Top News:
Anthony DiComo / MLB.com:
Park unable to prop up Mets in opener — Fill-in starter touched for seven runs; Beltran hits sixth homer — NEW YORK — Eight up, eight down. Just like that, Chan Ho Park was carving through the young Marlins lineup, leaving those thoughts of the Minor Leagues far behind.
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David Picker / New York Times:
Marlins 9, Mets 6: Mets' Depth Faces Test as 2 Players Go on D.L. — By almost all measures, the Mets had an impressive April. But on the last day of the month, they were confronted with injuries to two prominent players, then were hammered by the Florida Marlins at Shea Stadium.
Discussion:
BBTF's Baseball Primer …
Bob Herzog / On the Mets beat:
Zog's Blog: Duo on DL — The injury bug continues to sting New York baseball teams. After leaving the Yankees' starting rotation in shambles, the bug flitted over to the Mets yesterday as Orlando Hernandez and Jose Valentin were placed on the 15-day disabled list.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Witnesses claim Hancock was drinking before crash — A customer at Mike Shannon's on Saturday night says he and his wife saw Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock drinking alcohol at the restaurant as late as 10:30 p.m. — The customer, who asked only to be identified by his first name, Vince …
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St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Pitcher had close call days before death — Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock was in a potentially serious traffic accident less than three days before the one that took his life Sunday, according to police reports. — Hancock walked away from that early Thursday morning crash uninjured …
Adam McCalvy / MLB.com:
Notes: Sheets ready to start Tuesday — Right-hander recovers from strained right groin — MILWAUKEE — Ben Sheets was declared a "go" for his start on Tuesday against the Cardinals after undergoing a battery of tests Monday to test the strength of his strained right groin muscle.
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Associated Press:
Cardinals Pujols takes a walk — on ball three — MILWAUKEE (AP) — Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols barely even noticed the premature walk he received during St. Louis' 7-1 loss against the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night. — But Brewers starter and former teammate Jeff Suppan did.
Discussion:
BBTF's Baseball Primer …
Associated Press:
Braves put Wickman on disabled list — ATLANTA (AP) — Braves closer Bob Wickman went on the disabled list with an upper back injury on Monday, one day after the veteran blew a save for the second straight time. — The team called the injury a strain. Wickman said he has tendinitis …
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Associated Press:
Jays farmhand hit with 50-game ban — NEW YORK (AP) — Toronto minor league pitcher Matt Roney was suspended for 50 games after testing positive for a drug of abuse. — Roney, a 27-year-old right-hander, is 2-0 with an 0.90 ERA in five relief appearances at Triple-A Syracuse.
Discussion:
Tiger Tales
Caleb Breakey / MLB.com:
Ordonez named AL Player of the Week — Tigers outfielder posts 1.095 slugging percentage — The Tigers might have suffered some heart-breaking losses as of late, but the team sure is happy to see Magglio Ordonez find his stroke. — Ordonez was named winner of the Bank of America Presents …
Troy E. Renck / Denver Post:
Eyes on other team from NYC — This is what the New York Mets' clubhouse has come to: Future Hall of Famer Tom Glavine walks by unnoticed before disappearing through a side door. — If not rocked by scandal - former clubhouse assistant Kirk Radomski pleaded guilty to steroids distribution …
Fox Sports:
Schilling playing his way into payday? — Right-hander Curt Schilling always seems to get the last word, and suddenly it's possible that he might regain leverage in his negotiations for a new contract with the Red Sox. — The Braves signed John Smoltz to a contract extension last week …
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors
Ben Shpigel / New York Times:
Mets 1, Nationals 0: Maine Quietly Completes a Dominating Month for Mets — Maybe John Maine is right when he swears that he has plenty of room for improvement. He does, after all, have only the second-lowest earned run average among major league starters. Time to get to work, John.
Discussion:
Mets Fever
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Jerry Crasnick / ESPN:
Crasnick: Piazza fitting in with youthful A's … The Oakland Athletics' staff is doing just fine with Jason Kendall behind the dish, but longtime catcher Mike Piazza wants the pitchers to know he's available for counsel — on all sorts of matters. — Recently, Piazza has been racking …
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com
Mike Vaccaro / New York Post:
TAKING SOME BLAME WOULD BE THE CAPTAIN-LY THING TO DO — THERE is a wonderful photograph that greets you as soon as you walk off the elevator and into the lobby of the loge level at Yankee Stadium. It was snapped in Tampa in the spring of 2004, shortly after the Yankees executed what was certain …
Discussion:
Bucs Dugout
