Top News:
Associated Press:
Duncan, Gomes, Cabrera suspended; Girardi fined — NEW YORK — Yankees center fielder Melky Cabrera and first baseman Shelley Duncan were suspended for three games each for their roles in Wednesday's spring-training fracas between New York and the Tampa Bay Rays.
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MLB.com, Yankees Blog, NY Daily News, Green Pinstripes, New York Daily News Blogs, iYankees, WasWatching.com, Bugs & Cranks and My Pinstripes
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Bryan Hoch / MLB.com:
Duncan, Cabrera, Gomes suspended — ‘Violent and reckless’ slide sparks discipline; Girardi fined — SARASOTA, Fla. — Yankees first baseman Shelley Duncan and outfielder Melky Cabrera were each suspended three games for their roles in Wednesday's bench-clearing incident against the Rays.
MLB.com:
Yankees, Rays disciplined — Discipline has been issued to six members of the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays as a result of the bench-clearing incident that occurred during the top of the second inning of their Wednesday, March 12th Spring Training game at Progress Energy Park, Home of Al Lang Field, in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Mark Feinsand / NY Daily News:
Girardi may be suspended for opener — TAMPA - For the first time in 13 years, the Yankees might be managed by someone not named Joe on Opening Day. — According to a baseball source, there is a possibility that both Joe Girardi and Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon could face suspensions …
Gordon Wittenmyer / Chicago Sun Times:
Ordering up a trade — MESA, Ariz. — Alfonso Soriano says getting used to batting anywhere but leadoff will take time. That's why he sees the logic in moving down in the Cubs' batting order now, rather than waiting for a Brian Roberts trade that isn't likely to get done until the final week of camp.
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Barry Jackson / MiamiHerald.com:
Sports bloggers weave a tangled web — Y ears ago, the only way sports fans could have their voices heard by the masses was calling a talk-radio show or writing a letter to the editor. — But expanding technology has provided myriad forums to vent and opine — whether it's launching blogs …
Discussion:
BaseBlogging, With Leather, Mike's Mets, Kranepool Society, Can't Stop The Bleeding, FanHouse, The Big Lead, ShysterBall, Flotsam, THE BOOK, Deadspin and Drunk Jays Fans
Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Pena to start season on DL — Left fielder out at least four weeks with left oblique strain — VIERA, Fla. — Nationals left fielder Wily Mo Pena will likely start the 2008 season on the disabled list due to a Grade 2 strain of his left oblique. It's a significant tear in the muscle, and could take four weeks or more to heal.
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Sports Illustrated:
Jon Heyman: Rangers struck out for Santana and Hunter — Also in the Daily Scoop... SURPRISE, Ariz. — Several weeks before Johan Santana went to the Mets, the Texas Rangers came very close to making a blockbuster trade for the superstar pitcher, people familiar with those talks say.
Tony Massarotti / Boston Herald:
One last drop for Mirabelli — Sox release Wake's catcher … FORT MYERS - The last time the Red Sox [team stats] parted ways with Doug Mirabelli [stats], less than five months passed before the team desperately brought him back. This time, that probably won't be the case.
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Providence Journal, Basegirl, The Bottom Line, Boston Globe, Boston Dirt Dogs and Knuckle Curve
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Nick Cafardo / Boston Globe:
On the fast track? Colon solid in debut
On the fast track? Colon solid in debut
Discussion:
Peter's Red Sox Forever
Tim Marchman / New York Sun:
Sox Tend To Hedge Their Bets Better Than Yankees
Sox Tend To Hedge Their Bets Better Than Yankees
Discussion:
WasWatching.com
Walter Villa / Sports Illustrated:
Mets top prospect Martinez a keeper — PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — He's the great Mets hope — the prospect New York refused to trade, not even for arguably the best pitcher in the major leagues. — He's the anti-Lastings Milledge — a young man who has earned the veterans' respect with his hard work and humble nature.
Discussion:
Hot Foot
Curt Schilling / 38 Pitches:
Doug.... In the 20 years since I was first called up to the big leagues I've played with exactly 2 players who's presence in the clubhouse carried onto the field. Darren Daulton in Philadelphia, and Doug Mirabelli here in Boston. — Very few players have that ability …
Discussion:
Babes Love Baseball
Nick Cafardo / Boston Globe:
Delcarmen OK — FORT MYERS, Fla. — Manny Delcarmen had an ice pack on his right knee and won't throw for a couple of days, but he said he's fine after slipping on the wet grounds at City of Palms Park while trying to turn a double-play and leaving the game in the seventh inning.
Extreme Brigs / From the Mixed up Files …:
What's In a Name? (MLB) — Apparently I have too much time on my hands these days. Either way, I won't make a big stink for an introduction. The following is a list of team nicknames in Major League Baseball and where those names come from. I started this research today on a whim and thought I'd share it with you.
Discussion:
Bless You Boys
Barry Svrluga / Nationals Journal:
Pena likely out a month — The results from Wily Mo Pena's MRI are back, and they reveal what many in the organization suspected yesterday. It is a Grade 2 strain of the left oblique. A club spokesman — delivering the report from the medical staff — said it was a “significant tear of the muscle …
Discussion:
Nationals Farm Authority