Top News:
Tyler Kepner / New York Times:
Damon Sits, and Rest of Yanks Might as Well Have — MINNEAPOLIS — The Yankees have been hopeless lately with runners in scoring position. Yet when Manager Joe Girardi filled out his lineup Monday, he decided to rest the American League's leading hitter, Johnny Damon.
Discussion:
New York Post, NY Daily News, NJ.com, New Jersey Online, Twinkie Town, Lady At The Bat and iYankees
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Steven Goldman / New York Sun:
Yankee Lineup Card Signals Dark Omens for Season — With the Yankees entering last night's action having gone 2-5 on their current road trip, including being swept by the Angels in Anaheim, it's difficult not to look for and find signs that the end is nigh.
Los Angeles Times:
These could be the unkindest cuts of all for Dodgers — Brad Penny gets a Mohawk, Manny Ramirez is about to lose his dreadlocks, and the Dodgers can't seem to stay above .500. Coincidence? — T.J. Simers — Twenty-two home games remaining, the Phillies are in town, and these are hairy times for the Dodgers.
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Wallace Matthews / Newsday:
Manny being hairy, and Torre won't budge — There's a showdown coming between the fairly-new manager and his brand-spanking-new superstar outfielder, and it's nothing a tree surgeon or a guy with a hedge clipper couldn't settle. — Call it the Dreadlock Deadlock, and it is playing nightly at Dodger Stadium until further notice.
Marty Noble / MLB.com:
Mets' loss prompts changes in bullpen — Kunz to get chance to close; Maine could later fill role — NEW YORK — The disabled list and the turn of the pitching rotation stand in the way of what Jerry Manuel now swears he would do if those obstacles didn't exist — use John Maine as the Mets' closer until Billy Wagner returns.
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New York Post:
DESPERATE MANUEL WANTS CHANGE — FORGET about Gandhi. Forget about Martin Luther King. Jerry Manuel, a disciple of their calm, rational thinking, has found something at which even the great pacifist would grow intolerant: the Mets bullpen. — Manuel dismissed any lingering patience …
Sports Illustrated:
Garcia to sign with Tigers … Freddy Garcia has agreed to a contract with the Tigers, SI.com has learned. Garcia had been a free agent, and has not pitched since June of 2007 with the Philadelphia Phillies, when shoulder problems limited him to just 11 starts.
David Laurila / Unfiltered:
Five Minutes with Ike Davis — The 18th- overall pick in this year's draft, Ike Davis is waiting for his power to emerge in Brooklyn. The left-handed-hitting first sacker has yet to go deep in 151 professional at-bats, but there's little doubt that the son of former Twins and Yankees reliever Ron Davis …
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com
Joel Sherman / Hardball:
3 UP: Melky, Kunz and Dunn — 1. The Yankees were held scorleess against the Twins to open a three-game series. It marked the 38th time that the Yanks scored two or fewer runs. That is the second most in the AL. This was the team that... Cabrera began the game with a .221 average against southpaws.
Discussion:
Sliding Into Home
Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Mailbag: Should the Nats spend more? — Reporter Bill Ladson answers Nationals fans' questions … Will the Nationals spend some money to acquire Major League players this offseason? I appreciate them building the farm system, but I can't wait forever. What do you think of trying to sign a big-dollar player?
Marc Topkin / St. Petersburg Times:
Rays' Kazmir says mechanical tweak should improve performance — OAKLAND, Calif. — LHP Scott Kazmir said a small adjustment in his stride should result in a big improvement in his pitching tonight. — Kazmir has been a mess lately, struggling to throw strikes due to problems with mechanics.
Discussion:
DRaysBay
Chris De Luca / Chicago Sun Times:
Williams figures M's lefty likely not the right move — Though general manager Ken Williams admits he is never satisfied with his roster, it's becoming increasingly clear the White Sox will fill Jose Contreras' spot in the rotation from within instead of making a waiver trade.
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Jeremy Sandler / canada.com:
Jays' Stewart disappointed to be cut adrift — TORONTO - Shannon Stewart stopped mid-speech, searching for the right word to convey his emotions. — “Another way to end my Blue Jay . . . experience,” he said over the phone from Florida. — The 34-year-old Stewart was released …
Discussion:
Projo Sox Blog
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Amalie Benjamin / Boston Globe:
It's a joint decision as rotation turns to Zink — CHICAGO - Charlie Zink had long suspected that no team, even the Red Sox, would be able to justify having two knuckleball pitchers in the rotation. So it would make perfect sense to him that, when Tim Wakefield goes on the disabled list today, it will be Zink who fills the slot.
Discussion:
Hartford Courant, Center Field, The Bottom Line, Surviving Grady, SOX & Dawgs and Baseball Musings
Paul Daugherty / Cincinnati.com:
Dunn too much to afford — Defense, demeanor, salary too costly — The Reds, who are exciting only when they're not playing, traded Adam Dunn to the Arizona Diamondbacks Monday for a 23-year-old Class-A starting pitcher named Dallas Buck who, in another life, died in old Western movies.
Discussion:
East Valley Tribune
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Mark Sheldon / MLB.com:Reds send Dunn to Diamondbacks
Discussion:
Redleg Nation, Red Hot Mama, Blue Collar Baseball, The Transaction Guy, Baseball Prospectus and 6-4-2
Mike Berardino / Sun-Sentinel:
Olsen says sore ankle passes test — MIAMI GARDENS - Scott Olsen is naturally optimistic, but even he started to worry a bit about his sprained right ankle when he hobbled off the team's charter from New York on Sunday night. — “It hurt when I got off the plane,” Olsen said. “It looked bad.
Discussion:
FishStripes
Jordan Bastian / MLB.com:
Richmond to 'pen as Jays recall Litsch — Odd-man-out Parrish optioned to Triple-A to make room — DETROIT— The Blue Jays ruffled a few feathers across Canada when they summoned Scott Richmond from the Minor Leagues and added him to their rotation last month.
