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ESPN:
Blue Jays fire Gibbons, bring back Cito Gaston — The Toronto Blue Jays became the third team this week to fire their manager, relieving John Gibbons of his duties along with coaches Marty Pevey, Ernie Whitt and Gary Denbo, the team said Friday. — Former Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston …
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Baseball Musings, The Biz of Baseball, Walkoff Walk, Babes Love Baseball, Oriole Post, ShysterBall and Associated Press
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Alan Robinson / Associated Press:
Jays fire Gibbons, bring back Gaston — PITTSBURGH (AP)—The Toronto Blue Jays dipped back into their past to shake up a last-place team that has looked overmatched at times in the competitive AL East, firing manager John Gibbons on Friday and replacing him with two-time World Series winner Cito Gaston.
Curt Schilling / 38 Pitches:
Not a thing in the world to be upset about. — 22 years ago June the Boston Red Sox picked a Freshman Pitcher from Yavapai Junior College (the best JC team in the nation btw!) in the 2nd round of the (Last!) January Draft. — 3 World Series rings, 3k innings plus later, there's a chance it's all over.
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Boston Globe, SPORTSbyBROOKS, SOX & Dawgs, Can't Stop The Bleeding, Red Sox Monster, Fire Brand of the … and Center Field
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Roderick Boone / On the Yankees beat:
Gameday Live 74: Reds @ Yankees — Greetings everyone. Rod Boone live from the Stadium tonight as the Yankees look for their eighth straight win. They welcome the Reds here for the first time since the visitors from Cincy swept the 1976 World Series. — For starters: Mike Mussina …
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Willie Bans / MLB.com:
Mussina outdueled, Yanks' streak ends — Offense held to two runs by Cincinnati righty Volquez — NEW YORK — A tie-breaking two-run double by Cincinnati's Jolbert Cabrera off Mike Mussina with two outs in the fifth inning didn't just aid in snapping the Yankees' seven-game winning streak.
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iYankees
Associated Press:
MRI shows Zambrano has minor shoulder strain … CHICAGO (AP) — Big Z's shoulder pain might not be a big problem for the Chicago Cubs. — Star right-hander Carlos Zambrano has a minor strain in his right shoulder but no major structural damage, a team spokesman said after the Cubs' 4-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Friday.
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Associated Press
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Scott Merkin / MLB.com:
Guillen no fan of Wrigley Field — White Sox skipper pokes fun at The Friendly Confines — CHICAGO — A new chapter of the Cubs-White Sox rivalry, quite possibly the most intense regular-season matchups in all of baseball, couldn't be christened without a humorous shot fired Friday afternoon …
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Willie Randolph / NY Daily News:
Willie Randolph opens up after firing — Three and a half years and 555 games after it began, my dream of bringing a championship to the New York Mets officially expired a few minutes after midnight in Suite 1602 of the Westin Hotel in Costa Mesa, Calif. — You've heard of Black Friday?
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Jon Paul Morosi / Detroit Free Press:
Denny Bautista cut to make room for Zumaya — SAN DIEGO - For days, Tigers fans pondered the question: When Joel Zumaya comes back, which pitcher would be removed from the active roster? — The answer came this afternoon: Denny Bautista. — The team announced today …
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Bless You Boys
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Steve Gilbert / MLB.com:
Webb talks with D-backs put on hold — Arizona ace under contract through '09 with club option for '10 — MINNEAPOLIS — Contract extension talks between the D-backs and ace pitcher Brandon Webb have been tabled for the time being, a source told MLB.com on Friday.
Jim Salisbury / Philly.com:
Trade? Phils just need Myers to improve — We've reached that time of the year when everyone who gives a hoot about the Phillies likes to climb up on his stump and shout about how the team needs to make a big trade for a starting pitcher. — And while we certainly believe that the Phils …
Gregg Bell / Associated Press:
McLaren: Infighting doomed Mariners — SEATTLE (AP)—When the Seattle Mariners fired manager John McLaren at 9 a.m. on Thursday, he turned to the executives and friends who had just taken his dream job away—and laughed. — “We could have done this at three in the morning and done it right …
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John Hickey / Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
M's heat up in Atlanta — Riggleman's first game as manager a rout of Braves — ATLANTA — The hit John McLaren sought for 12 weeks came on the first day he wasn't around to enjoy it. — McLaren waited for a big rip with lots of men on base, a bullet that would break open a close game.
Discussion:
Lookout Landing
Associated Press:
Federowicz's ninth-inning slam keeps Tar Heels alive at CWS — OMAHA (AP) — Tim Federowicz's grand slam in the top of the ninth inning Friday night sent North Carolina to a 7-3 victory over LSU in a College World Series elimination game disrupted twice in two days by rain.
Discussion:
Baseball America
Teddy Greenstein / Chicago Tribune:
Jay Mariotti rips Ozzie Guillen, Sun-Times colleagues on WTTW — The ultimate team player—that's how you think of Jay Mariotti, right? The same Jay Mariotti who described his Sun-Times colleagues as “soft” for declining to rip White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen.