Top News:
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 …
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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 …
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.
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."
Jim Caple / ESPN:
Trade Jeter, not A-Rod — Enough is enough. Just reaching the postseason might qualify as success in smaller markets such as Minnesota or Los Angeles, but not in New York. The world's greatest team has such lofty standards that even winning the World Series is a disappointment if it takes more than five games.
Discussion:
Batter's Box Interactive …
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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.
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
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NY Daily News
Murray Chass / New York Times:
A Trade Throw-In May Become a Playoff Starter — Oliver Pérez joined the Mets in the trade that brought them Roberto Hernández and cost them Xavier Nady, the trade they made at the trading deadline July 31 because they needed an experienced reliever to replace Duaner Sánchez …
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.
ESPN:
The List: Bliss for Yankee haters — It has become an annual tradition since the most recent Yankees' dynasty ended after their 2000 World Series win. — The New York Yankees' season ends without another World Series title, and Yankee haters everywhere rejoice.
Discussion:
BBTF's Baseball Primer …
San Francisco Chronicle:
Tom Candiotti fesses up: fantasy baseball scheme — You gotta admire a ballplayer who will do anything, even risk injury, to help his team win. Unless it's his fantasy-league team, and the injury he's risking is to someone else. — This, then, is a cautionary tale of a guy who took the rotisserie stuff waaaay too seriously.
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 …
