Top News:
Ralph D. Russo / Associated Press:
Utley's hit helps Phillies sweep Mets — NEW YORK (AP) — Pat Burrell snapped out of a slump by doing what he does best — breaking the hearts of the New York Mets. — Burrell hit a game-tying home run in the ninth off New York closer Billy Wagner, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins combined …
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Anthony DiComo / MLB.com:
Mets swept by Phils in extras — Wagner blows first save of season in ninth — NEW YORK — Anything less than disaster would have been fine. — Sure, the Mets snickered at the thought of a series win against the Phillies. They would have loved a sweep, the type of performance …
Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Nats stick with pitching at top of Draft — Washington takes Missouri St. lefty Detwiler with No. 6 pick — WASHINGTON — The Nationals decided to go with pitching with the sixth overall pick in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft, selecting Missouri State left-hander Ross Detwiler.
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Todd Jacobson / Free Lance-Star:
Nats load up for the future — WASHINGTON—The Nationals didn't just stockpile high school talent for the future, and they didn't only grab a few quick-fix college players during the first day of Major League Baseball's First-Year Player Draft yesterday. — Yesterday, in a cramped boardroom …
Marc Zarefsky / MLB.com:
Cubs' top pick is touted third baseman — Vitters widely viewed as top high school hitter in the country — CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs were looking for offensive talent Thursday with the No. 3 pick in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft, and they found it in high school third baseman Josh Vitters.
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Thunder Matt's Saloon
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Adam McCalvy / MLB.com:
Brewers get slugger in first round — First baseman LaPorta selected from University of Florida — MILWAUKEE — The Brewers injected some early drama to the first televised draft in Major League history, taking University of Florida first baseman Matt LaPorta seventh overall …
Tyler Kepner / New York Times:
Good Day for Torre, but Not Everyone's Happy — Joe Torre needed six victories to reach 2,000 for his managerial career, and it seemed as if he might not make it. The Yankees were going nowhere last Wednesday, with five losses in a row, so Torre canceled batting practice and benched Bobby Abreu.
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Yanksfan vs Soxfan
Josh Dubow / Associated Press:
Schilling falls one out shy of no-hitter — OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Maybe the next time a Boston pitcher takes a no-hit bid into the ninth inning, he'll listen to catcher Jason Varitek. — Curt Schilling came within one out of his first career no-hitter Thursday, losing his bid …
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WasWatching.com
Joe Strauss / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Starter market is a dry one — Kip Wells tonight attempts to reverse the course of a 2-10 season that has him on pace to become the second pitcher to lose 20 games since Brian Kingman did so with the 1980 Oakland A's. — Todd Wellemeyer on Sunday makes his third major-league start …
Jayson Stark / ESPN:
Teixeira heads early deadline shopping list … There are 54 shopping days left until the trade deadline. So it's time to make out those shopping lists. — Now unfortunately, the Psychics Hotline didn't return our calls, so we don't know for sure yet who's going to be buying and who's going to be selling.
Aaron Harris / Crain's Detroit Business:
Detroit EDC OKs plan to tear down Tiger Stadium — The Detroit Economic Development Corp.'s board approved a plan Thursday to demolish Tiger Stadium. — The board approved the project pending approval from the Detroit City Council. The EDC plans to present its plan to the council in July.
J.E. Skeets / The Basketball Jones:
Ep. 176: The Finals Preview Podcast — Capitalized correctly and ready to rock! — The Basketball Jones 'NBA Finals Preview Show' — Episode 176 (.mp3) — On today's show, Tas and I are joined by Sports Illustrated's Kelly Dwyer to breakdown the Cleveland-San Antonio NBA Finals.
Dave / U.S.S. Mariner:
Philippe Aumont … With the 11th pick in the first round pick, the M's selected Philipee Aumont, an 18-year-old 6′7 RHP from Quebec. Here's a video of Aumont from the MLB Scouting Bureau, and there's a brief scouting report on him from the MLB.com draft tracker page.
Amalie Benjamin / Boston Globe:
Mills set for draft party — OAKLAND, Calif. — The plan, at least, is that by the time the game between the Red Sox and A's starts this afternoon, Beau Mills will know his fate. — If that's the case, and just about everyone in the Red Sox dugout hopes it is, there will be quite …
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MLB.com