Top News:
Jim Callis / Baseball America:
BA's 2008 Final Mock First Round — Rays will take Tim Beckham No. 1 overall — Signability concerns made for a wild night before the draft. Florida State catcher Buster Posey's asking price suddenly jumped to $12 million and Missouri righthander Aaron Crow's target became $10 million …
RELATED:
ESPN:
In-progress first-round draft analysis … Follow along as Keith Law provides pick-by-pick analysis of the first round in today's draft. Teams have five minutes between first-round picks. — Watch the first round live on ESPN2 or on ESPN360 through the first round and the compensation round.
Baseball Analysts:
Live Blogging the 2008 MLB Draft — As detailed in the Ins and Outs of the MLB Draft, today's proceedings will get underway at 2:00 p.m. ET. Baseball Analysts will bring you all the picks from the first and supplemental rounds right here as they happen (with detailed information on the teams and draft picks below).
Discussion:
Mets Geek
Keith Law / ESPN:
Law: First-round projection — In his final first-round projection, Keith Law has Georgia high school shortstop Tim Beckham going No. 1 overall to Tampa Bay.
Discussion:
Future Redbirds
John Manuel / Baseball America Draft Blog:
White Sox Go Beckham — The White Sox get an up-the-middle player in Gordon Beckham, who dominated the Cape Cod League last summer and the Southeastern Conference this spring. The White Sox went so pitcher-heavy last year, and Beckham makes tons of sense for an organization short on minor league talent.
Discussion:
South Side Sox
Bill Chastain / MLB.com:
Rays will choose Beckham at No. 1 — Tampa Bay opts for talented Georgia high school shortstop — BOSTON — Tim Beckham will be No. 1. — The Rays, holding the first overall selection in today's First-Year Player Draft, will select the talented high school shortstop from Griffin, Ga. …
RELATED:
Kevin Goldstein / Unfiltered:Rays On Beckham (or, Money Changes Everything)
Discussion:
Fox Sports, Saber-Scouting, Walkoff Walk, Deadspin, Batter's Box Interactive … and Minor League Ball
Kevin Baxter / Los Angeles Times:
Dodgers' Matt Kemp suspended four games, fined for Tuesday's fight — Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp, left, has been suspended for four games and fined an undisclosed amount for his part in a shoving match that resulted in the clearing of both teams' benches.
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Associated Press:
Dodgers' Kemp, Rockies' Torrealba suspended — NEW YORK — Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp was suspended for four games and Colorado Rockies catcher Yorvit Torrealba was penalized three games Thursday following their tussle earlier this week. — Both players were also fined undisclosed amounts …
Jerry Brewer / The Seattle Times:
McLaren's words came too late for Mariners — The contrived tirade began with a warning. — “We're gonna do this a little different,” John McLaren said. — He sounded a little like Tina Turner at the beginning of “Proud Mary.” Then the downtrodden Mariners manager unleashed …
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Roderick Boone / On the Yankees beat:
Gameday Live 60: Blue Jays at Yankees — And a hearty good afternoon. Rod Boone here for the quick turnaround following last night's bounce back 5-1 win over the Blue Jays. Can the Yankees win two straight and take their first series since sweeping Seattle at The Stadium May 23-25?
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Will Leitch / Deadspin:
A Note From Your Editor — We started this site on September 8, 2005, with a simple headline: “Welcome to Deadspin. We Come With a Pure Heart and Mirthful Disposition.” We think that's still pretty much true; we try to keep our disposition mirthful at all times.
Ed Price / New Jersey Online:
Cashman, brass to talk contract — NOTEBOOK — NEW YORK — Brian Cashman's contract as Yankees general manager is up after the season, and Hank Steinbrenner intends to discuss an extension while Cashman is in Tampa, Fla., this week. — “We're going to be talking about it,” said Steinbrenner, the team's co-chairperson.
Discussion:
River Ave. Blues, MLB Rumors, The Transaction Guy, WasWatching.com and Scott Proctor's Arm
RELATED:
John Harper / NY Daily News:
Harper: Joba moving, doubt rising — You can feel the concern creeping into the Yankee clubhouse. By now the Yankees are practically the home office for slow starts, but the players are all too aware that improved pitching throughout the American League East means it won't be so easy to bludgeon their way to the top this year.
Discussion:
Ken Davidoff's baseball …
RELATED:
Ian / SOX & Dawgs:
Coco Shows Some Fire — During last night's game between the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays, Coco Crisp tried to steal second base in the 6th inning. When he tried to slide into second, Rays shortstop Jason Bartlett put his knee down in front of the bag, which is a no-no since someone can get seriously hurt.
RELATED:
Dejan Kovacevic / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Draft 2008: Pirates set to pick Alvarez — Next step: Sign Vanderbilt star to contract by Aug. 15 — When the Pirates' turn comes in Major League Baseball's draft this afternoon, according to multiple sources, they plan to use their No. 2 overall choice to take Vanderbilt University third baseman Pedro Alvarez.
RELATED:
John Manuel / Baseball America Draft Blog:
Cubs Cash — The Cubs go Andrew Cashner, perhaps another indication of how the Cubs believe they can win now. Cashner has had the most consistent fastball in the college ranks this spring, sitting 96-98 mph consistently. — The Cubs have been adventurous recently, spending wildly in 2006 …
Rob Maaddi / Associated Press:
Phillies beat Reds, Griffey stays at 599 — PHILADELPHIA (AP)—Cole Hamels pitched a three-hitter for his second career shutout and the Philadelphia Phillies took advantage of two dropped balls to beat the Cincinnati Reds 5-0 Thursday. — Ken Griffey Jr. remained one shy of 600 home runs …
