Top News:
Gordon Edes / Boston Globe:
Alive and kicking — Yankees look sharp in taking opener vs. Sox — NEW YORK — This public-service announcement comes courtesy of the New York Yankees: The rest of the 2007 major league baseball season will be played, as scheduled, contrary to any chatter suggesting otherwise.
Discussion:
NY Daily News, New York Times, Boston Herald, Surviving Grady, Peter's Red Sox Forever, Bronx Banter and Sports Scope
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George King / New York Post:
WANG MAKES THINGS RIGHT — YANKS KEEP CHIEN UP; SOCK SOX IN OPENER — Two dry days don't guarantee a drunk is going to be sober forever. But sobriety has to start somewhere, and that's the genesis of the "One Day At A Time" recovery mantra. — For the Yankees, it's no longer about taking it two-dozen hours at a time.
George King / New York Post:
JOE AWAITS CLEMENS' GREEN LIGHT — Joe Torre said it's up to Roger Clemens to decide if tomorrow night's start for Trenton (Double-A) is his last in the minors. — "It will be his last if he says it is," Torre said of Clemens, who will be making his second minor-league outing since signing with the Yankees.
NY Daily News:
Champagne, Big Macs and caviar dreams! — Rookie pitcher celebrates 1st win with burgers — He was the toast of the town Sunday night - well, at least on the side of the town that roots for the Yankees. — But if you want to know how overnight Yankee pitching sensation Tyler Clippard celebrated his win over the Mets, think Big.
Discussion:
Deadspin
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George King / New York Post:
SAYING HALO — ANGELS SHOW INTEREST IN GIAMBI — MLB isn't the only outfit interested in Jason Giambi. According to a person with knowledge of the Angels' thinking, the AL West leaders have an interest in acquiring the Yankees' DH to bolster a lineup that is last in the league in home runs.
Jim Reeves / Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
Rangers, all of them, need to go — ARLINGTON — There's no question about it, Jon Daniels and Ron Washington should be fired immediately, but if Tom Hicks is listening, I'd like to add one caveat. — They should be Nos. 26 and 27 in line for the guillotine, right after every player on the 25-man roster loses his head.
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball
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Ken Davidoff / Winston-Salem Journal# North …:
Buddies: Smoltz, Glavine headliner in Braves-Mets series — Yes, Mets-Braves, starting tonight at Turner Field in Atlanta, is a big, three-game series. But you can't deny the theater of Thursday night's finale. — John Smoltz, the Atlanta Braves' venerable ace, will make his first attempt at career win No. 200.
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Dejan Kovacevic / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Can Pirates laugh last in Comedy Central? — Subpar division sparks optimism even amid mediocre start — Imagine this call over the PNC Park loudspeaker in early October: — Ladies and gentleman, your 2007 Pittsburgh Pirates ... the National League's Central Division champions! — Ridiculous?
Discussion:
BBTF's Baseball Primer …
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Bob Raissman / NY Daily News:
Ax swings over Torre story — All the talk about Joe Torre's Yankee future, or lack thereof, is like gum stuck to a shoe - annoying and hard to get rid of. The story goes beyond the obvious speculation. It's not good enough to just predict whether the manager will stay or get the boot.
Mark Kriegel / Fox Sports:
MLB needs to let Giambi tell the truth — Commissioner Bud Selig should do everything in his considerable power to protect Jason Giambi and ensure that his story of steroid abuse is heard without fear of reprisal. — It would be squarely in the best interests of baseball.
Discussion:
Baseball Musings
Gordon Wittenmyer / Chicago Sun Times:
For sub-.500 Cubs, numbers don't add up — SAN DIEGO — As the overhauled Cubs hover near .500 about a quarter of the way through the season, the only question bigger than why put Ryan Dempster in the starting rotation might be this: — Is the Cubs' glass half-full, or are the people running them just full of it?
Mark Kiszla / Denver Post:
Owners must go — Monforts should do the right thing and sell the Rockies — With love and money, we built the field for a baseball team now owned by Charlie and Dick Monfort. In return, they have slowly destroyed our dreams of seeing the World Series in Colorado.
Jeff Passan / Yahoo! Sports:
Cool Brew — MILWAUKEE - The junk-bond investor sat in the middle of the room, a slight and bespectacled man surrounded by grizzled baseball lifers wired on snuff and coffee, sure that his new business would be little like his old. — About an hour earlier, Mark Attanasio …
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Cincinnati Post:
If the issue's passion, what about the players? — When the subject came up, Jerry Narron was standing in the Cincinnati dugout, idly flipping a baseball into his mitt, as he has done who-knows-how-many thousands of times during a life steeped in the game. Only this time, the ball bounced off …
Discussion:
Reds
Adam Rubin / NY Daily News:
Mets have outfield of dreams — When Carlos Gomez found out about his promotion from Triple-A New Orleans, his first call went to his parents in the Dominican Republic. The next went to his fiancé Gerandy, whom the 21-year-old outfielder has known for 15 years. Then Gomez called agent Scott Boras.
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com
Juan C. Rodriguez / Sun-Sentinel:
Fielding problems plague Marlins star infielders — In defense of Ramirez and Cabrera, numbers may not tell whole story — Statistically, one can argue Hanley Ramirez and Miguel Cabrera are baseball's most prodigious shortstop-third baseman combination this side of Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez.
Michael Point / MLB.com:
Miller declares himself 'ready' — Cubs pitcher set to rejoin club Tuesday after rehab start — ROUND ROCK, Texas — Wade Miller, working his way back to the Cubs rotation after being sidelined for a month by back spasms, threw 89 pitches, 54 for strikes, in a six-inning stint …
