Top News:
Ken Rosenthal / Fox Sports:
Sources: Mets close to acquiring Conine — FOXSports.com, Updated 21 minutes ago — LIKE THIS STORY? — The New York Mets are on the verge of acquiring utility player Jeff Conine from the Cincinnati Reds for two Class-A position players, according to Major League sources.
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Ben Shpigel / New York Times:
In Washington, Mets Finish What They Started — The sky was overcast, not dark, and the backdrop to Sunday's game was old and leaky, not new and charming, but take all that away and the Mets were back in an all too familiar place. Eighth inning. Score tied.
Joe Kay / Associated Press:
Mets acquire Conine from Reds — CINCINNATI (AP) — The New York Mets got Jeff Conine from the Cincinnati Reds for two minor leaguers on Monday, adding a 41-year-old player who has two World Series rings and knows how to contribute off the bench. — Conine can play first base or outfield …
Discussion:
Baseball Musings
Mark Hale / Mets Blog:
Mets get Conine — The Mets have made a small deal but one that helps their bench, picking up Jeff Conine from the Reds for minor leaguers Sean Henry and Jose Castro. — The Mets needed a righty reserve bat in the wake of Damion Easley's injury and have been interested in Conine for a bit.
Tony Massarotti / Boston Herald:
Mysterious ways persist: Seeking clues about real Red Sox — Six weeks to go and precisely 38 games to play, and still we do not know about the Red Sox [team stats]. When you really get down to it, the Sox still have not been tested yet. And so, we still do not know just how tough they are.
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Amalie Benjamin / Boston Globe:
No fight in Red Sox — Angels deliver early KO, earn a split decision — Julio Lugo tries to cheer up spot starter Julian Tavarez after the righthander was pulled following six effective innings. (JASON JOHNS/FOR THE GLOBE) — There was a moment, brief though it was …
ESPN:
Face of the Franchise — ESPN.com's SportsNation has convened a panel of 64 experts — writers, bloggers, and a former player — to give their picks for which current player, manager, owner, or mascot is the "face" of each of baseball's 30 franchises. Their picks will be announced throughout the week …
Ken Rosenthal / Fox Sports:
Run differential isn't everything — LIKE THIS STORY? — Run differential is overrated. — All right, maybe that's overstated. But those crazy Diamondbacks are merely the latest club to outperform its estimated won-loss record based on its runs scored and runs allowed.
Tim Dierkes / MLB Trade Rumors:
Olney On Johan Santana — ESPN's Buster Olney kicks off his blog today with his thoughts on Johan Santana. Fresh off a team-record 17 strikeout performance, Santana is a hot topic around baseball. Olney believes Santana trade talk could dominate the offseason.
Rick Gano / Associated Press:
Cards now 3 games out of 1st, beat Cubs — CHICAGO (AP) — Albert Pujols and Rick Ankiel homered, Scott Rolen drove in three runs with a pair of doubles and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 6-4 Monday, moving within three games of the NL Central lead.
Discussion:
Bleed Cubbie Blue
Rich Lederer / Baseball Analysts:
Ryan Braun: Greatest First-Year Slugger Ever? — Ryan Braun led off the second inning yesterday with his 24th home run of the season to give Milwaukee an early 1-0 advantage although the Brewers later blew a five-run lead and lost 7-6 to the Cincinnati Reds.
Mike Phelan / CNN:
Report: Vick agrees to plea deal, prison possible — (CNN) — Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick has accepted a plea deal that could send him to prison, ending a federal dogfighting prosecution that jeopardizes his pro football career, a Virginia newspaper is reporting.
David Pinto / Baseball Musings:
Power Progress — Jeremy Hermida hit his eleventh home run of the season in the first inning today, a three-run shot that helped the Marlins to a 4-3 lead over the Giants in the fourth inning. At age 23, Hermida still has plenty of room to improve, and he's now slugging 100 points better than last season at .469.
Chris Jaffe / Hardball Times:
No mirage in Arizona — This year one of the big surprises in MLB is the Arizona Diamondbacks. They had some hard times over the last few years, averaging 94 losses from 2004-6. (OK fine, the 111-loss 2004 really throws everything of whack. But they haven't been good).
Discussion:
SBG Nation …
