Top News:
St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Percival agrees to minor-league deal with Cards — STAFF REPORTS — Looking to augment a bullpen that has been picked apart by the club's constant need for consistent starters, the Cardinals agreed to a minor-league deal with former Anaheim closer Troy Percival.
Discussion:
Viva El Birdos
RELATED:
MLB.com:
Cards and pitcher Troy Percival agree to Minor League deal — ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Cardinals announced today that they have agreed to terms with right-handed reliever Troy Percival on a minor league contract. The veteran closer will report to Triple-A Memphis where he will continue his attempt at a comeback.
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors
Associated Press:
Percival to try comeback with Cardinals — ST. LOUIS (AP) — Former All-Star closer Troy Percival, out of the majors since injuring his right arm in the middle of the 2005 season, will try to make a comeback with the St. Louis Cardinals. — The 37-year-old Percival and the Cardinals agreed on a minor league contract Friday.
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.
Discussion:
New York Post, The Bronx Block, Bronx Banter, River Ave. Blues, The LoHud Yankees Blog and Yanksfan vs Soxfan
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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
Hartford Courant / New York Yankees:Windy city — They expect ridiculously high winds here tonight …
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
RELATED:
Paul Meyer / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Major League Baseball Draft: Pirates select Clemson pitcher in first round — Clemson's Moskos likely to be a closer — Daniel Moskos probably is not the player most Pirates fans wanted to see the team take with their first pick in the first round of the amateur draft yesterday.
RELATED:
Clare / Ladies:
Two Homers Discuss...: Phillies at Mets, 6/7/07 — As you've probably guessed by now, Ladies... Texas Gal and Clare are quite the Phillies Phans. Unfortunately, they're separated by 750 miles and a change of time zones. How do they remedy this problem? For what we hope will be the first in a series …
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 …
RELATED:
Ralph D. Russo / Associated Press:Burrell's late HR helps Phils sweep Mets
Discussion:
Blogging Baseball, Can't Stop The Bleeding, The Musings and Prophecies …, Zisk Online and Mets Today
Will Carroll / Baseball Prospectus:
Under The Knife — Playing Catch — There's no time for an intro today, between feeling ill and a pinched nerve in my neck. This is seriously one of the most painful, knee-buckling things I've ever had, so forgive me a bit of brevity today. — Powered by the hope that I'm better …
ESPN:
Zambrano says he and Barrett are past dugout slugout — Pitcher Carlos Zambrano said he and batterymate Michael Barrett shared some tears when the two Chicago Cubs teammates reconciled after their dugout fight last week. — "He came to me the next day, and he apologized and I apologized …
Discussion:
Rumors and Rants
D.J. Short / MetsBlog.com:
Blogger Beat: The Detroit Tigers Weblog — This season, at the beginning of each series, MetsBlog will attempt to get the perspective of the opposition and their fans. From this, we hope to be better educated on the opposition going into a series. It also gives us a fine opportunity to highlight some of our favorite team blogs.
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 …
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.
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?
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.
