Top News:
Kat O'Brien / Dallas Star-Telegram:
'We felt we could win this year' — Q&A WITH RANGERS GM JON DANIELS — On Oct. 4, 2005, Jon Daniels was named the Rangers' general manager after John Hart's resignation. Following a season of ups and downs, Daniels talked recently about his first year at the helm.
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Evan Grant / Dallas Morning News:
Rangers close 2006 season with 3-2 loss — SEATTLE - If this was Buck Showalter's last game as manager of the Rangers, it seemed an odd way to go out. — With a strange lineup, the Rangers fell, 3-2, to the Seattle Mariners on Sunday. The Rangers finished the season at 80-82 …
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball
Evan Grant / Dallas Morning News:
Season over but Rangers still have work to do — SEATTLE - The season may be over for the Rangers, but the work only now really begins. — The Rangers enter the "off-season" with two huge issues to settle. — First, the team must decide the fate of manager Buck Showalter.
Kat O'Brien / Dallas Star-Telegram:
Wait 'til next year is Rangers' official cry — SEATTLE - Next year will be different for the Rangers. — At least, after a 3-2 loss Sunday to the Seattle Mariners in the season finale left them at 80-82, they hope it will be a year when they make the playoffs and have a winning record.
Paul Sullivan / Chicago Tribune:
Baker: 'I'm gone, I won't be back' — Dusty Baker regards Monday's long-anticipated, will-he-stay-or-will-he-go meeting with Jim Hendry as anticlimactic. — "I'm gone. I won't be back," Baker said Sunday after the Cubs completed a last-place season with an 8-5 victory over the Colorado Rockies.
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Keith Law / ESPN:
Mets vulnerable against lefties … The matchup the Mets didn't want has come to pass. The Dodgers bring the NL's other great offense to town, with a lefty who no-hit the Mets for five innings the last time they saw him in the rotation. The Dodgers, on the other hand, probably were hoping to face St. Louis instead of New York.
Discussion:
Metsblog.com
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Jack Curry / New York Times:
Cloud Over Clemens's Finale; He and Pettitte Deny Report — Roger Clemens might have worn a major league uniform with the Houston Astros for the last time Sunday, the end to a glorious 22-year career. But instead of discussing his endless milestones and moments, Clemens was responding …
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Dave Sheinin / Washington Post:
Nats' Robinson Bids a Fond Farewell — Frank Robinson first donned a major league uniform on April 17, 1956, a skinny 20-year-old rookie outfielder for the Cincinnati Reds. Among baseball men of a certain age and mien, the act of putting on that uniform is a cherished rite, never to be taken for granted.
Discussion:
MLB.com, District of Baseball, William F. Yurasko, Ben Maller's Sports … and BBTF's Baseball Primer …
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Tyler Kepner / New York Times:
One Quest Fails; a Bigger One Begins — Derek Jeter tapped his chest with his glove. Why was Andy Cannizaro, a rookie wearing No. 63, jogging toward shortstop just before the top of the ninth inning yesterday? — "Me?" Jeter said to Cannizaro, and then he understood.
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Kat O'Brien / Dallas Star-Telegram:
A final day for some — SEATTLE — Some of the Rangers' nine free agents surely will not be back next year. — That's not necessarily a huge deal to players who spent less than a season in Texas, such as Carlos Lee, Kip Wells and Jerry Hairston Jr. While any or all of those three could re-sign …
Mike Penner / Los Angeles Times:
A cone of silence may be best bet — If the New York Mets know their baseball history, they will stick to "The playoffs are a crapshoot" and "Anything can happen in a short series" and "Their pitching staff is impressive" when assessing their upcoming division series against the Dodgers.
Juan C. Rodriguez / Sun-Sentinel:
Cabrera falls just shy of batting title — · Miguel Cabrera can now appreciate why former Marlins leadoff hitter Juan Pierre was in the dugout 30 minutes before most games. — In a last-ditch effort to bolster Cabrera's bid for a batting title, manager Joe Girardi moved his No. 3 hitter into the top spot Sunday.
Discussion:
FishStripes
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Tom Haudricourt / JSOnline:
Weeks staying at second — Improved defensive play provides hope for future — thaudricourt@journalsentinel.com — St. Louis - Milwaukee Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said Sunday that there were no plans to move Rickie Weeks off second base for the 2007 season.
Discussion:
BBTF's Baseball Primer …
Bill Plaschke / Los Angeles Times:
Don't Be Surprised if 'Rocket' Escapes the Bonds Treatment — SAN FRANCISCO — The news that the drug hounds have finally been unleashed on Roger Clemens sent me to the guy who knows something about being chased. — So, I asked Barry Bonds, do you think Clemens will have his heels nipped …
Chris Constancio / Hardball Times:
Seven Reasons to Follow Baseball in Hawaii — Baseball prospects are returning to Hawaii this month. The Hawaii Winter Baseball League has been inactive since a five-year stint in the 1990's brought together major league prospects like Jason Giambi and Derrek Lee with young Japanese players like Ichiro Suzuki and Tadahito Iguchi.
Mike Bauman / MLB.com:
Yankees-Tigers: Position analysis — Jorge Posada is one of the longtime foundations of the Yankees' success. — But Ivan Rodriguez still sets the standard defensively, and his offensive skills, though not what they were five years ago, are still formidable and worthy of a No. 3 hitter.
Discussion:
Pinstripe Alley
Troy E. Renck / Denver Post:
Tough loss ends season … Chicago - For those whose attention might have wandered to pucks and pigskins, the Rockies provided a Cliffs Notes version of their season Sunday. — There was intrigue laced with disappointment. Rookie Ubaldo Jimenez, once on the same career path as Jeff Francis …