Top News:
Mark Remme / MLB.com:
Tempers flare as Red Sox sweep Rays — Crisp ejected; Ellsbury and Ramirez exit early with injuries — BOSTON — Center fielder Coco Crisp started a heated exchange between Boston and Tampa Bay on Wednesday by intentionally sliding hard into Rays second baseman Akinori Iwamura.
Discussion:
SOX & Dawgs, Bronx Banter, Red Sox Monster, Keep Your Sox On In Brooklyn and The House That Dewey Built
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Amalie Benjamin / Boston Globe:
No dirt on Ramírez-Youkilis dust-up — Although the most explosive portion of fight night at Fenway Park occurred during the bottom of the second inning, after James Shields hit Coco Crisp with a pitch, the undercard was no less intriguing. — Before the start of the fifth inning, there was an issue in the Red Sox dugout.
Discussion:
Surviving Grady
Ian Browne / MLB.com:
Manny, Youkilis engage in dugout debate — Players have to be separated at end of fourth inning in Sox win — BOSTON — A couple of innings after being involved in a fracas with the Tampa Bay Rays, the Red Sox were suddenly fighting each other. Well, at least two of them were.
Associated Press:
Cubs beat LA on Fukudome's single in 9th — LOS ANGELES (AP)—It's always an intriguing showdown when one of the former stars of the Japanese League faces another in a major league game. So far, Kosuke Fukudome is having more fun than Takashi Saito when the Chicago Cubs play the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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Tyler Kepner / New York Times:
Waiting for the Call — NORWICH, Conn. — The ballpark here sits at the end of a winding industrial road, surrounded by trees, with no sense of place. It rained all day Wednesday, and most of the 1,353 paying fans stayed home. Kids were disappointed if they left with only one foul ball.
Keith Law / ESPN:
Corner infielders dominate atypical first round … Overview — This year's first round was unusual in a number of ways. We had five college relievers taken, beating the previous record of three (set in 2003). We also saw eight corner infielders taken and four catchers …
Discussion:
River Ave. Blues
Bryan Hoch / MLB.com:
Yankees draft fireballer in first round — Righty Cole goes No. 28; Stanford lefty first compensation pick — NEW YORK — The New York Yankees selected right-hander Gerrit Cole on Thursday with their first-round pick in the 2008 First Year Player Draft, using the 28th overall pick …
Discussion:
New York Post, New Jersey Online, SOX1FAN, Bugs & Cranks, iYankees, yankeesdaily.com, Big Apple Sports and The LoHud Yankees Blog
Zachary Osterman / MLB.com:
Flores OK after being hit by pitch — Washington (25-36) vs. San Francisco (25-35), Fri., 7:35 p.m. ET — WASHINGTON — The Nationals received a scare Thursday when catcher Jesus Flores was hit on the left hand by a Todd Wellemeyer pitch in the fourth inning of the first game of a day-night doubleheader.
Anthony DiComo / MLB.com:
Mets snag college bats Davis, Havens — Team adds pop in first round with first baseman and shortstop — NEW YORK — Recent history has rarely seen the Mets have their way when it comes to the First-Year Player Draft. Their picks snapped away through free-agent spending …
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Ben Shpigel / New York Times:
Pelfrey Is Solid, but Mets Still Lose — SAN DIEGO — This was a pivotal moment, a pivotal moment in the game, in Mike Pelfrey's development, and the Mets pitching coach, Rick Peterson, sensed it. He ran out to check on his struggling pitcher, putting his hands on Pelfrey's shoulders.
Associated Press:
Contreras helps White Sox sweep Royals — CHICAGO (AP)—Jose Contreras didn't have his best pitch, the split-finger fastball, and against the woeful Royals he didn't need it. — Last year it might have been a different story. — Contreras won his fourth straight decision and Jim Thome homered …
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Ryan Lavner / MLB.com:
Chipper hits No. 400 against Marlins — Third baseman goes deep in sixth inning off Nolasco — ATLANTA — Braves third baseman Chipper Jones hit his 400th home run in the sixth inning of Thursday's game against the Marlins. — Jones hit the homer, his 14th of the season …
Discussion:
Babes Love Baseball
David Appelman / FanGraphs Baseball:
Clutch Project: Checking In — Every week or so I like to take a look at how Tangotiger's Great Clutch Project is shaping up. For those of you unfamiliar with the project, the gist of it is to find out if fans know which players on their team are “clutch”.
Discussion:
THE BOOK
Roch Kubatko / Baltimore Sun:
O's take pitcher Matusz with fourth pick — LHP went 12-2 with 1.71 ERA with University of San Diego this season — The Orioles used the fourth pick in today's amateur baseball draft to select left-hander Brian Matusz from the University of San Diego. — Matusz, a finalist …
Discussion:
Baseball America
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