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.
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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Peter Abraham / The LoHud Yankees Blog:
Game 17: Red Sox at Yankees — YANKEES — RED SOX — Notes: Joe Girardi is a perfect 17 for 17 in terms of having a different lineup every day. ... Hey, Moose, don't pitch to Manny. ... The teams are 2-2 through four games. After today, they will not play again until July 3-4-5-6 in New York. ...
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
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:
baseballtoaster.com
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.
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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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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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.
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
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 …
Chicagosports / Hardball:
One homer, 15 balls returned: A new trend at Wrigley? — Everyone was a little surprised at the barrage of baseballs being tossed back onto the field Wednesday night after Adam Dunn's home run onto Sheffield Avenue. — “I didn't think that many people hit a home run today,” …
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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 …
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.
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) …
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.
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Jim Baumbach / Newsday:Reyes homers, celebrates like old self as Mets win
Discussion:
Associated Press, On the Mets beat, NY Daily News, New Jersey Online, the metropolitans and New York Post
