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:
On the Mets beat, Mets Geek, Federal Baseball, Faith and Fear in Flushing and Eephus Pitch
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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)
Brian Lewis / New York Post:
SMITH BAILS OUT MAINE, AMAZIN'S — Joe Smith rode a roller-coaster rookie season that took him from unhittable to demoted to redeemed. After struggling through some mechanical tinkering this spring, Willie Randolph said the right-handed sidearm reliever is whipping the ball even better than before.
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.
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 …
Ken Davidoff / Newsday:
Forbes: Yankees, Mets, Red Sox worth most — The Yankees, Mets and Red Sox top Forbes Magazine's annual list of baseball team valuations, with only the Yankees surpassing $1 billion. Befitting baseball's biggest rivalry, however, the Yankees and the Red Sox are the only clubs that are pegged to operate at a loss.
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
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 …
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
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.
Chicago Tribune:
Cubs place Soriano on 15-day DL — The Cubs placed left fiedler Alfonso Soriano on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday with a right calf strain. — Soriano, hitting .175 with five RBIs, left Tuesday's victory over the Cincinnati Reds in the top of the first inning after injuring himself catching a flyball.
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