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Joe Strauss / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Rolen's shoulder inflamed; so is La Russa — For much of September his manager had asked Cardinals third baseman Scott Rolen the same question and received the same answer. — Saturday afternoon, after a distressing Game 3 performance in a 3-1 loss to the San Diego Padres, Rolen's answer changed.
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Matthew Leach / MLB.com:
Cards earn third straight trip to NLCS — Carpenter shakes off tough first inning to pitch Game 4 gem — ST. LOUIS — Chris Carpenter executed a brilliant turnaround from a rocky first inning to smooth sailing over the next six on Sunday night. But to his teammates, how he handled that shaky start was just as impressive.
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WELCOME TO
Ben Shpigel / New York Times:
Mets Win Bullpen Battle to Sweep Dodgers — In a Champagne-drenched clubhouse, a group of eight Mets players and coaches gathered for an impromptu photograph. They hugged. They swigged. And then they sang. — "Meet the Mets, meet the Mets," they crooned.
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Metsquire
Associated Press:
Padres-Cardinals Preview — The St. Louis Cardinals may have lost their chance to sweep the San Diego Padres , but they still have their ace available to try to finish the series. — Chris Carpenter looks to capture his second victory of this NLDS and pitch the Cardinals …
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Ducksnorts
Vinay Kumar / Hardball Times:NLDS: Padres at Cardinals: The Tables are Turned (Finally)
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Padres RunDown
USA Today:
Sheffield critical of Torre's managerial moves — New York Yankees slugger Gary Sheffield heard the news Sunday, and snickered, wondering if this was someone's idea of a cruel joke. — "I can't believe they're going to get rid of (Joe) Torre," Sheffield said of the Yankee manager …
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WasWatching.com
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Mark Feinsand / Mark it Down:
ALDS Postmortem — kyakouboff@adelphia.net on ALDS Game 4 — Recently Updated Weblogs — Down the Left Field Line: Life, Baseball & Eric Byrnes — ALDS Postmortem — For the second year in a row, the Yankees' season ends with the Division Series.
Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Pena shows interest in Nats job — Piniella and Pendleton also candidates to be next skipper — WASHINGTON — A day after watching his team get eliminated by the Tigers in the American League Division Series, Yankees first-base coach Tony Pena said by telephone on Sunday that he is interested in managing the Nationals.
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District of Baseball
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Barry Svrluga / Washington Post:Nats Talking With Girardi And Piniella
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District of Baseball
Steve Henson / Los Angeles Times:
Colletti Goes to Work in a Big Hurry — Dodgers general manager wants a power hitter, a starter for the front of the rotation and bullpen help. He will keep Little and the staff. — Moments after the Dodgers ducked into their clubhouse for the last time, the New York Mets celebrating …
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Dodger Thoughts
Jason Beck / MLB.com:
Tigers rout Yankees to reach ALCS — Perfect into sixth, Bonderman secures matchup with Oakland — DETROIT — The Tigers proved again that good pitching will beat good hitting. But by the time they were done with the Yankees, they were better at just about everything.
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Brian Borawski / Hardball Times:ALDS: Tigers vs. Yankees: The Kenny Rogers Show
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Viva El Birdos
Carlos Frias / Palm Beach Post:
One man's path, a family's dream for Marlins' Gonzalez — MIAMI - — Fredi Gonzalez leaned against the doorway to the bathroom as his father shaved. — "Fredito, I'm not going to die without seeing you manage in the big leagues," his father, Fredi Reynaldo Gonzalez, was telling him, scraping the razor over his face.
Clark Spencer / Miami Herald:
Marlins pick Tosca as bench coach — So far, there are no known plans for the Marlins to go totally retro next season, returning to the days of teal caps, uniform vests and batting practice shorts. But there is a decidedly vintage look to their reshaped coaching staff.
Discussion:
FishStripes
Cliff Floyd / Cliff Floyd's Playoff Blog:
I'll be all right ... I hope — Sharon on I'll be all right ... I hope — gibsonny5@aol.com on I'll be all right ... I hope — japz1@lycos.com on This 2-0 lead sure feels good — wrightnow@myway.com on Reflections on our Game 1 victory — wrightnow@myway.com on Preparing for the postseason
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Metsblog.com
Keith Woolner / Baseball Prospectus:
Completely Random Statistical Trivia — 2006 in Review — There's no theme to today's article. Just a random mishmash of hopefully interesting statistical tidbits for the past season, and revisiting some ideas from past columns: — Longest Plate Appearances of the Year
Metstradamus / The Musings and Prophecies …:
Living For This — Hit it, kid... Hey Tommy Lasorda! Why are you hiding? So your Dodgers got knocked out of the playoffs. Big deal. — So you made a fool of yourself trying to wave on the Dodger crowd. Big deal. — What are you going to do Tommy, hide in the treehouse for the rest of the playoffs?
Evan Grant / Dallas Morning News:
Rangers' Daniels races into off-season — Manager, free agents, scouting will keep GM busy — This is how Jon Daniels' first week of the off-season unfolded: — Fired the manager Wednesday, attended a memorial service for a close friend Thursday, prepared for his wife's birthday Friday.
Martin B. Schmidt / New York Times:
Success in September Is Key to Winning in October — In 2000, the Yankees finished the season with an 87-74 record. Much of that record, however, was built when the Yankees posted a 75-56 record in their first 131 games. They finished by losing 18 of their last 30 games.
Gordon Edes / Boston Globe:
Injured pitcher comes clean — Beimel reveals he cut hand in a bar — LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers have a runaway leader in the clubhouse for scapegoat if they lose this Division Series to the Mets, and it's not manager Grady Little. — It's lefthanded reliever Joe Beimel …
Ben Shpigel / New York Times:
Instincts, Not Statistics, Guide Randolph — Endy Chávez's two hits to spark the Mets' offense in Game 2 had little effect when Manager Willie Randolph filled out his lineup card Saturday. Randolph said he had a feeling "in his bones" that Shawn Green, who was benched in favor of Chávez, would contribute in Game 3.
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Hot Foot
