Top News:
NY Daily News:
Yanks' captain abandons ship — Refusal to help Alex hurt club — If George Steinbrenner thinks that bringing in Lou Piniella is going to solve his Alex Rodriguez problem, and all of the bad karma it has wrought, he clearly isn't in touch with his ballclub.
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NY Daily News:
Yanks return, Torre twists — Source: Texas wants Joe — The row of executive offices that front the loge level at Yankee Stadium were dark yesterday. There was no pow-wow, no summit of Yankee hierarchy. While George Steinbrenner issued a statement that labeled the 2006 season a …
Tyler Kepner / New York Times:
Harsh Words From Steinbrenner, but No Word Yet on His Manager — At his darkest moments, George Steinbrenner has longed in recent years to replace Joe Torre with Lou Piniella as the manager of the Yankees. The question now dominating the organization is whether that impulse will prevail after careful consideration.
Discussion:
Ben Maller's Sports …
Jack Curry / New York Times:
A Piniella Return Could Benefit Rodriguez Most — Alex Rodriguez was still a young, sensitive and impressionable shortstop when he struck out against Dennis Eckersley in a tie game on Aug. 4, 1995. Rodriguez, 20 at the time, remembered his atrocious swings against Eckersley as "breakfast, lunch, dinner and good night."
Toni Ginnetti / Chicago Sun Times:
Cubs' search changes in New York minute — Piniella reported to be possible Torre replacement — As they did four years ago when Cubs general manager Jim Hendry was looking for a manager, the baseball playoffs could affect the decision-making process. — That process was supposed …
Discussion:
Associated Press
NY Daily News:
Out with old, in with Lou — The Boss must show Joe the door & hire Piniella — George Steinbrenner does not make his pitching any younger, or better, by firing Joe Torre. He does not turn Alex Rodriguez into Mr. October, instead of the guy who just puts the O's in October.
Discussion:
New York Sun
Evan Grant / Dallas Morning News:
Rangers working on candidate list — Team has spoken with Piniella's agent, but not necessarily about him — The Rangers have been in contact with the agent for Lou Piniella. But hang on: That doesn't even mean Piniella's name came up in the conversation.
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball
New York Post:
TORRE STORY THICKENS — SOURCE: JOE IS ON HIS WAY OUT — George Steinbrenner is leaning toward firing Joe Torre because he is furious at losing in the Division Series for a second straight season, largely blames his manager for this setback to the Tigers and is unsure that he can move forward …
Derrick Goold / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Carpenter gets a timely visitor — As his ace's pitch count climbed and dire trouble threatened in the first inning Sunday, Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan plotted how the game could go from there. Chris Carpenter was capable of finding his gear, Duncan thought. Carpenter would settle in.
Discussion:
Baseball Musings
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Adam Rubin / NY Daily News:
Mets' pen off to fine start — Willie-style relief may sweep majors — The White Sox rode their starting pitching to a championship last season, getting seven innings apiece from Jose Contreras, Mark Buehrle, Jon Garland and Freddy Garcia in the World Series en route to a sweep of the Astros.
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Ben Shpigel / New York Times:
Mettle, More Than Muscle, Fueled Mets' Series Sweep
Mettle, More Than Muscle, Fueled Mets' Series Sweep
Discussion:
NY Daily News
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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Joe Cowley / Chicago Sun Times:
Improved pen a must for Sox — GM Williams could add three relievers for '07 — The No. 1 priority the White Sox will be addressing this offseason hasn't been kept a secret. — Not by manager Ozzie Guillen or general manager Ken Williams. — ''My first priority right now is to get my bullpen …
Discussion:
Ben Maller's Sports …
Josh Suchon / Contra Costa Times:
Infielder gets the surprise of his life — A's notebook — OAKLAND — Mark Kiger spent the last three weeks teaching baseball to a group of teenagers in Temecula, which allowed him to play catch every day and hit every few days, but never in his wildest dreams did he expect to get the phone call he received last Wednesday.
New York Times:
Baylor Wants to Pursue Some Unfinished Business — Out of sight, out of mind? Don Baylor certainly hopes not. — For the first time in four decades, Baylor was not employed in baseball this year. He's eager and ready to end his absence. — "I'd like to manage again," Baylor said.
Discussion:
Purple Row
Joe Sheehan / Baseball Prospectus:
Division Series, Day Five — First things first: apparently, I was wrong about the responsibility for the call on a ball like the one Carlos Guillen hit Friday night. That is the third-base umpire's call, not the left-field umpire's one. This doesn't make a ton of sense to me …
Tom Krasovic / San Diego Union-Tribune:
Peavy says shoulder sore in Game 1 — Right-hander recounts other ailments in 2006 — ST. LOUIS - Jake Peavy revealed yesterday that shoulder soreness plagued him entering his Game 1 outing, requiring a stronger oral anti-inflammatory medicine. — Peavy, who allowed five runs in the defeat …