Top News:
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. …
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Kevin Goldstein / Unfiltered:
Rays On Beckham (or, Money Changes Everything)
Rays On Beckham (or, Money Changes Everything)
Discussion:
FanHouse, Fox Sports, Walkoff Walk, Deadspin, Batter's Box Interactive … and Saber-Scouting
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).
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Baseball America:
First Round Recap — Scouting reports and stats on everyone taken in the first round — 1. Tampa Bay Rays — B-T: R-R. Ht.: 6-0. Wt.: 188. Age: 18. — Scouting Report — Beckham solidified his status as the nation's top high school position player last year when he produced …
Discussion:
Sliding Into Home
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 …
Discussion:
Saber-Scouting, THE BASEBALL SAVANT, Another Cubs Blog, Future Redbirds, Hot Foot and MLB.com
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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
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 …
Bryan Hoch / MLB.com:
Report: Yanks, Cashman talking deal — In last year of his current contract, GM to discuss extension — NEW YORK — A potential contract extension for Yankees general manager Brian Cashman will be discussed this week while the club holds a summit in Florida, according to a report published …
Discussion:
Sliding Into Home
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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, New York Post, The Transaction Guy, WasWatching.com and Scott Proctor's Arm
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.
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 …
Discussion:
FanHouse, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, The Seattle Times, Baseball Musings and The Transaction Guy
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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.
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.
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Thor Nystrom / MLB.com:
Trembley's admiration comes to fruition — O's, skipper squander early lead as Mauer rallies Minnesota — MINNEAPOLIS — Orioles manager Dave Trembley sought Twins catcher Joe Mauer before Wednesday's game to give him a message. — “I told him I thought he is a real credit to the game, the way he plays,” Trembley said.
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?
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 …
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