Top News:
Ronald Blum / Associated Press:
Jeter hits 250th HR to lead Yanks over Red Sox 6-4 — NEW YORK—Derek Jeter hit his 250th home run, Nick Swisher connected twice and the New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 6-4 on a lightning-filled Friday night for their eighth win in 10 games. — Swisher, Curtis Granderson …
Discussion:
Over the Monster, ESPN and Boston Herald
Michael Baron / Metsblog:
Final Score: Nationals 6 Mets 4 — The Mets (56-63) lost to the Nationals (74-45) by the score of 6-4 tonight in Washington. — The Least You Should Know: … Michael Baron, MetsBlog.com — At this point, it's fair to wonder what Santana has left in the tank.
Discussion:
Amazin' Avenue
Jeff Passan / Yahoo! Sports:
Exclusive: MLB to test two different advanced replay systems during games next week — Major League Baseball owners have agreed to test two different advanced replay systems live during games starting next week, and if they prove accurate they could precede an overhaul of the system for the 2013 season, sources told Yahoo! Sports.
Discussion:
FanGraphs Baseball, Getting Blanked, HardballTalk and Baseball Nation
Todd Zolecki / MLB.com:
Galvis' suspension over, but will go on DL — MILWAUKEE — Thursday represented the 50th game of Phillies second baseman Freddy Galvis' 50-game suspension for using a performance-enhancing substance. — He will be placed on the 15-day disabled list Friday with a strained lower back.
Discussion:
HardballTalk
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Hart's grand slam lifts Brewers to win over Phillies — MILWAUKEE — Corey Hart's grand slam with two outs in the eighth inning prevented Philadelphia's Cliff Lee from getting a rare win as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Phillies 7-4 on Thursday night. — Livan Hernandez (4-1) pitched a scoreless eighth for the victory.
Discussion:
Brew Crew Ball and The Good Phight
Jesse Sakstrup / Hardball Times:
Felix Hernandez and arbitrarily historic performances — Wednesday afternoon, as I made my way to the digital pages at ESPN.com to check some of the early box scores, my eyes were directed toward the main article on the site's home page, notifying those who were unaware that Felix Hernandez was in the eighth inning of a “perfect game.”
Discussion:
Lookout Landing, THE BOOK and FanGraphs Baseball
Brian Costa / Wall Street Journal:
Measure the Mets' Progress in Inches — CINCINNATI—The worst thing about the monotony is how familiar it is. If you've followed the Mets at all, you know it well by now. It's the realization in August that your team is headed nowhere. It's looking at seven more weeks of mostly meaningless baseball.
Discussion:
Amazin' Avenue and Metsblog
Scott Lauber / Boston Herald:
Jon Lester, Sox brass ponder if woes will keep talent away — BALTIMORE — For most of the past decade, the Red Sox [team stats] have been regarded by a vast majority of players as a desirable team for which to work. — And now? — “I don't know,” ace lefty Jon Lester [stats] told the Herald yesterday.
Discussion:
Boston Globe and Over the Monster
Jayson Stark / ESPN:
Down the stretch they come — A look at postseason odds, potential matchups, impact of one-game showdown — What lies ahead is another fabulous baseball stretch drive. And that's always a beautiful thing. — But what lies ahead is also a stretch drive unlike any other we've ever witnessed.
csnchicago.com:
Kap: Cubs, Castro working on long-term deal — With the focus of the Cubs management team of Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer clearly on a long term plan of overhauling the Cubs organization, nearly every move they have made since taking control of the team has been with a vision towards the future.
Discussion:
HardballTalk, Baseball Nation, MLB Rumors, Bleed Cubbie Blue and MLB Daily Dish
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David Waldstein / New York Times:
Cherished Tradition or a Colossal Waste of Time? — Derek Jeter is one of the players who enjoys batting practice. “I think it's vital,” he said. “I like to hit every day.” — Baseball is a sport defined by routines and traditions, and there are few more entrenched than batting practice …
Discussion:
Getting Blanked and HardballTalk
Bruce Markusen / Hardball Times:
Cooperstown Confidential: The Aaron-Strasburg connection — Other than the suspension of Melky Cabrera, it just might be the biggest hot-button issue of the month: When will the Nationals shut down the man who is arguably their best starter, Stephen Strasburg, who has thrown 139 innings as of this writing?
Discussion:
Beyond the Box Score and THE BOOK
Associated Press:
Red Sox beat Orioles 6-3 to avoid 3-game sweep — BALTIMORE - Clay Buchholz shook off a rocky start to earn his 11th win, Dustin Pedroia [stats] singled in the tiebreaking run in the sixth inning and the Boston Red Sox [team stats] beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-3 Thursday night to avoid a three-game sweep.
Discussion:
Associated Press, ESPN, MLB Daily Dish, Brew Crew Ball and Camden Chat
RELATED:
Matt Pepin / Boston Globe:
Game 119: Red Sox at Orioles
Game 119: Red Sox at Orioles
Discussion:
Bless You Boys and Over the Monster
Joe Frisaro / MLB.com:
Green goes on DL; Morrison's season is over — Infielder has sprained thumb; LoMo moved to 60-day DL and likely faces knee surgery — Healthy infielders are hard to come by for the Marlins right now. — Nick Green, hindered by a sprained left thumb, was placed on the 15-day disabled list …
Discussion:
Fish Stripes