Top News:
Ben Shpigel / New York Times:
Revised Batting Order Changes Dynamic for Mets — Carlos Beltrán had seen enough. So in a quiet moment Tuesday afternoon, he pulled a chair beside José Reyes's locker and offered some unsolicited advice. Recalling their conversation Wednesday night after the Mets' 5-2 victory …
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com, It's Mets For Me, Mets Geek, Federal Baseball, Faith and Fear in Flushing and Eephus Pitch
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Christian Red / NY Daily News:
Carlos says loosen up, then has blast of own — He stirred up spring training with his “team to beat” boast. Before Tuesday's win against the Nationals, he gave a pep talk to teammate Jose Reyes, encouraging the shortstop to return to his dancing, wildly celebrating self.
Discussion:
On the Mets beat, MetsBlog.com, Mets Merized Online, The 'Ropolitans, Kranepool Society, Surfing the Mets and Hot Foot
Mark Hale / New York Post:
THE BEL TOLLS — CARLOS' THREE-RUN BLAST, PEP TALK FUEL REYES, METS — The discussion came before Tuesday's game against the Nationals. Carlos Beltran initiated it with Jose Reyes, and because of it things may have changed with this team. — Beltran approached Reyes on Tuesday and delivered this message - be yourself.
Jim Baumbach / Newsday:
Reyes homers, celebrates like old self as Mets win — Mets catcher Brian Schneider congratulates pitcher Billy Wagner at the end of the game after the Mets beat the Washington Nationals 5-2 at Shea Stadium. (Newsday Photo / Kathy Kmonicek / April 16, 2008)
Forbes:
The Business Of Baseball — The key numbers show that the national pastime is more popular than ever. In 2007, baseball broke its attendance record for the fourth consecutive season when 79.5 million fans hit the turnstiles. A big plus: Interleague games, where teams in the American …
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Evan Grant / Associated Press:
Texas Rangers beat Toronto in 14 innings — egrant@dallasnews.com — TORONTO - In his third meeting with his club in the last week, Rangers manager Ron Washington had gone for more of a pep talk, reminding them it's OK to bend but to let the other team break. — The Rangers seem to finally have heard.
Michael Silverman / Boston Herald:
Sox battered in Bronx — Yanks rip Buchholz, 'pen … NEW YORK - Imagine going shopping for apples and instead of reaching for the perfectly ripe ones, you grab the most bruised and nasty ones. — That kind of bizarre retail behavior was exhibited by the pitching staffs of both the Yankees and Red Sox …
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Paul Sullivan / Chicago Tribune:
Zambrano solid on mound, plate in win — With wind playing a role, Cubs pound Reds again — How windy was it Wednesday night during the Cubs' 12-3 victory over Cincinnati at Wrigley Field? — So windy the Cubs took down the ceremonial flags for Ernie Banks, Billy Williams and Ron Santo …
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Dave Studeman / Hardball Times:
Ten things I didn't know last week — Win Shares and Loss Shares — A couple of weeks ago, I talked about the essential place wins and losses have in the sabermetric universe. There are a lot of stats that track a player's contribution to his team's wins (you can probably come …
Discussion:
THE BOOK
USA Today:
Contact rate can be more revealing than batting average — By Ron Shandler, Special for USA TODAY — What do Pat Burrell, Joe Crede and Xavier Nady have in common? — All three are major league veterans who have established a performance baseline during their respective careers.
Discussion:
WasWatching.com
Kat O'Brien / Newsday:
Girardi says Chamberlain's dad improving — The health of Joba Chamberlain's father, Harlan, is improving, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Wednesday. — It's still not clear how soon Joba might be able to rejoin the Yankees. The important thing, though, is that his father …
Discussion:
Sliding Into Home
Tom Haudricourt / Brewers Blog:
Turnbow unhappy with role — St. Louis - Brewers reliever Derrick Turnbow is so upset over being relegated to what he calls a “mop-up” role in the bullpen that he asked his agent to contact general manager Doug Melvin to see what the plans are for the beleaguered right-hander.
