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Associated Press:
Zim blast christens Nat Park — WASHINGTON - Ryan Zimmerman raised a fist when he rounded first, then tossed away his helmet as he approached the plate and the mass of teammates waiting to celebrate his game-ending homer. — The kid sure knows how to throw a housewarming party.
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ESPN:
Bush: Mitchell report part of ‘cleansing process’ — WASHINGTON — As the U.S. portion of the major league schedule got under way Sunday night, President Bush said he thought December's Mitchell report on drugs in baseball “was part of the cleansing process.”
Associated Press:
Bush throws out first pitch — WASHINGTON (AP) — To a mix of cheers and jeers, President Bush opened baseball's newest stadium Sunday night with a ceremonial first pitch. — Bush waved twice quickly as he strode to the mound at Nationals Park. He wasted little time before throwing …
Ken Gurnick / MLB.com:
Ethier wins left-field job — Pierre forced to bench after hitting just .169 this spring — LOS ANGELES — Andre Ethier won the Dodgers' starting left-field job from veteran Juan Pierre and will start Opening Day vs. the Giants on Monday, Los Angeles manager Joe Torre announced Sunday.
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Inside the Dodgers:
Ethier is Dodgers left fielder — Joe Torre broke the news to Juan Pierre this morning. “He just said ‘OK,’ but I know he is disappointed, and that's fine,” Torre said. “You don't want a guy sitting on your bench who just accepts being on the bench.” Torre said JP will be a regular bench player …
Jeff Zrebiec / Baltimore Sun:
Orioles release Gibbons — Team responsible for paying $11.9 million left on outfielder's contract — The Orioles finalized their roster today, releasing veteran outfielder Jay Gibbons, who had been the second longest tenured member of the club. — With the move, the Orioles …
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Ken Mandel / MLB.com:
Phillies finalize Opening Day roster — Philadelphia enters regular season carrying 11 pitchers — LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa. — With no last-minute waiver claim or trade, the Phillies set their 25-man roster on Sunday in preparation for Monday's regular-season opener against the Nationals at Citizens Bank Park.
Matthew Cerrone / MetsBlog.com:
Note: The 2008 New York Mets — According to the team, Orlando Hernandez, Duaner Sanchez and Ramon Castro will begin the season on the 15-day disabled list. — As such, Raul Casanova, Mike Pelfrey, Joe Smith and Brady Clark have been added to the team's 25-man roster.
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New York Post, You can't script baseball, Amazin' Avenue, The Good Phight and GO METS DIE BRAVES
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Adam Rubin / NY Daily News:El Duque might start season on DL
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New York Post, Amazin' Avenue, NJ.com, Mets Merized Online, The 'Ropolitans and Hot Foot
NY Daily News:
Harper: Scouts down on Yanks' young arms — So the wheel officially begins to spin now on Brian Cashman's grand gamble to ride the Yankees' young pitching in 2008 and beyond. And premature as it may be, there is no avoiding the question that will be asked countless times this season …
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iYankees
New York Times:
A Journey to Baseball's Alternate Universe — Ithaca, N.Y. — WITH the baseball season under way and the memory of scandal in the sport so fresh, many fans yearn for an earlier era, a time when mythology mingled with baseball. The sport's most mythic achievement is Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak …
ESPN:
Report: BALCO founder working on tell-all book — Victor Conte will amp up the sports world once again — in a much different way, however. — According to the New York Daily News, the founder of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative is working on a tell-all book that he claims will spill the dirt on athletes and federal agents.
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Fox Sports
Ben Shpigel / New York Times:
From Views to Fastballs, Wagner Won't Hold Back — MIAMI — In late November, about a week after Tom Glavine signed with Atlanta, Billy Wagner told MLB.com that he viewed the Mets as a third-place team. Within a few days, Wagner received a call from General Manager Omar Minaya, who asked if he was misquoted.
Jayson Stark / ESPN:
Unsung Braves built for October glory … We take you back in time to the first week of March. The 2008 Grapefruit League was only a few days old. But a National League scout already had caught on to something that hadn't yet dawned on the rest of the hemisphere.
David Pinto / Baseball Musings:
NL Central Preview — Cardinals … This is a sad team. Not two years removed from their World Championship, St. Louis looks like a team scraped from the scrap heap. Even their great players are questionable. Albert Pujols's elbow is hanging together by a thread.
Dejan Kovacevic / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
The five most likely to be traded — The Pirates' new management has made clear its plan to trade experienced players for prospects in an attempt to restock the minor-league system. Here are the five most likely candidates to go: — Jason Bay — Contract status: Making $5.75 million this season …
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