Top News:
Nicholas Sakelaris / UPI:
Rays bash A's in AL wild-card playoff, advance to face Astros in ALDS — The Tampa Bay Rays hit four home runs and their pitching held the Oakland Athletics in check during the American League wild-card playoff in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday night. — Rays third-baseman Yandy Diaz smacked …
Discussion:
MLB Baseball News …, DRaysBay and MLB Daily Dish
RELATED:
Brandon Meyer / Tampa Bay Times:
Rays-Astros division series tickets go on sale today at 4 p.m. — Games 3 and 4 will be played at Tropicana Field. — Updated — Tickets to Games 3 and 4 of the American League Division series between the Rays and Houston Astros will go on sale today, beginning at 4 p.m.
Discussion:
MLB Baseball News … and Bluebird Banter
Ben Ross / NBCSports.com:
A's elimination-game futility continues in AL wild-card loss to Rays
Discussion:
MLB Baseball News …
Joel Sherman / New York Post:
Brodie Van Wagenen, Mickey Callaway to speak ahead of Mets resolution — Brodie Van Wagenen was scheduled to talk to Mickey Callaway on Thursday, with the plan to resolve the Mets managing situation no later than Friday, sources told The Post. — The Mets have yet to publicly indicate whether …
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball, MLB Trade Rumors, Amazin' Avenue, MLB Baseball News … and MLB Daily Dish
RELATED:
Mike Puma / New York Post:
Mets fire Mickey Callaway — Goodbye Mickey ball and hello Mickey fall. — Mickey Callaway's shaky two-year Mets tenure ended Thursday with a pink slip. The manager was fired by the Mets, the team announced, allowing general manager Brodie Van Wagenen to pursue his own man for the job.
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com and MLB Trade Rumors
ESPN:
Mets dismiss Mickey Callaway after 86-win campaign — Mickey Callaway was the toast of New York when the Mets won 11 of their first 12 games with him as manager in 2018. — Less than two years later, Callaway no longer has a job. — The Mets on Thursday cut ties with the second-year manager despite …
Discussion:
New York Post
Connor Byrne / MLB Trade Rumors:
Braves' Chris Martin Leaves Game With Oblique Tightness — As of this writing, Atlanta's bullpen just blew a late lead over St. Louis in the first game of the National League Division Series. The two teams are heading to the bottom of the eighth inning tied at three.
Discussion:
Talking Chop
Paul Charchian / 670 The Score:
Joe Girardi Confirms Interest In Cubs' Managerial Job — “There are a lot of pieces in place there,” Girardi says. — (670 The Score) A day after the Cubs revealed that three internal candidates are under consideration for their managerial vacancy, an outsider expressed his interest in the job.
Discussion:
Bleed Cubbie Blue, New York Post, WGN-TV, MLB Baseball News … and NESN.com
Jessica Gelt / Los Angeles Times:
Plácido Domingo resigns from L.A. Opera ‘with a heavy heart’ amid harassment inquiry — Plácido Domingo, the 78-year-old opera legend who has watched the legacy of his six-decade career darkened by allegations of sexual harassment, announced Wednesday that he is resigning …
Discussion:
New York Times, ABC News, NPR, The Wrap, Associated Press, Deadline and UPI
Beth Harris / MLB Baseball News, Scores …:
Nats' Strasburg back from bullpen, starts Game 2 vs Kershaw — LOS ANGELES (AP) — Washington manager Dave Martinez says — Stephen Strasburg will start Game 2 of the NL Division Series against the — Los Angeles Dodgers. — Strasburg, who earned the win in relief with three shutout innings …
Discussion:
True Blue LA
Craig Calcaterra / MLB Baseball News, Scores …:
Cardinals, Braves face off in NLDS Game 1 — On paper this may be the most evenly-matched of the four Division Series, so it's definitely got that going for it. No alpha teams like the Dodgers or Astros, no historical yips like the Twins have with the Yankees.
Discussion:
Bluebird Banter, Viva El Birdos and The Crawfish Boxes
Matt Martell / Sports Illustrated:
Dodgers vs. Nationals Is an Absolutely Loaded Series — There's a lot riding on the Nationals-Dodgers NLDS. The Dodgers are seeking a third straight World Series berth and their first title since 1988. The Nationals are trying to reach the NLCS for the first time.
Discussion:
Federal Baseball
Nature:
Two major accretion epochs in M31 from two distinct populations of globular clusters — Subjects — Abstract — Large galaxies grow through the accumulation of dwarf galaxies1,2. In principle it is possible to trace this growth history via the properties of a galaxy's stellar halo3,4,5.
