Top News:
Fox Sports:
Sources: Jones near megadeal with O's — The Orioles, building on their early season momentum, are close to signing center fielder Adam Jones to a club-record contract extension, major-league sources say. — The deal, according to one source, will be “well north” of the two largest deals in team history …
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com, MLB Rumors, Camden Chat, SI Tracking Blog and Oriole Post
Associated Press:
Padres' offense breaks out against Mets after rain delay … NEW YORK — Padres manager Bud Black tried spinning a tale about extra batting practice in the cages during the rain delay to explain why his offense came alive when the game resumed. — He couldn't do it. The swings that counted were just too good.
Discussion:
Amazin' Avenue, CBS New York, New Jersey Online and Yahoo! Sports
RELATED:
Corey Brock / MLB.com:
Quentin slated to see game action in Minors — NEW YORK — Outfielder Carlos Quentin is headed out on a Minor League rehabilitation assignment — again. — Quentin, who earlier this month had a setback in his recovery from March surgery on his right knee, will play for Class A Lake Elsinore on Friday, Padres manager Bud Black said.
Discussion:
HardballTalk
Associated Press:
Pujols Homers, Haren Tosses Gem in Angels 3-0 Win — SEATTLE (AP) — Albert Pujols had three hits, including his 450th career home run, and Dan Haren struck out a career-high 14 to lead the Los Angeles Angels to a 3-0 win over the Seattle Mariners on Thursday night.
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com, CBSSports.com, Halos Heaven, Lookout Landing, Yahoo! Sports and ESPN
Associated Press:
SF Gets Season-High 15 Hits to Beat Marlins 14-7 — MIAMI (AP) — Melky Cabrera had three hits and drove in four runs Thursday for the San Francisco Giants, who gave Ryan Vogelsong robust run support for a change to beat the Miami Marlins 14-7. — Vogelsong (3-2) allowed three runs in 6 1-3 innings, which hiked his ERA to 2.50.
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com and Fish Stripes
Michael Baron / MetsBlog.com:
Alderson: Team's offensive philosophy & lack of power — Last night, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson visited the booth with Gary Cohen and Ron Darling. — In his talk, he spoke about the team buying into Dave Hudgens' philosophy, the organization approach to hitting, and the lack of power from the lineup so far:
Discussion:
Amazin' Avenue
Max Marchi / Baseball Prospectus:
The Stats Go Marching In — Reaching Back for a Little Extra — In my last article, I explored the rich subject of pitch velocities. I tried to isolate the many factors influencing speed, from weather, to PITCHf/x calibration issues, to in-game situations.
Discussion:
THE BOOK
Leon Hendrix / WOOD-TV:
Cops: Curtis sex crimes were in school — Chad Curtis charged with 5 counts of CSCs — HASTINGS, Mich. (WOOD) - Former Major League Baseball player Chad Curtis was charged with five counts of criminal sexual conduct that investigators say happened inside Lakewood High School in Barry County.
Discussion:
HardballTalk, Halos Heaven, Deadspin and THE BOOK
Marc Topkin / The Heater Feed:
Rays do the nerd thing — Here are a few early photos of the Rays dressed up with bowties for their Ken Rosenthal/nerd themed trip. You can read more about it here. — Here is the team shot, courtesy Skip Milos, team photographer: — And a candid shot, with Joel Peralta in front of the group:
Discussion:
HardballTalk
MLB.com:
Major League Baseball named Sports League of the Year at Sports Business Awards — MLB Fan Cave Also Recognized with “Best in Experiential Marketing” Award — Major League Baseball was named Sports League of the Year at the 2012 Sports Business Awards presented by SportsBusiness Journal …
Discussion:
HardballTalk
RELATED:
Mike Axisa / MLB Rumors:
Marlins Looking For Help Following Bonifacio Injury — The Marlins announced today that Emilio Bonifacio will miss 4-6 weeks due to left thumb surgery, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter) that the team is looking at “possible outside fits” to replace him.
Fox Sports:
White Sox's John Danks headed to DL — CHICAGO (AP) — White Sox starter John Danks is headed to the 15-day disabled list because of soreness in his left shoulder. — Chicago manager Robin Ventura says Jose Quintana will be called up from the minors and start Friday in his place against AL Central leader Cleveland.
