Top News:
ESPN:
Source: Cubs' Wood to retire after next outing — Chicago Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood will retire after his next outing, which could come as soon as Friday, a source familiar with the situation told ESPNChicago.com's Bruce Levine. — The Cubs won't force him into a game, a source told ESPNChicago.com's Doug Padilla.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors, Yahoo! Sports, Bleed Cubbie Blue and NESN.com
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Paul Sullivan / Chicago Tribune:
Kerry Wood will retire after today's game — Kerry Wood reportedly will announce his retirement from baseball Friday afternoon, but still plans to be available in the Chicago Cubs bullpen for the start of the City Series. — Wood broke into the majors in 1998 with the Cubs at the age of 21.
Discussion:
HardballTalk and FanGraphs Baseball
Associated Press:
Harang Pitches Dodgers Past Hometown Padres, 8-1 — SAN DIEGO (AP) — Aaron Harang held his former team to four hits in seven shutout innings and had one of Los Angeles' 12 hits as the Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres 8-1 Thursday night to split a two-game series.
Discussion:
True Blue LA and Yahoo! Sports
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David Laurila / FanGraphs Baseball:
Acta and Chernoff: Optimizing the Indians Offense — As a small-market team with limited firepower, the Cleveland Indians need to optimize their run-scoring capabilities. Whether they're doing that is hard to quantify: Cleveland ranks in the middle of the pack among American League teams in most offensive categories.
Discussion:
U.S.S. Mariner
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NBCSports.com:
Jays drop Yankees into 4th — TORONTO (AP) - Jose Bautista and J.P. Arencibia each hit two-run home runs, Drew Hutchison won consecutive starts for the first time and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the New York Yankees 4-1 Thursday night, sweeping their two-game series.
Discussion:
Bluebird Banter
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Canadian Press:
Blue Jays demote Adam Lind
Blue Jays demote Adam Lind
Discussion:
Bluebird Banter, MLB Daily Dish, BBTF's Baseball Primer … and Yahoo! Sports
Evan Drellich / MLB.com:
Blue Jays send struggling Lind to Minors
Fox Sports:
Will Youkilis finish season with BoSox? — I asked two general managers Thursday about Kevin Youkilis. — The first said that he would need to see Youkilis play for an extended period before determining whether his team had interest, citing Youkilis' declining offense, defense and health.
Discussion:
CBS Boston and Over the Monster
Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
Oswalt Worked Out For Phillies, Red Sox — 11:48am: Rosenthal reports (on Twitter) that neither the Yankees or Tigers are in the mix for Oswalt at this time. The righty intends to sign soon, possibly within the week, and pitch in MLB by mid or late June, Rosenthal tweets.
Discussion:
HardballTalk, MLB Daily Dish and Over the Monster
Bruce Markusen / Hardball Times:
Cooperstown Confidential: The tale of Charley Lau — Mickey Hatcher had become a polarizing figure in Southern California. The Angels' manager, Mike Scioscia, felt fierce loyalty to his batting coach, who had worked with him for the past 13 seasons. Many in the organization liked Hatcher's sense …
Nick Collias / MLB Rumors:
Venezuelan Links: Mora, Escobar, Cervelli — A trio of venezolanos try to claw their way back to la gran carpa. Yes, that literally translates to “the big carp,” but it also means “the big top.” Links are in Spanish... - Melvin Mora will fly to the states this weekend to begin negotiations …
Discussion:
McCovey Chronicles and The LoHud Yankees Blog
Doug Miller / MLB.com:
Interleague Play set to add intrigue to season — When Jeff Samardzija throws the first pitch for the Cubs in their Friday afternoon game against the White Sox at Wrigley Field, it will signify a powerful and memorable moment for Major League Baseball in 2012: the return of Interleague Play.
Discussion:
Baseball Prospectus
Associated Press:
McCutchen, McDonald lead Pirates over Nats 5-3 — WASHINGTON—James McDonald had a nasty curveball Thursday night, and the Washington Nationals couldn't lay off. — McDonald took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and struck out a career-high 11, and the Pittsburgh Pirates got two home runs from Andrew McCutchen in a 5-3 victory.
Discussion:
Federal Baseball and Bucs Dugout
Fox Sports:
Chapman to stay in Reds 'pen for now — NEW YORK — One day, the Reds promise, left-hander Aroldis Chapman will be a starting pitcher. But it can't happen yet, not when two of the team's top setup men remain on the disabled list. And not everyone with the team is certain it should happen it all.
Discussion:
Red Reporter, MLB Rumors and MLB.com
Robert Falkoff / MLB.com:
Wieters earns break after marathon duty — KANSAS CITY — Orioles manager Buck Showalter had a preliminary plan to pencil in Matt Wieters as his starting catcher on Thursday. But the plan changed after Wieters worked 15 innings in a 4-3 win over the Royals on Wednesday night.
Discussion:
Camden Chat and Yahoo! Sports
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