Top News:
Ken Rosenthal / Fox Sports:
Another Yanks' loss could lead to big changes — DETROIT - Not that anything is at stake Saturday, but if the Yankees lose, they could fire manager Joe Torre, trade third baseman Alex Rodriguez and kidnap Japanese right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka, just for starters.
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Jerry Crasnick / ESPN:
Yanks facing elimination with Wright in Game 4 … DETROIT — Jack Nicholson might not be the only big-name, highly-compensated star appearing in "The Departed" this weekend. — Just a few days ago, geniuses from every market and medium expected the New York Yankees to be doing lots of things other than playing baseball this weekend.
Sam Borden / NY Daily News:
Last licks for A-Rod — May be goner if Yankees fall — DETROIT - Will Alex Rodriguez ever seem totally comfortable playing in New York? That question will continue to be raised for as long as the third baseman's postseason struggles continue, and A-Rod's subpar showing in the first three games …
Jack Curry / New York Times:
Rodriguez, Batting Cleanup, Fails to Repeat Success Against Rogers — The scenes featuring Alex Rodriguez and his meager performances in October have become painful experiences for the Yankees. The high-priced Yankees are close to vanishing early from another postseason, a $200 million team in need of a life preserver.
Discussion:
Pride of the Yankees
Sam Borden / NY Daily News:
Yankees face gloom, doom — Torre's warning: End is near — DETROIT - Joe Torre broke the sullen silence of a deflated clubhouse last night when he stepped in front of the Yankees and held what he could only hope would not be his final meeting of the season. — Torre was not angry.
Associated Press:
Former Negro Leaguer O'Neil dies — KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Buck O'Neil, baseball's charismatic Negro Leagues ambassador who barnstormed with Satchel Paige and inexplicably fell one vote shy of the Hall of Fame, died Friday night. He was 94. — Bob Kendrick, marketing director …
Discussion:
SBG, The World's …
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Jeff Passan / Yahoo! Sports:
Don't weep for Buck — Life, to Buck O'Neil, was about love. He loved to tell stories, and he loved to talk about his friends, and did he ever love women, especially ones in red dresses. — "I love what I have," he said, signing autographs on Main Street in Cooperstown, N.Y. …
Richard Goldstein / New York Times:
Buck O'Neil, Negro Leagues Pioneer, Is Dead at 94 — Buck O'Neil, a star first baseman and manager in the Negro leagues and a pioneering scout and coach in the major leagues who devoted the final decade of his life to chronicling the lost world of black baseball, died last night in Kansas City, Mo. He was 94.
Discussion:
Baseball Musings
Joe Strauss / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Edmonds fights pain for playoff gain — Jim Edmonds' most complicated season resumes this morning with a simple, painful truth. The Cardinals center fielder will arrive at Busch Stadium shortly before 9 a.m. and limp to the trainer's room, where he will accept a needle near the ball beneath his left foot.
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John Nadel / Associated Press:
Garciaparra has torn quadriceps — LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dodgers first baseman Nomar Garciaparra has a tear in his left quadriceps and won't be in the lineup for Game 3 of their NL playoff series Saturday when Los Angeles tries to avoid getting swept by the New York Mets.
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Chris De Luca / Chicago Sun Times:
Hendry hopes to name manager by end of October — General manager Jim Hendry began his week by not renewing Cubs manager Dusty Baker's contract and ended it by basically completing his list of potential replacements. Phase II of the managerial search begins next week, with the interviews.
Discussion:
Bleed Cubbie Blue
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Josh Suchon / Contra Costa Times:
Beane just glad it was a short series — A's notebook — OAKLAND — Billy Beane described the division series as "five hands of blackjack" and didn't look like a man who had just been dealt a 20 for three straight hands. — As the wild celebration continued in the A's clubhouse late Friday afternoon …
Discussion:
Al's Ramblings
Gordon Wittenmyer / TwinCities.com:
Radke loathe to leave — Pitcher puts off saying he's done — OAKLAND, Calif. — Brad Radke has known this day was coming for more than two years. He said it then, and his weakening, throbbing shoulder made him even more certain of it this summer than he ever has been.
Tim Brown / Los Angeles Times:
Beimel Cut Hand in a Bar, Not Hotel — NEW YORK — Dodgers left-hander Joe Beimel said Thursday he was in a New York bar early Tuesday morning when he cut his pitching hand on a broken glass and not in his hotel room, as he had told team officials. — "I realize nothing good happens …
Discussion:
The Eddie Kranepool Society
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Claire Smith / Philly.com:
'Hells Bells' silenced for record-setting closer — In a perfect world, Trevor Hoffman, the near-perfect reliever, would be reveling in the postseason spotlight this week. — October has yet to work out well for San Diego or the premier reliever in the history of the game.
Discussion:
Baseball Musings
Lyle Spencer / MLB.com:
Young faces tall order in Game 3 — Facing elimination, Padres start 6-foot-10 righty in St. Louis — ST. LOUIS — Chris Young is a history buff, his head frequently buried in a tome about a figure who intrigues him, such as Abraham Lincoln. — At the moment, the book that has his full attention …
Discussion:
Ducksnorts
