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 …
RELATED ITEMS:
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.
Boston Globe:
Lyons fired by Fox — Hispanic remarks called insensitive — Former Red Sox utilityman Steve Lyons was fired by Fox after he made what the network deemed insensitive racial remarks Friday during the telecast of Game 3 of the ALCS. — Lyons directed the remarks at Lou Piniella …
Discussion:
Archie Bunker's Army
RELATED ITEMS:
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?
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.
RELATED ITEMS:
Barry Svrluga / Washington Post:
With Piniella, Cubs Close, Girardi Emerges as Nats' Front-Runner — The search for the next manager of the Washington Nationals has been conducted in secrecy from within the club's offices at RFK Stadium, with General Manager Jim Bowden and President Stan Kasten casting a net …
Discussion:
Chicago Tribune
Murray Chass / New York Times:For Leap Forward, Tampa Bay Tries Taking Step Back
Discussion:
Management
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.
RELATED ITEMS:
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
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.
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.
