Top News:
Dan Shaughnessy / Boston Globe:
Smoke and fire — Leyland has lit up Detroit by leading Tigers back to the top — DETROIT — There's no computer on his desk. Jim Leyland doesn't spend a lot of time looking at spreadsheets and percentages. He is not a numbers cruncher and he probably wouldn't last long in a room with Bill James, Billy Beane, and Theo Epstein.
Discussion:
The Feeding the Monster Blog
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T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com:
Reyes ready to go in Series opener — Righty faces fellow first-year pitcher Verlander in Game 1 — DETROIT — Anthony Reyes couldn't beat out Sidney Ponson in Spring Training, but the Cardinals are hoping he can beat the Tigers in Game 1 of the World Series.
Jeff Sackmann / Hardball Times:
Projecting the World Series — Predictions are fun, and if the proliferation of articles preceding every postseason series is any indication, I'm not alone in thinking so. I am, apparently, alone in thinking that postseason series previews don't have nearly enough numbers. Let's change that.
Alyson Footer / MLB.com:
Verlander excited to get Game 1 start — Rookie right-hander, Tigers well-rested for World Series — DETROIT — Justin Verlander already knew the scenario before the Mets and Cardinals began Game 7 of the National League Championship Series on Thursday. — Mets win, and Verlander …
Ken Rosenthal / Fox Sports:
Cards might as well go all the way — NEW YORK - Two outs, bases loaded, the crowd roaring and Carlos Beltran, the ultimate Cardinals killer, at the plate. — FOX Bite — Videos — Cards seek Series revenge — Pedro Martinez, his right arm in a sling, ignored the Mets' 3-1 deficit …
Jan Hubbard / Dallas Star-Telegram:
Mets coach delivers his best pitch — The 10 hours preceding one of the most important meetings in his life were not nice to Manny Acta, who spent six hours Friday interviewing for a chance to become the Rangers' next manager. — The nightmare before the audition began at about 11:30 p.m. …
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Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Nationals to interview Mets' Acta — New York's third-base coach familiar with the organization — WASHINGTON — One day after the Mets were eliminated from postseason play, New York general manager Omar Minaya gave the Nationals permission to talk to third-base coach Manny Acta about the managerial vacancy in Washington.
Evan Grant / Dallas Morning News:
Bummed Mets coach visits Rangers — Acta interviews for Rangers managerial job a day after Game 7 loss — The Rangers may not have gotten a true view of Manny Acta during his daylong interview for the club's managerial position Friday. — After all, who could blame Acta if he was just a little down.
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball
MLB.com:
Notes: Floyd wants to return — Delgado primed for '07; Chavez shines in the spotlight — Now that the season is over, Cliff Floyd enters unchartered waters with his second stint of free agency. — "This is kind of different," Floyd said as he gathered his belongings in the Mets' clubhouse …
Discussion:
The Musings and Prophecies …
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Jeff Passan / Yahoo! Sports:Molina has a ball — NEW YORK - To tell the story …
Discussion:
Blogging Baseball
Nate Silver / Baseball Prospectus:
Detroit Tigers versus St. Louis Cardinals — Metro versus Retro? The Battle of Orange (and Blue)? Scratch that. Like just about everyone else on the planet, I was assuming that the Mets would dispatch the Cardinals in the NLCS, depleted rotation and all.
Discussion:
Mack Avenue Tigers
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Tyler Kepner / New York Times:
The Boras Bunch: Tigers Built a Winner on More Than a Hunch — A seed for the 2006 World Series was planted 30 years ago, at third base, in the Florida State League. Jim Leyland was a minor league manager and third-base coach in the Detroit Tigers' organization.
Discussion:
Cutoff Man
MLB.com:
Marlins finalize 2007 coaching staff — MIAMI — The Florida Marlins today announced their Major League coaching staff for the 2007 season. Joining first-year manager Fredi Gonzalez will be bench coach Carlos Tosca, pitching coach Rick Kranitz, hitting coach Jim Presley …
Discussion:
FishStripes
Wright Thompson / ESPN:
At Kyoto's Fenway Park, it's always October 2004 … KYOTO, Japan — A late-night stroll through Kyoto reveals white-faced geisha, the mysterious teahouses of Gion, the millennia-old Shinto shrines ... and a small red and blue sign for a bar named Fenway Park. — Wait a minute. Fenway Park?
Rocky Mountain News:
Krieger: No quit in Tigers, but Leyland? — DETROIT - I am sorry to report I will not be reporting the most popular story going into the World Series. — No worries, though, you can find it pretty much everywhere else. — In fact, you may have already.
Discussion:
SportsJustice
Jim Street / MLB.com:
Francona to replace Macha in Japan — Red Sox skipper will manage MLB All-Star team in Tokyo — For the second time in his managerial career, Boston Red Sox skipper Terry Francona will manage a Major League All-Star team. — On the eve of the start of the 102nd World Series …
Associated Press:
Much-traveled Magadan new Red Sox hitting coach — BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox hired Dave Magadan to replace Ron Jackson as hitting coach, after the team had the third-worst batting average in the American League this season. — Magadan spent most of the past four seasons as hitting coach for the San Diego Padres.
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