Top News:
ESPN:
IT'S GAME 7 OF THE NLCS ... RIGHT NOW ON FOX! — I have few rules in life, but this is one of them: Any time the worst Game 7 in the history of baseball is being played, I'm keeping a running diary. Here's what transpired: — 5:00 p.m. (PT) — My buddy Gus (a die-hard Mets fan) calls just to say, "I'm a nervous wreck."
Discussion:
AwfulAnnouncing
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Paul Doyle / Hartford Courant:
Mets Don't Expect Many Offseason Changes — NEW YORK — The TVs were covered with plastic in anticipation of a champagne celebration in the Mets clubhouse. — Instead, players were forced to look at next year. — "I think it's going to push us in the offseason," third baseman David Wright said.
Newsday:
Wallace Matthews — Throwing game, series away — When the book is written on the final game of the Mets' 2006 season, it will say that the NLCS against the Cardinals was lost when Aaron Heilman surrendered a two-run home run to Yadier Molina in the top of the ninth inning of a Game 7 tied at 1.
Discussion:
Can't Stop The Bleeding
Jason / Faith and Fear in Flushing:
Requiem — Well, damn. — Congratulations to the Cardinals and their fans. It wasn't a classic series by any means, but it was an object lesson that you never, ever quit fighting. They showed that. So did we. — If you'd been told we'd get that pitching performance from Oliver Perez, you'd have taken it.
Jayson Stark / ESPN:
Molina's heroics give Cardinals an unlikely pennant … NEW YORK — It was Game 7 Night in the third week of October. So this was how it was supposed to work. — If Jeff Suppan could be a modern-day Bob Gibson, why couldn't Oliver Perez pitch like Sandy Koufax for one electrifying Game 7 evening?
Discussion:
MLB.com, Yahoo! Sports, The Crawfish Boxes, Cardinals Diaspora, FIRE JOE MORGAN and Dodger Hill
Thomas Boswell / Washington Post:
The World Series? Are You Serious? — NEW YORK Stand up and salute the St. Louis Cardinals. Mere cheers aren't enough to celebrate the worst team ever to reach the World Series. After all, doesn't the least amount of talent, most injuries and largest adversity surmounted imply biggest heart?
Ben Shpigel / New York Times:
Mets Are Called Out; Cards Head to World Series — Yadier Molina singling in the second inning. He hit a game-winning two-run homer in the ninth to send the Cardinals to the World Series. More Photos > — The Mets' glorious swath through the National League ended abruptly last night …
Sam Borden / NY Daily News:
Cerrone's job is Yanked — Bombers ax longtime VP — The Yankees were eliminated from the playoffs 13 days ago and while several substantial events have taken place since then (notably Joe Torre's employment status being clarified and the tragic death of Cory Lidle) …
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Associated Press:
Rookies Verlander, Reyes get Game 1 starts — DETROIT — Even before the first pitch is thrown, the St. Louis Cardinals and Detroit Tigers are making this World Series memorable. — Game 1 will have a pair of rookie starters for the first time, with Justin Verlander pitching Saturday night …
Discussion:
Baseball Musings
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Kelly Thesier / MLB.com:
Twins reward Gardenhire with extension — Skipper signed through '09 after leading impressive turnaround — Ron Gardenhire has had his fair share of tests during his first five years as Twins manager, but none might have been bigger than the one he faced during the 2006 season.
Fox Sports:
New baseball labor deal could come soon — Major League Baseball and its players' union are close to reaching an agreement on a new labor contract. A deal could come as soon as this weekend, according to a report in The New York Times. — The Big Apple newspaper published the report citing …
Discussion:
Tribe Report
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Baseball America:
Supernatural: Santana Proves Unittable — MINNEAPOLIS—Johan Santana was so good this season he was telling opponents what was coming—and they still couldn't hit him. — Before the Twins played the Cubs on June 23, Santana chatted with former Twins teammates Henry Blanco and Jacque Jones …
Discussion:
Philliesflow
Joe Sheehan / Baseball Prospectus:
The Two John Maines — Ever since Billy Beane's famous comment in Moneyball—"My [expletive] doesn't work in the playoffs."—there's been a backlash against the idea that short series in the postseason are poor tools for judging the relative strength of teams.
Discussion:
El Lefty Malo
Andrew Baggarly / Contra Costa Times:
Black one of four Giants finalists — GM Sabean interviews Angels pitching coach for team's managerial post — The Giants appear to have settled on the central candidates to replace manager Felipe Alou, and there are some common threads between the four men. They have major-league bench experience.
Discussion:
Baseball Musings
Jeff Albert / Baseball Analysts:
Zoomlander: Starting, Relieving and Throwing Hard — When it comes to general sports, I am a fan of watching people perform at the highest levels. This means, for example, that I got into it last week watching a women's college volleyball match because one player from Hawai'i …
Discussion:
The Detroit Tiger Weblog
