Top News:
Jim Callis / Baseball America:
Tigers Near Record Deal With Porcello — For the fourth straight year, the Tigers are going to make a huge splash with an above-slot deal in the first round. After signing Justin Verlander (2004), Cameron Maybin (2005) and Andrew Miller (2006), Detroit is closing in on a record deal …
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Jeff Passan / Yahoo! Sports:
Playing the slots — One of the usual exercises during baseball's collective-bargaining negotiations goes something like this: Owners ask for a system to pay draft picks pre-determined bonuses. The union says no. And after that short dalliance, they discuss bigger, more important things.
Jim Callis / Baseball America:
Clubs Will Feel Porcello Aftershocks — As Rick Porcello nears completion of a record contract with the Tigers, the aftershocks will be felt in several other negotiations with first-round picks, most notably David Price (No. 1 overall, Devil Rays), Mike Moustakas (No. 2, Royals), Matt Wieters (No. 5, Orioles).
Murray Chass / New York Times:Deadline Nears for Clubs to Sign Top Draft Picks
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball
Danny Knobler / Detroit Tigers Insider:Tigers to sign Porcello to record $7.3 million deal
Discussion:
Mack Avenue Tigers
Steve Popper / NorthJersey.com:
Source says Mets have no interest in Piazza — The Mets' pitching has been a question for most of the season. But the question now is just who is going to catch? Not Mike Piazza. — The Mets may reek slightly of desperation right now, but according to one source …
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com
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Anthony McCarron / NY Daily News:
Catching Mets' eye — Pudge and Posada on radar for 2008 — The Mets are hoping Paul Lo Duca's hamstring heals quickly and Ramon Castro's back isn't a lingering hindrance. They have catching questions, however, well beyond this season and there are two possible splashy winter solutions - Jorge Posada and Pudge Rodriguez.
Discussion:
New York Post
Paul Harris / MLB.com:
Notes: Polanco sets all-time record — Monday's errorless game gives infielder milestone — DETROIT — Despite the fact it was set in a loss, the record for most consecutive errorless games by a second baseman means a lot to Placido Polanco. — "This game has been around for a long time," Polanco said.
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Jayson Addcox / MLB.com:
Notes: Little holds closed-door meeting — Manager looking for Dodgers to snap three-week slide — LOS ANGELES — Manager Grady Little held a team meeting prior to Monday night's game against the Houston Astros in an attempt to get his team out of a three-week funk in which the Dodgers …
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Dylan Hernandez / Los Angeles Times:All doors remain closed for this team
Discussion:
Associated Press
Mike Downey / Chicago Tribune:
Just like that, Cubs lose their swagger — Everything in baseball can change so quickly for a team ... and, once again, it has. — Not so long ago, the Cubs could not have been sitting prettier. They had scratched and clawed their way into first place.
Paul Meyer / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Pirates Notebook: Phelps fits into plans for 2008 in key way — The Pirates' 2007 season must run its course, but early hints about the makeup of the 2008 team are surfacing. — One arose in the second game last night against San Francisco when Josh Phelps made his first start at catcher since Oct. 5 …
Discussion:
Bucs Dugout
Jeremy Cothran / New Jersey Online:
Loud, proud and unbowed — Mets' Milledge says he can't help but be impetuous, spirited self — NEW YORK — Lastings Milledge might as well be a rock star. — The 22-year-old Mets outfielder struts into his office every day with a pair of sleek Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses fixed over his eyes …
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com
David Andriesen / Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
Sexson blasts away at funk — 9th-inning homer wins it for M's, caps 3-RBI night — It was a dream matchup between the Venezuelan superstar pitcher of today and the man who many expect to be the Venezuelan superstar pitcher of tomorrow. — In the end, however, neither was around when the game was decided.
Nick Cafardo / Boston Globe:
Home stretch good time to make a stand — If you're going to make a case for why the Red Sox will not lose their lead in the AL East, it was precisely what we saw last night: Their starting pitching is too good. — If you're going to make a case for why they might squander it …
Mark Hale / New York Post:
PEDRO PROGRESS — REHAB START NO. 2 TODAY — With the rust perhaps gone, Pedro Martinez will have rehab start No. 2 this afternoon. — Martinez's second rehab outing will be with the Gulf Coast League Mets at noon in St. Lucie. The ace has had five days' rest since his first rehab effort.
Dom Amore / Hartford Courant:
Powerful Company — Right Off The Bat, The 500 Home Run Club Is Tough To Separate — Here we take the 22 members of the 500 home run club and rank them, not by how many they hit - you could do that yourself - but by how they hit them. Who was most remembered as a home run hitter?
Jon Paul Morosi / Detroit Free Press:
Tigers agree to trade minor leaguer Hannahan to Oakland — The Tigers have agreed to trade Jack Hannahan, an infielder at Triple-A Toledo, to the Oakland Athletics, according to an individual with knowledge of the deal. — Hannahan is expected to fly to the West Coast with Oakland's big-league club …
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