Top News:
Newsday:
Wallace Matthews — Manage to win despite Randolph — Going into their first playoff game in six years, the Mets had plenty to worry about. — They had a rotation as thin as Chris Woodward's hair, an emergency starter on the mound and two eager but callow kids, Jose Reyes and David Wright …
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Lee Jenkins / New York Times:
With Bat and Emotions, Delgado Shines in Debut — Carlos Delgado and David Wright were walking through a hallway outside the Mets' clubhouse last night when Wright unintentionally summed up Game 1 of the National League division series: — "Man," he said, "you hit hard."
NY Daily News:
Willie pens the right moves — Willie Randolph always took offense to whispers that he had missed out on another managerial job because he had been unprepared in his interview - never more so than when he heard the Mets rejected him in favor of Art Howe four years ago for that reason.
Ken Rosenthal / Fox Sports:
Extra relief all the difference for Mets — NEW YORK - After counting their healthy bodies, the Mets chose to keep 12 pitchers, one more than normal for a postseason roster, while the Dodgers went with only 10. — It made a difference in the Mets' 6-5 victory Tuesday in Game 1 of the Division Series at Shea Stadium.
Discussion:
MLB.com
Ben Shpigel / New York Times:Maine Starts Game 1 for Mets, Then It's All Hands on Deck
Discussion:
Hot Foot
Toni Ginnetti / Chicago Sun Times:
Ripple effect could manage to reach Cubs — Changes on the field could stretch to changes off the field for the Cubs as baseball's managerial landscape continued to evolve Wednesday. — The latest firing took place in Texas, where the Rangers dismissed manager Buck Showalter after four years …
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Fred Mitchell / Chicago Tribune:In the homestretch? — Girardi is building house in Lake Forest
Discussion:
GROTA
Contra Costa Times:
Now comes the really hard part — MINNEAPOLIS - Here's an absolute certainty, one that's right there in the pecking order with death and taxes and lost fly balls in the White Bubble Dome: No team does postseason, inside-the-park home runs against a backdrop of homer hankies the way the A's do.
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Dallas Morning News:
Showalter move shows GM is in charge — ARLINGTON - On one of his better days as a baseball owner Wednesday, Tom Hicks was nowhere in sight. — Hicks, whose success as a hockey owner has not been duplicated in his nine years with the Rangers, took a step toward respectability in baseball …
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NY Daily News:
Disgruntled Boss takes shots — As thousands of disgruntled fans filed out of Yankee Stadium following the postponement of Game 2 of the division series last night, there may not have been anyone more agitated at the evening's events than George Steinbrenner.
NY Daily News:
ESPN beyond 'Redemption' — The anxiety level was high. Seventh inning. Nomar Garciaparra at the plate facing Guillermo Mota. Mets 4, Dodgers 2. Two outs. Bases loaded. — Gary Thorne, ESPN's play-by-play man, called it one of "those key" moments in a playoff game and perhaps the entire Dodgers-Mets division series.
Joe Sheehan / Baseball Prospectus:
Prospectus Today — Division Series, Day One — The big story was the continuing tear of Frank Thomas, who hit two homers to account for the early lead and the insurance run in the ninth inning. What is most impressive about the two shots is how different the pitches were …
Dom Amore / Hartford Courant:
Randy Earns Wings For Detroit Flight — NEW YORK — Randy Johnson threw another session in the bullpen Wednesday, then left for Detroit. His scheduled start for the Yankees in Game 3 of the Division Series Friday is still a go. — "He threw 30-35 pitches and he's on his way," manager Joe Torre said.
Discussion:
WasWatching.com
Jeff Sackmann / Hardball Times:
Eight Ugly Options — When attached to long-term contracts, club options are strange things. In a sense, they are a way for a team to say, "Just in case you perform beyond our wildest dreams, we want to have the chance to pay you another 15 million bucks. You know, when you're 38."
Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Nats looking at Girardi, Piniella — Search for Robinson's managerial successor begins — WASHINGTON — The Nationals have a long list of managerial candidates, but Joe Girardi and Lou Piniella top the list, according to two sources, one of whom said that the interview process could start as early as next week.
Amy K. Nelson / ESPN:
Padres a loose, confident bunch … SAN DIEGO — There are no crazy cowboys, Dominican midgets or Jack Daniels-slinging sessions before the first pitch. But step into the San Diego Padres' clubhouse and you might need to rub your eyes twice for a reminder that you're on the West Coast, and not in Fenway Park's 2004 locker room.
Discussion:
Gaslamp Ball
Ken O'Brien / Chicago Sun Times:
JackHammers hire female GM — Kelly Sufka is almost in a league of her own. — The Joliet JackHammers on Wednesday promoted Sufka to executive vice president and general manager, becoming possibly the second baseball team in the nation to name a woman to that role. — ''I want to keep raising the bar,'' she said.
Mike Penner / Los Angeles Times:
L.A.-N.Y. rivalry is for the ages — As the Dodgers and the New York Mets embark on a new episode in their far-reaching saga, what are the greatest moments in the history of the Los Angeles-New York sports rivalry? — It depends on which coast is your vantage point.
Bill Plaschke / Los Angeles Times:
Little Decides to Use Penny, and Dodgers Pay the Price — NEW YORK — It was nuts. It was chaos. It was completely avoidable. — I'm not talking about J.D. Drew's decision to tailgate Jeff Kent into home plate in the second inning. — I'm talking about Grady Little decision to drive Brad Penny off a cliff in the seventh.
