Top News:
ESPN:
Guillen fined, ordered to take sensitivity training for slur — Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen on Thursday was fined an undisclosed amount of money and ordered to undergo sensitivity training for his use of a derogatory term aimed at Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti.
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Scott Merkin / MLB.com:
Guillen criticized by Cards coach — Manager, Riske suspended following game vs. Cards — CHICAGO — On a day when a possible feud between Ozzie Guillen and Houston manager Phil Garner ended before it got started, the White Sox manager apparently found a new sparring partner in St. Louis pitching coach Dave Duncan.
Joe Cowley / Chicago Sun Times:
Ozzie vs. Mariotti: Guillen apologetic, defiant — White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen apologized for his choice of words during a tirade Tuesday directed at Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti. — But Guillen insisted Wednesday that the ongoing war of words between the two is now ''personal,'' and he has no intention of backing down.
Dave van Dyck / Chicago Tribune:Guillen, Duncan feud over plunking
Discussion:
Exile in Wrigleyville
Michael Silverman / Boston Herald:
Pedro fires 'home': Ex-Sox ace expects warm Fenway welcome — NEW YORK — Pedro Martinez still calls Boston home. — Technically, he's right, since he still, for now, owns a house here and certainly visits often enough, more frequently than people think.
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Jeff Horrigan / Boston Herald:Sox march on — Lester finishes sweep of NL squad
Discussion:
Boston Globe
Mark Gonzales / Chicago Tribune:
1-hit thunder — Thome only batter to crack Cards' Reyes— with solo HR in 7th to complete sweep — Several thousand White Sox fans turned Thursday to a suite behind home plate where their suspended manager was seated and chanted "Ozzie, Ozzie." — But Freddy Garcia and Jim Thome deserved …
Discussion:
Exile in Wrigleyville
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Associated Press:
Cardinals activate Pujols, place Mulder on disabled list — CHICAGO (AP) — Albert Pujols came off the disabled list Thursday and returned to the St. Louis Cardinals' lineup for their series finale against the Chicago White Sox. — The 2005 NL MVP played first base and batted third.
Matthew Leach / MLB.com:
Cards look to Reyes to avoid sweep — St. Louis (42-28) at White Sox (46-25), 7:05 p.m. CT — The Cardinals will try to stave off a sweep on Wednesday night when they send rookie right-hander Anthony Reyes to the mound against the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field.
Richard Durrett / Dallas Morning News:
Danks promoted to Triple-A — ARLINGTON - Left-handed starter John Danks took what general manager Jon Daniels described as a "big step" Thursday. He was promoted to Oklahoma and will make his first career Triple-A start Saturday. — "John's commanding his three pitches well now …
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball
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T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com:
Notes: Daniels frustrated by calls — Rangers GM irked by decisions on close plays — ARLINGTON — Rangers general manager Jon Daniels admitted he is a bit frustrated that three close calls went against his team in two losses to the Padres on Tuesday and Wednesday.
NY Daily News:
Junior achievement: Staying on the field — Just before he left his Orlando home for the trek south to the Cincinnati Reds' spring training camp in Sarasota in February, Ken Griffey Jr.'s 10-year-old daughter Taryn called him aside to ask him a question. — "How many years have you been playing baseball, Daddy?" she asked.
Discussion:
Red Hot Mama
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Charles Odum / Associated Press:
Braves in unexpected free-fall from first to worst — Braves in unexpected free-fall from first to worst — ATLANTA (AP) — At the start of spring training, Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones scanned the names above the clubhouse lockers and made a prediction.
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Tangotiger / insidethebook.com:
Derek Jeter: God of all that is Clutch — Some clutch data to taste for the 2006 season. — Fangraphs is keeping track of the change in win expectancy for the season. How is Derek Jeter, the clutchest of all clutch players doing? Don't look now, but he is leading the Yankees in win probability added, with +3.2 wins!
Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Robinson proud of his work with Nats — Skipper unsure of his future under new ownership group … MLB.com: Ever since Major League Baseball named the Lerner group as the new owners of the Nationals, there has been non-stop speculation about your future with the club. What is your take on your future with this team?
Jayson Stark / ESPN:
Liriano bumps Clemens from center stage … HOUSTON — He huffed. He puffed. He staggered through an inning that seemed to last almost as long as Francisco Liriano's entire career. — But he was still Roger Clemens. And that was enough to fill every darned seat of Minute Maid Park.
Discussion:
AaronGleeman.com
Jordan Bastian / MLB.com:
Notes: Jays cautious about Burnett — Toronto quietly hoping righty's return solidifies starting rotation — ATLANTA — Aside from two starts in April, A.J. Burnett has been practically invisible. Sure, he's been in Toronto's clubhouse, in the trainer's room and on the field plenty of times …
Associated Press:
Source revealed — Feds seize reporters' communications in BALCO probe — SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — E-mails seized by federal authorities identify the convicted founder of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative as a source in the San Francisco Chronicle's reporting on the steroids scandal …
Discussion:
Baseball Musings
MLB.com:
Melvin optimistic about second half — General manager chats with fans online … Doug Melvin: It's great to see that even on an off-day Brewers fans want to talk Brewers baseball! I am looking forward to spending the next hour with you all. Let's get started. — bdsoccer: Doug, what will you do with Carlos Lee?
Discussion:
Brew Crew Ball
