Top News:
R.J. Anderson / Baseball Prospectus:
NL Wild Card Game: Cardinals 6, Braves 3 — In an unfortunate turn of events, the first-ever Wild Card Game, and official 2012 postseason opener, will be known for an umpire's call rather than the competitive and exciting play between two good teams. — The call happened in the eighth inning.
Discussion:
Hit and Run, Athletics Nation, Federal Baseball and Viva El Birdos
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Paul Newberry / Globe and Mail:
Cardinals beat Braves in disputed one-game playoff — David Freese and the St. Louis Cardinals rediscovered their postseason touch. Chipper Jones and the Braves kept throwing the ball away. And the Atlanta fans turned Turner Field into a trash heap. — They said anything could happen in baseball's first wild-card playoff.
Discussion:
New Jersey Online and Yahoo! Sports
Matthew Pouliot / HardballTalk:
Umpires stand by Sam Holbrook's infield-fly rule call — Surprisingly enough, Sam Holbrook did talk to the media Friday after his infield-fly rule call that caused the Braves to protest Friday night's game against the Caridnals. — Disappointingly, he defended his call, saying he'd make it again after viewing the replay.
Discussion:
DRaysBay and Al's Ramblings
David Pinto / baseballmusings.com:
Infield Fly? — With men on fist and second with one out, Andrelton Simmons hits a pop up to shallow left. Pete Kozman goes out to get the ball, but gives up and the ball drops. The leftfield ump called an infield fly rule at the last second, however, and Simmons is out.
Discussion:
Talking Chop
David Pinto / baseballmusings.com:
Uggla Play — Dan Uggla may have made the worst play I have seen.
Uggla Play — Dan Uggla may have made the worst play I have seen.
Discussion:
Talking Chop
Fox Sports:
Sources: Francona hired by Indians — The Cleveland Indians have hired former Red Sox manager Terry Francona, sources have told FOXSports.com. — The Indians are likely to annouce the hiring on Monday. — Francona, who led the Red Sox to World Series titles in 2004 and 2007, will replace Manny Acta.
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com
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MLB:
Francona excited about chance to lead Indians — CLEVELAND — A year away from managing has been enough for Terry Francona, who craves a chance to get back on the field and back inside a major league clubhouse. — The Cleveland Indians just might put him there.
Discussion:
Boston Globe, Red Sox Monster, Boston Herald, Associated Press and NESN.com
Troy E. Renck / Denver Post:
No decision on Rockies manager Jim Tracy expected now until next week — Karl Gehring/The Denver Post (Karl Gehring, The Denver Post) — Following a sweeping evaluation and meeting that spanned several hours Friday, the Rockies will not have a decision on Jim Tracy's future until Monday at the earliest, according to a team source.
Discussion:
HardballTalk
Mike Puma / New York Post:
Source: Mets eye quickie deals for Wright & Dickey — Sandy Alderson's definition of “quickly,” when it comes to David Wright's and R.A Dickey's future with the Mets, could mean before the first pitch of the World Series is even thrown. — The Mets general manager made it clear earlier …
Discussion:
MLB Rumors, HardballTalk, Amazin' Avenue and Metsblog
Tyler Kepner / Bats:
N.L.D.S.: Reds' Baker to Try to Close Out Former Team — Only 20 managers in baseball history have guided their teams to at least 1,500 victories. Among that group, all but two have won the World Series: Gene Mauch and Dusty Baker, who takes his Cincinnati Reds into a division series against his old team, the San Francisco Giants.
Discussion:
Baseball Prospectus, McCovey Chronicles and Red Reporter
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Richard Sandomir / New York Times:
Mets Seeking Banks' Help With Heavy Debt — The Mets, whose financial woes have included steep losses, burdensome debt and an expensive showdown with the trustee for the victims of Bernard L. Madoff, are talking to banks to find a way to raise cash, according to two people with knowledge of their plans.
Darren Rovell / MLB:
Tigers' Cabrera embracing Triple Crown frenzy — After securing the Triple Crown on the final game of the season, Detroit Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera has been cashing in. — He gets a piece of the pie from commemorative Triple Crown shirts, coins and photos and, on Friday night …
Discussion:
AZ Snake Pit, NESN.com and Associated Press
Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
Angels Extend Chris Iannetta — The Angels have agreed to sign catcher Chris Iannetta to a three-year extension, Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times reports (Twitter links). The contract is worth $15.5MM, Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com reports (on Twitter). The deal keeps Iannetta off …
Discussion:
HardballTalk, Halos Heaven, Baseball Nation and MLB Daily Dish
Rhett Bollinger / MLB.com:
Twins shake up coaching staff for next season — Steve Liddle had been with the Twins since 1987, the last two seasons as their third-base coach. (Getty) — MINNEAPOLIS — The Twins shook up their coaching staff on Thursday, as they did not offer 2013 contacts to bullpen coach Rick Stelmaszek …
Discussion:
HardballTalk and AaronGleeman.com
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