Top News:
ESPN.com:
Coming of age: Tejada 2 years older than thought — Age ain't nothing but a number, unless you're Miguel Tejada. — The Houston Astros shortstop told the Oakland Athletics when he was signed out of the Dominican Republic in 1993 that he was 17. But he was actually 19, meaning he is now 33 …
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Andy Jasner / MLB.com:
Tejada acknowledges age discrepancy — Shortstop is actually two years older than previously believed — PHILADELPHIA — Miguel Tejada just aged two years. — Astros general manager Ed Wade was recently informed that Tejada was actually born on May 25, 1974, as opposed to May 25, 1976, as listed in the club's media guide.
Discussion:
Catfish Stew, Washington Post, Camden Chat, Bottom9 Baseball, Lone Star Ball, Baseball Digest Daily, FanHouse, Hardball Times, MLB Rumors and ShysterBall
Associated Press:
Report: Tejada tells Astros he lied about his age — Ex-Oriole two years older than originally thought — HOUSTON - Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada has told the team he's actually 33, two years older than he's listed in the club's media guide and other baseball records.
Mark Herrmann / On the Yankees beat:
Gameday Live 17:Yanks-Red Sox — Jonathan Papelbon came in even though it wasn't a save situation. The Red Sox didn't want this one to slip away. Beckett deserved to have his win preserved (8 innings, 6 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk, 8 strikeouts). He was strong down the stretch.
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NY Daily News:
After HRs, Kyle Farnsworth brushes back Manny Ramirez — The Yankees finally decided enough was enough, and rightly so. If Kyle Farnsworth had to be the enforcer, well, why not? At least it gave the fans at the Stadium reason to cheer for him. — More to the point …
Discussion:
Over the Monster
Jack Curry / New York Times:Ramírez Just Wants to Have Fun. He's Serious.
Discussion:
Associated Press, Bats, Red Sox Monster, Bradford Files, WasWatching.com, iYankees and Sliding Into Home
Keith Barnes / PittsburghLIVE.com:
Rocky start puzzles Pirates' Morris — TRIBUNE-REVIEW — LOS ANGELES — Every time Matt Morris takes the mound, he's hoping to discover why he has struggled so much this year. — Three starts into the season, and all he and the Pirates' coaching staff have are more questions.
Discussion:
Where have you gone …
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David Ginsburg / Associated Press:
Orioles rally past White Sox — Jones' RBI single pushes O's past Chicago; Orioles trailed 5-2 in the eighth — Adam Jones singled in the game-winning run in the 10th inning, capping a late comeback that gave the Orioles a 6-5 victory over the Chicago White Sox tonight.
John Hickey / Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
M's 8, Athletics 1 — THE SCENE: It was another nice night in the Bay Area. It was 65 degrees at game time with virtually no wind. — STAR OF THE GAME: RHP Carlos Silva won for the first time in Oakland, and he made it look easy with a four-hitter through seven innings.
Discussion:
Lookout Landing
Mike DiGiovanna / Los Angeles Times:
Rodriguez gets a shaky save in Angels' victory — Closer has to clean up his mess in the ninth. Anderson's three-run double is the big hit for Angels. — The Angels got the big hit from Garret Anderson, a two-out, three-run double in the third inning, a bend-but-don't break start from Jon Garland …
Discussion:
6-4-2
Reuters:
Japanese school team hit for 66 runs in two innings — A Japanese high school pleaded for a regional game to be abandoned after surrendering 66 runs in less than two innings, local media reported on Thursday. — The coach of Kawamoto technical high school threw in the towel to spare …
Discussion:
The Griddle
Duk / Yahoo! Sports:
Why the Tampa Bay Rays should sign Barry Bonds — With Barry Bonds currently out of work and teams always looking to improve their lot in MLB, the Shunned One's name will undoubtedly be brought up countless times this season. So each week until Mr. Bonds catches a fulltime ride …
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FanIQ:
A.J. Pierzynski Takes On Chicago Sun-Times Writer Joe Cowley In Base Stealing Extravaganza — There are a lot of sports writers out there that go after athletes who aren't exactly performing up to snuff. Bloggers do this too, of course. But the most vicious stuff I've seen usually comes …
Steve Gilbert / MLB.com:
A natural righty, Drew bats from left side — D-backs' shortstop gave up switch-hitting to hone stroke — PHOENIX — Not long after he joined the D-backs last summer, Jeff Cirillo found himself in the batting cage with shortstop Stephen Drew. — Cirillo watched Drew take some swings from the right side and then the left.
Discussion:
Out in the Desert
Jim Street / MLB.com:
Felix's delivery won't be tinkered with — Righty has bad habit of reaching for grounders with bare hand — OAKLAND — Felix Hernandez could be transformed into a pitcher that throws a pitch and squares his body to home plate, putting himself in an ideal position to field any ball hit back up the middle.
Joe Capozzi / Palm Beach Post:
Braves' power prevails against Marlins — MIAMI GARDENS — The fifth inning started with two quick ground outs followed by two strikes and a sense that the Marlins were still in the game. Three poorly placed pitches later, the Braves were on their way to an 8-0 win Thursday night.
Dan Fox / Baseball Prospectus:
Schrodinger's Bat — Opus 100 … —Stephen Jay Gould, “Opus 100”, reprinted in The Richness of Life: The Essential Stephen Jay Gould — Twenty-five years ago, paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, and historian of science Stephen Jay Gould wrote his 100th monthly essay …
Kiley McDaniel / Saber-Scouting:
News & Notes: Dunedin vs. Tampa — I went out to catch a matchup between the Dunedin Blue Jays and Tampa Yankees yesterday; to see a few notable pitchers and get yet another look at intriguing bat Travis Snider. — Yankees RHR Mark Melancon (pictured, right, in college at Arizona) …
