Top News:
Lyle Spencer / MLB.com:
Swagger returns with powerful display — Mets set or tie several offensive franchise records in rout — ST. LOUIS — A baseball sat perched atop Oliver Perez's locker in the Mets' clubhouse Sunday night, commemorating his first postseason victory. — What distinguished this ball …
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Ronald Blum / sports.yahoo.com:
NY Mets 12, St. Louis 5 — ST. LOUIS (AP) — Carlos Beltran sent the ball soaring over the wall. — So did David Wright. And Carlos Delgado. And then Beltran did it a second time. — With four home runs, the Mets tied the NL championship series, making sure it will end back home in New York.
Ben Shpigel / New York Times:
Pérez Helps Mets and Gets Plenty in Return — As his teammates poured onto the field before Sunday's game, Oliver Pérez stood alone in the corridor leading into the Mets' dugout. He peeked his head out and glanced at the conga line of television cameras and the Cardinals taking batting practice.
Mark Newman / MLB.com:
Spieziomania reigns in St. Louis — Player who exudes Cardinal Soul a big hit at Busch Stadium — ST. LOUIS — Josh Douglas and Troy Rhives, two Cardinals fans from Festus, Mo., were talking about Spieziomania and posing for a picture when a woman walked by wearing the same red Velcro soul patch as theirs.
Mike Fitzpatrick / Associated Press:
St. Louis 5, NY Mets 0 — ST. LOUIS (AP) — During batting practice, scoreboards at Busch Stadium billed Game 3 of the NL championship series as "Gotham vs Gateway." — With Jeff Suppan doing just about everything for St. Louis, "No contest" would have been much more appropriate.
Associated Press:
Trachsel's status for rest of NLCS still uncertain — ST. LOUIS — The Mets were unsure about pitcher Steve Trachsel's availability for the rest of the series because of a bruised right thigh. — "He's icing down," manager Willie Randolph said. "We'll wait and see how he feels tonight and tomorrow and go from there."
Discussion:
Always Amazin'
Jack Curry / New York Times:
Leyland's Straight Talk Turns Tigers Around — The stadium employee wearing the garish orange and blue Tigers jacket stood at the back of an elevator Friday night and vowed that his team would soon qualify for the World Series. He also explained why. — "It's all about management," the man said.
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Richard Sandomir / New York Times:
Fox Fires Baseball Analyst Over Ethnic Comments
Fox Fires Baseball Analyst Over Ethnic Comments
Discussion:
Deadspin
Ken Davidoff / Newsday:
If A-Rod must go, some possibilities — There is, of course, a logical landing point for Alex Rodriguez this winter: a team that needs a shortstop and that can take on a big salary. A club that Rodriguez previously expressed an interest in joining. — Think the Yankees would trade him to the Red Sox?
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Paul Sullivan / Chicago Tribune:
Piniella appears to be choice of GM Hendry — Lou Piniella's name surfaced as a candidate to manage the Cubs in Houston about the Fourth of July, when Dusty Baker was rumored to be on the firing line. — Nearly 31/2 months later, Piniella finally appears ready to step in.
Discussion:
Can't Stop The Bleeding
Jim McLennan / AZ Snakepit:
Byrnes' Night — Forgot to mention that Eric Byrnes has not taken kindly to comments regarding his appearance on Baseball Tonight: … At first I feared for a second he meant us, such as our comment regarding his suit, that "it didn't look like he was in it by choice."
Bleed Cubbie Blue:
The 2006 Major League Baseball Bottom-of-the-Heap Awards — While we await Jim Hendry's managerial decision — and I do NOT believe it has been made yet — it is time, once again, to hand out awards to the forgotten, the maligned, the worst of the worst in baseball.
Discussion:
6-4-2
Tom Krasovic / San Diego Union-Tribune:
Padres still covet mercurial pitcher Perez — ST. LOUIS - The Padres will be watching the National League Championship Series tonight with extra interest. One of their own will start for the Mets - left-hander Oliver Perez, who was a gangly, bespectacled 17-year-old when the Padres signed him out of Mexico in 1999.
George Will / Townhall.com:
The economics of baseball — Sins can be such fun. Of the seven supposedly deadly ones, only envy does not give the sinner at least momentary pleasure. And an eighth, schadenfreude — enjoyment of other persons' misfortunes — is almost the national pastime.
Jim Baumbach / Newsday:
Not So Fast! — How tof ix the Yankees: First, keep A-Rod — As the Joe Torre "I'm staying!" news conference neared an end Tuesday, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman stood up and returned to his Yankee Stadium office smiling. — Now starts the fun part of the baseball offseason.
Murray Chass / New York Times:
For Leap Forward, Tampa Bay Tries Taking Step Back — If a team wins 67 games one season and 61 the next, is it going backward or forward, regressing or progressing? — The simple answer, in the case of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, would seem to be the negative.
Discussion:
Management