Top News:
Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
Pat Burrell Retires — APRIL 12th: The Phillies have announced that Burrell will sign a one-day minor league contract and retire with the club that originally drafted him. The retirement ceremony will be held on May 19th. — JAN. 30th: Pat Burrell is retiring, MLBTR has learned.
Discussion:
Crashburn Alley and SI Tracking Blog
RELATED:
Paul Hagen / MLB.com:
Burrell grateful for chance to retire with Phillies — Even on the last day of his playing career, wearing a San Francisco Giants uniform in a game against the Colorado Rockies, Pat Burrell found himself thinking about the Phillies. — He had already decided this would be it.
Discussion:
Phillies Nation
MLB.com:
Pat Burrell to officially retire as a Phillie — Outfielder Pat Burrell will officially retire as a Phillie during the Boston Red Sox series at Citizens Bank Park in May. — The 35-year-old will sign a one-day minor league contract with the Phillies, thus officially retiring as a member …
Discussion:
Fish Stripes and The Good Phight
Mike Axisa / MLB Rumors:
Indians To Sign Johnny Damon — The Indians will sign Johnny Damon, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (all Twitter links). Damon confirmed to Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio that he has agreed to sign with the Indians (Twitter link). — The deal will include a full no-trade clause …
Discussion:
Boston Globe, Yahoo! Sports, Baseball Nation, MLB Daily Dish and HardballTalk
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Damon says he's close to signing with Indians
Damon says he's close to signing with Indians
Discussion:
SI Tracking Blog and Associated Press
C. Trent Rosecrans / CBSSports.com:
Johnny Damon excited to join Indians
Johnny Damon excited to join Indians
Discussion:
Baseball Nation and NESN.com
NY Daily News:
David Wright could return to NY Mets lineup on Friday against Philadelphia Phillies, according to Terry Collins' gut feeling — Wright fitted for splint on fractured pinkie before Mets' 4-0 loss — David Wright can't get on field but he takes it all in as Mets fall on 50th anniversary of franchise's first game.
Discussion:
HardballTalk
RELATED:
Peter Botte / NY Daily News:
NY Mets' Jason Bay boils over and gets thrown out in Wednesday's 4-0 loss against Washington Nationals
NY Mets' Jason Bay boils over and gets thrown out in Wednesday's 4-0 loss against Washington Nationals
Discussion:
Amazin' Avenue, Associated Press and MetsBlog.com
Anthony Rieber / Newsday:
Ike Davis relieved to get his first hit
Associated Press:
Royals' Jeff Francoeur delivers pizza to A's fans — OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Pizza delivery, courtesy of Jeff Francoeur. — The Kansas City Royals' right fielder had 20 personal pizzas delivered Wednesday to a small but animated group of Oakland Athletics fans in section 149 of the Coliseum.
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com
Associated Press:
Halladay, Phillies Beat Marlins — PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Roy Halladay's presence was a bigger obstacle for the Miami Marlins than Ozzie Guillen's absence. — Halladay threw seven sharp innings and the Philadelphia Phillies broke out of their offensive slump, beating the Marlins 7-1 …
Discussion:
Fish Stripes, Phillies Nation, The Good Phight and baseballmusings.com
RELATED:
Alex Pavlovic / Boston Herald:
Rockies pound Tim Lincecum, Giants, 17-8 — DENVER—Tim Lincecum had four inches cut off his famous locks before Wednesday's game and joked that he was trying to look like Tom Cruise in “Mission Impossible—Ghost Protocol.” — Lincecum's ensuing start was no blockbuster, more of an epic box office bomb.
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com and Purple Row
Andy / High Heat Stats:
Comparing 2012 offense to 2011 (it's crashing and burning, folks) — Here's a quick look at offensive numbers in 2012 vs 2012. Both are through the first 142 games of each season. — (First number is 2011, second number is 2012, all are on a per-game basis):
Discussion:
HardballTalk
Matt Gelb / Philly.com:
Phillies Notes: Slow but steady progress for Howard — When Dan Baker yelled Ryan Howard's name into the microphone behind home plate Monday at Citizens Bank Park, the crowd cheered. It was louder when Howard, wearing his No. 6 jersey, popped from the dugout and jogged to the first-base line for pregame introductions.
Discussion:
HardballTalk
Eric Gilmore / MLB.com:
Anderson continuing to make progress — Left-hander planning to throw BP after successful bullpen session — OAKLAND — A's left-hander Brett Anderson took another step Tuesday in his recovery from Tommy John surgery when he threw his first full bullpen session, using all his pitches.
Discussion:
HardballTalk
David Pinto / baseballmusings.com:
Draftstreet Fantasy Promotion — Should you draft David Price against the Red Sox at Fenway? Photo: © Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE — One Day FREE Fantasy Contest - $300 in cash prizes! — If you haven't heard yet, there's a new way to play fantasy baseball that turns the season long grind into quick one night leagues.
Discussion:
Over the Monster and Pinstripe Alley
Barry Petchesky / Deadspin:
10 Years Of Newspapers Declaring That Mariano Rivera Is Too Old — On Friday, Mariano Rivera blew the save. It was the 73rd blown save of his career, and one of many from baseball's opening weekend. Predictably, it brought out the old standby storylines: Is this it for Mariano Rivera?
Discussion:
HardballTalk