “The Fielding Bible” existed during his playing days, Doug Glanville would have graded out well among outfielders. As it is, the respected ESPN analyst has to settle for being one of 10 panelists who voted on this year's awards.
Discussion:
THE BOOK
Chicago Sun Times:
Could Cubs' glut of starting pitchers lead to trade? — MESA, Ariz. - The eye-opening emergence of Jeff Samardzija as a starting pitcher for the Cubs could turn a rotation candidate into a very expensive Class AAA pitcher by Opening Day - or a valuable trade commodity.