Top News:
Associated Press:
Damon says he's close to signing with Indians — CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians are close to signing veteran outfielder Johnny Damon to help awaken their struggling offense. — The club has been in talks to finalize a deal with the 38-year-old Damon, who is 277 hits shy of 3,000.
Discussion:
SI Tracking Blog and Associated Press
RELATED:
Mike Axisa / MLB Rumors:
Indians To Sign Johnny Damon
Indians To Sign Johnny Damon
Discussion:
Boston Globe, Yahoo! Sports, Baseball Nation, MLB Daily Dish and HardballTalk
C. Trent Rosecrans / CBSSports.com:
Johnny Damon excited to join Indians
Johnny Damon excited to join Indians
Discussion:
Baseball Nation and NESN.com
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
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
Adam McCalvy / MLB.com:
Braddock placed on temporary inactive list — CHICAGO — Promising Brewers left-hander Zach Braddock is back on Triple-A Nashville's temporary inactive list, where he spent the second half of last season while receiving treatment for personal issues. — Braddock, a key piece of the Brewers' bullpen …
Discussion:
Brew Beat
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
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
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:
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
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
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