Top News:
Associated Press:
Mets fire Randolph; Manuel to lead team in interim — ANAHEIM, Calif. — Willie Randolph is out as manager of the New York Mets, fired in the middle of the night 2½ months into a disappointing season that has followed the team's colossal collapse last September.
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Adam Rubin / NY Daily News:
Mets fire Willie Randolph — ANAHEIM - The Mets have fired manager Willie Randolph, pitching coach Rick Peterson and first base coach Tom Nieto, the team announced shortly after 3 a.m. Eastern time Tuesday. — Bench coach Jerry Manuel has been named the team's interim manager …
Anthony DiComo / MLB.com:
Mets name Manuel interim manager — Randolph, two coaches let go after win over Angels — ANAHEIM — What took months to develop and weeks to transpire has now become official. The Mets dismissed Willie Randolph and two coaches early Tuesday morning, bringing an abrupt end to the speculation that had enveloped the team all month.
Ben Shpigel / New York Times:
Mets Fire Manager Willie Randolph — ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Mets announced early Tuesday morning that they have fired Willie Randolph and replaced him with the bench coach Jerry Manuel. They also fired two of Randolph's coaches, the pitching coach Rick Peterson and the first-base coach Tom Nieto …
Discussion:
SPORTSbyBROOKS, Deadspin, Baseball Time in Arlington, Faith and Fear in Flushing, Walkoff Walk and iYankees
Mike Vaccaro / New York Post:
MIDNIGHT MASSACRE AN AMAZIN' ACT OF COWARDICE — The e-mail was time-stamped 3:14 a.m., Eastern time. In a simpler time, in a different world, maybe the Mets would have succeeded completely in this cowardly purge of their baseball team. Maybe then they would have been able to hold off …
Matthew Cerrone / MetsBlog.com:
Opinion: I Feel Dirty — As a Mets fan, I'm embarrassed this morning, and I feel a little dirty. — I understand why Willie Randolph was fired. In fact, due to the time I spend talking to people connected to the team, I am probably aware of why he was fired better than most people.
Jim Baumbach / Newsday:
Mets' handling of Willie cowardly — Cowards. — That's what the Mets upper management has become. Huge cowards who care more about appearance, public relations and their own personal reputations than the performance of their team. — Fire your manager via a mass e-mail to the media at 3:11 a.m.?
Discussion:
Baseball Musings
MLB.com:
Jerry Manuel named interim manager — ANAHEIM — The New York Mets today named Jerry Manuel interim manager, replacing Willie Randolph. Manuel, in his fourth season with the Mets, had been bench coach since 2006. The Mets also named Ken Oberkfell, Luis Aguayo and Dan Warthen to the coaching staff.
Anthony DiComo / MLB.com:
Mets sign, seal, deliver win for Pelfrey — Beltran homers twice; bullpen finishes job against Angels — ANAHEIM — Flashes to the recent past were inevitable late Monday night, when closer Billy Wagner took the mound, allowed a booming flyout and then put two runners on base with one out.
Discussion:
You can't script baseball
Will Leitch / Deadspin:Naked People Are Stridently Anti-Willie Randolph
Discussion:
New York Post, The Biz of Baseball, Unfiltered, EPIC CARNIVAL, ShysterBall, Lone Star Ball, Mets Geek and Hot Foot
Associated Press:
Hank Steinbrenner Blames N.L. Rules — The Yankees' loss of their ace, Chien-Ming Wang, for up to 10 weeks prompted the team co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner to chastise the National League for playing without a designated hitter. — “My only message is simple,” Steinbrenner said in Tampa …
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Anthony McCarron / NY Daily News:
A-Rod & Pete Rose are text pals! — Alex Rodriguez, needy superstar, wanted another baseball mentor. Pete Rose, hit king and pariah, needed a baseball outlet and a path to baseball legitimacy. Through the magic of text-messaging, the game's best active player and its all-time hit leader/controversy magnet have become e-confidantes.
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Joshua Robinson / New York Times:
A Knuckleballer Is Waiting to Rise — PAWTUCKET, R.I. — Six years after throwing his first knuckleball as a professional — the first of several to hit a batter in the head — Charlie Zink has come to terms with his rare and maddening skill. He accepts that all he can do is aim at his catcher's face mask …
Discussion:
ShysterBall
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Willie Bans / MLB.com:
Cashman looks in-house to help staff — Yankees GM sees Giese as potential replacement for Wang — NEW YORK — Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said he will look within the organization to find a starter to replace injured right-hander Chien-Ming Wang.
Discussion:
Bombers Beat
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Peter Abraham / The LoHud Yankees Blog:Wang out at least 10 weeks - likely more
Discussion:
Projo SoxBlog, New York Post, NJ.com, Yankees, MLB.com, MLB Rumors, The Sommer Frieze, NY Daily News, Can't Stop The Bleeding, Big Apple Sports, Bats, Babes Love Baseball, Baseball & The Boogie Down, Baseball Musings, Scott Proctor's Arm, Hot Stove New York, WasWatching.com, This Purist Bleeds Pinstripes, BASEBALL HOT CORNER, Walkoff Walk and The Bronx Block
DMZ / U.S.S. Mariner:
Our pitch to Antonetti … I'd like to encourage you to interview for the Mariner job, if you're contacted. It's a great gig, one of the best in baseball, and here's why. — First, Seattle. It's a great place to live. And unlike, say, New York, no one is going to throw rotten vegetables …
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Mel Antonen / USA Today:
Phillies' Howard goes deep twice in blasting of Red Sox — PHILADELPHIA — Ryan Howard hit two home runs and then legged out a triple to lead the Philadelphia Phillies' 8-2 victory against the Boston Red Sox Monday at Citizens Bank Park. — Howard was coming off his best three-game series of the season …
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Tulsa World:
Drillers earn first Arvest Ballpark win — Highlight: The Drillers scored four runs in the fifth off Northwest Arkansas starter Blake Johnson Monday night to pick up their first win at Arvest Ballpark in Springdale, Ark. Tulsa added two more runs in the eighth for the 6-3 victory.
Discussion:
Bottom9 Baseball
