Top News:
Steven Krasner / Providence Journal:
Ortiz was unaware of no-hitter till 9th — OAKLAND — As the Red Sox' designated hitter, David Ortiz obviously does not play in the field. So there are times when he'll go back into the clubhouse and get loose for his next at-bat. — So, believe this if you will, Ortiz …
Discussion:
The Joy of Sox
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Gordon Edes / Boston Globe:
38 special — Schilling earns straight A's in one-hit beauty — OAKLAND, Calif. — One out away, and as Oakland's Shannon Stewart settled into the batter's box, Jason Varitek flashed his fingers from his catcher's crouch. His signal was for a slider. — On the mound, Curt Schilling shook …
Jeff Goldberg / Hartford Courant:
No-Hitter In Progress? No Clue, Ortiz Says — OAKLAND, Calif. — Typical designated hitter. They never know what their defense is up to. — So imagine David Ortiz's great surprise when he happened to glance at the scoreboard in the ninth inning Thursday afternoon at McAfee Stadium …
Thomas Boswell / Washington Post:
A Draft Full Of High Hopes — The Washington Nationals took Ross Detwiler with the sixth overall pick in the baseball draft yesterday and immediately named him as their starting pitcher in the World Series. General Manager Jim Bowden didn't specify whether he'd pitch Game 1.
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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.
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 …
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Ralph D. Russo / Associated Press:
Burrell's late HR helps Phils 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 …
Roch Kubatko / Baltimore Sun:
O's catch a good one in Wieters … As the last few hours approached before yesterday's amateur baseball draft, the Orioles still didn't know whether the one player they coveted most would remain on the board. — Georgia Tech catcher Matt Wieters was regarded as the best college hitter available and perhaps the finest overall talent.
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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.
Discussion:
Thunder Matt's Saloon
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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Tyler Kepner / Bats:
No Moose Call to Schilling on the Near Miss — Until Boston's Curt Schilling lost a no-hitter Thursday with two outs in the ninth inning at Oakland, the Yankees' Mike Mussina had the dubious distinction of being the last pitcher to come so close to a no-hitter without getting it.
Discussion:
YanksBlog.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 …
The Big Lead:
Facebook Foils More Athletes — Facebook wasn't around when we were in high school, and Myspace wasn't a glean in the eye of a Silicon Valley Stanford grad. But if either had been around, would teenage athletes have been dumb enough to put photos of themselves drinking all over the internet for everyone to see?
Carroll Rogers / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Staying local, Braves draft big outfielder — Henry County star Heyward selected 14th — Dipping into Georgia talent has served the Braves well in recent years, so they stuck with that approach Thursday, choosing Henry County High School outfielder Jason Heyward with the No. 14 pick in the first round of the amateur draft.
David Price / ESPN:
First-round draft analysis … Following is Keith Law's analysis of each of the first-round picks in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft. — Round 1 — PICK — TEAM — NAME — POS — Tampa Bay Devil Rays — LHP — Vanderbilt — Everyone expected Price to go No. 1.
