Top News:
Dave van Dyck / Chicago Tribune:
Bochy enters Cubs mix — Padres manager may be front-runner — Cubs' general manager Jim Hendry has met with all five managerial candidates on his original list, but his final choice may be "none of the above." — In what could be a fast-moving chain of events, San Diego Padres manager Bruce Bochy …
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Chris De Luca / Chicago Sun Times:
A likely new twist to Cubs' list — Padres' Bochy expected to join managerial derby — Just when it appeared the Cubs' managerial search was winding down, a new candidate is expected to land on general manager Jim Hendry's interview list — possibly by today.
Discussion:
Chicago Tribune
Ed Sherman / Chicago Tribune:
Piniella has Harrelson gushing — There are two managers who send Ken Harrelson to the land of superlatives: Ozzie Guillen and Lou Piniella. — Sure enough, Harrelson didn't hold back Thursday over the prospect of Piniella signing with the Cubs. — "We would have the two best managers in the same city," Harrelson said.
Discussion:
GROTA
Chris De Luca / Chicago Sun Times:Skippers scorecard — Lou Piniella: Veteran manager is still …
Discussion:
GROTA
Peter Botte / NY Daily News:
Flat Albert — Rips Glavine, despite taking 0-fer — Albert Pujols was less than impressive in last night's NLCS opener. He was even less impressed with Mets starter Tom Glavine. — A peeved Pujols snapped at reporters following his -for-3 outing that included a costly baserunning blunder …
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Sports Illustrated:
Crosstown successes (cont.) — Boss refused Torre's offer — During a phone call that might have saved Torre's job, Torre apologized to Steinbrenner for the Yankees' pathetic postseason showing and told Steinbrenner that if he didn't trust him, he could fire him, which turned out to be Torre's best strategy of the year.
Ben Walker / Associated Press:
Tigers 3, Athletics 0 — DETROIT (AP) — Kenny Rogers took off his cap, waved it to the crowd and twirled around for all to see. And that sent a real chill to the fans packing Comerica Park. — Because of him, they can really start dreaming about seeing their Detroit Tigers in the World Series.
Discussion:
Blogging Baseball
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Jack Curry / New York Times:
Rogers Changed Stripes to Beat Yanks — Kenny Rogers told himself he had to be a different pitcher against the Yankees last Friday. He needed to be an intimidator, an enforcer and a bully. Rogers had a monumental game to pitch for the Detroit Tigers, and he had about three hours to become a bad dude.
WCBS-TV:
A-Rod OK After Plane Skids Off Calif. Runway — Agent Scott Boras Confirms; No Injuries Reported — (CBS/AP) BURBANK, Calif. A private jet, carrying Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez and six others, overran a runway at Bob Hope Airport on Friday and was brought to a halt by an arresting system.
Jay / The Futility Infielder:
Bringing in the Lefty — One facet that I highlighted in my NLCS preview at Baseball Prospectus was the vulnerability of the Mets' two big sluggers, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado, to lefthanded pitching. Last night, with Jeff Weaver beginning to falter in the sixth inning …
Dan Shaughnessy / Boston Globe:
A meeting of the minds — Belichick hits it off with La Russa — NEW YORK — I was shelling peanuts and hardly paying attention as Tony La Russa delivered a rambling answer to a pregame question regarding the expanded format of today's baseball playoffs.
Discussion:
Dan Shaughnessy Watch
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Associated Press:
Floyd available for pinch hitting for Mets — NEW YORK (AP) - Mets left fielder Cliff Floyd wasn't in the starting lineup for Game 2 of the NL championship series Friday night after reinjuring his left Achilles tendon in the opener against St. Louis. — Floyd, who hobbled off after two innings …
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Ken Gurnick / MLB.com:
Anderson undergoes elbow surgery — Vet has bone chips removed, expected to need three weeks — LOS ANGELES — Dodgers outfielder Marlon Anderson underwent arthroscopic surgery this week to remove bone chips from his right elbow. He is expected to be ready for Spring Training.
Discussion:
Dodger Thoughts
Associated Press:
Johnny Callison, former Phillies All-Star, dies at 67 — PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Johnny Callison, the strong-armed outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies who won the 1964 All-Star game with a ninth-inning homer, died at 67. — He died Thursday at Abington Hospital following an illness, Phillies spokesman Larry Shenk said Friday.
Thomas Harding / MLB.com:
Q&A with Rockies GM O'Dowd — Colorado's decision maker talks about future goals for the club — DENVER — On a recent afternoon, Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd acknowledged that he's keeping up with the playoffs. — But enjoying them? — "Not really," O'Dowd said …
Discussion:
Purple Row
Andrew Marchand / New York Post:
The 6th Question w/ Michael Kay — Every Friday in NYP TV Sports, our sports television pullout that appears in the middle of the print edition and online, we present "Five Questions for ..." — When I conduct the interviews, I always precede them with a monologue about how we ask more than five, but only use the best five.
Discussion:
WasWatching.com
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Bruce Regal / Baseball Analysts:
Replacing the Wild Card: The "Challenge Round" — There seems to be a pretty general consensus among sabermetric folks that baseball's current system of post-season eligibility and play is seriously flawed. Rich Lederer's post here the other day is one indication, an on-going discussion …
Randy Galloway / Dallas Star-Telegram:
Point is, the GM is in charge — For Jon Daniels, the free ride is over. — In a troubled season for the Rangers, the youngest general manager in the majors never had to walk point through the minefields and the media ambushes. — Buck Showalter was out there in front, taking the heat as the logical and easy target.
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball
