Top News:
Associated Press:
Braves' Hampton on DL — ATLANTA — Mike Hampton is headed back to the disabled list after hurting himself in pregame warm-ups Thursday night, preventing him from making his first start in almost three years. — Hampton, scheduled to make his first start since Aug. 19, 2005 …
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David O'Brien / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Hampton ready; I'm banged up — It's only appropriate that on the night of Mike Hampton's first real-game appearance in more than 31 months, your Crusading Everyman will barely be able to get in and out of his car and up the steps through the security gate at Turner Field.
Fox Sports:
Hampton scratched from start — Mike Hampton was a late scratch as the starting pitcher for Atlanta, delaying his scheduled first appearance in a game since 2005. Hampton is making a comeback after two elbow injuries. There was no immediate word on why he was pulled out of his start Thursday night …
Discussion:
Baseball Musings
Bryan Hoch / MLB.com:
Chamberlain defends his celebration — Young hurler insists no disrespect intended with fist pump — NEW YORK — The walls of Joba Chamberlain's boyhood bedroom in Lincoln, Neb., had inches of poster space dedicated to Frank Thomas, then doing his Big Hurting for the White Sox …
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Brian Costello / New York Post:
JOBA GOES BLAND OVER FIST, FOR ONE NIGHT — As Alex Rios' fly ball settled in Bobby Abreu's glove to end the eighth inning last night, there were no fist pumps, no twirls, no screams. Yankees star Joba Chamberlain simply took his glove off and walked off the field with his head down.
Peter Abraham / The LoHud Yankees Blog:
Game 3: Blue Jays at Yankees — YANKEES — Notes: Thanks to Sam Borden for texting this to me from the clubhouse. ... Matsui will make his 2008 debut in left field as Damon gets a day as the DH. ... Posada (stiff right shoulder) remains out. ... This is the 2008 debut for Phil Franchise, the noted right-hander and blogger.
Andrew Ryan / Boston Globe:
An omen? Hawk attacks girl with a familiar-sounding name at Fenway — A certain New York Yankee slugger should beware: A 13-year-old taking a tour of Fenway Park today was attacked by a red-tailed hawk that swooped off its nest, drawing blood from the girl's scalp. — Her name: Alexa Rodriguez.
Discussion:
Red Sox Monster, SOX & Dawgs, FanHouse, Home Run Derby, Empyreal Environs and The LoHud Yankees Blog
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Hawk attacks schoolgirl on tour of Fenway — Hawk Attacks Schoolgirl Taking Tour of Fenway Park — BOSTON — A 13-year-old girl touring Fenway Park on a school trip was attacked by a resident red-tailed hawk that drew blood from her scalp Thursday. — She wasn't seriously hurt …
Newsday:
Blogging a way of expression for Yankees fans — Back in the day, passionate fans went to sports bars to commiserate about what ailed their team. That still works, but fans no longer have to leave their office or living room to debate the merits of new manager Joe Girardi or Joba Chamberlain's remaining in the bullpen.
Discussion:
iYankees
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Tyler Kepner / New York Times:
Kennedy Will Attempt to Keep Being Noticed — Ian Kennedy was ordering lunch at a cafe in New Jersey this week when a worker startled him. It was nothing unusual for a major leaguer, but for Kennedy it was a first: he was recognized away from the ballpark.
Jayson Stark / ESPN:
Why Bonds isn't playing … Once, he was everywhere. Now he's nowhere. — Once, he was The Man. Now he's just the Invisible Man. — Once, he was the most high-profile player in his entire sport. Now Barry Bonds is so low-profile, he could be a plot line on “Without a Trace.”
Associated Press:
Royals finish 3-game sweep of Tigers — DETROIT (AP)—The Kansas City Royals were supposed to provide a perfect launching pad for the Detroit Tigers' highly touted offense. — The Royals pitchers did not cooperate, and the Tigers failed to launch. — Zack Greinke had another outstanding …
Discussion:
Bless You Boys
RELATED:
Jon Paul Morosi / Detroit Free Press:Tigers DH Sheffield says he tore tendon in finger; status unclear
Discussion:
Bless You Boys
Nate Silver / Baseball Prospectus:
Grab Bag and Final Projected Standings — Spring has a way of creeping up on you in the Midwest, and it crept up on me this year without my ever getting an article out on the PECOTA projected standings. So, rather than try and pretend that that I didn't see what happened over the first couple days …
Discussion:
6-4-2
RELATED:
Dan Fox / Baseball Prospectus:Schrodinger's Bat — Reminiscing with SFR, the Sequel
Discussion:
Dan Agonistes
Ken Davidoff / Ken Davidoff's baseball insider:
How about Robinson Tejeda to replace Pedro Martinez? — It's nearly unheard of to make a big trade in April, and besides, it's not like the Mets expect Pedro Martinez to miss the entire season (although four-to-six weeks sounds optimistic, to echo what David Lennon wrote here).
RELATED:
David Lennon / Newsday:Mets' Martinez out for at least four to six weeks
Discussion:
New York Post, On the Mets beat, Faith and Fear in Flushing, NorthJersey.com and MetsBlog.com
Neil Best / Watchdog:
Paul O'Neill stopped by Yankee Stadium security — One of the strangest things about sportswriting, especially in New York, especially for baseball, especially on Opening Day, is the scene during locker room access periods in which relatively few players are around, relatively many journalists are around …
Discussion:
FanHouse
