Top News:
John Romano / St. Petersburg Times:
Rays have lost fighting spirit — BOSTON — Understand, there is no shame in being caught from behind by the Red Sox. — Boston has the bigger payroll and the greater pedigree, and most of the world has probably assumed the defending World Series champions would eventually end up on top of the American League East.
Discussion:
SOX & Dawgs
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Bill Chastain / MLB.com:
Rays see lead in AL East dwindle — Offense shut down at Fenway against dominant pitching — BOSTON — Monday night's game had a familiar theme when the Rays took yet another loss at Fenway Park. — The Red Sox took the game, 3-0, in front of a sellout crowd of 37,662 …
Steve Buckley / Boston Herald:
Club calls up catcher George Kottaras for 1st big league stint — A little more than two years ago, the Red Sox [team stats] effectively announced they were conceding the 2006 season when they traded veteran left-hander David Wells to the San Diego Padres. — But now, as the 2008 Red Sox close …
Discussion:
Associated Press
Amalie Benjamin / Boston Globe:
Ortiz: ‘My hand is not OK’
Ortiz: ‘My hand is not OK’
Discussion:
The Bottom Line, ESPN, Fenway West, SOX & Dawgs, Baseball Digest Daily Blog and Baseball Musings
Marty Noble / MLB.com:
Wagner to have Tommy John surgery — Mets closer has tear in MCL, expected to miss one year — NEW YORK — The pitcher the Mets put in charge of happy endings 2 1/2 years ago has come to an unhappy and premature ending for this season — perhaps for his career.
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Dan Graziano / New Jersey Online:
Report: New York Mets' Billy Wagner to have surgery, could miss 2009 season
Report: New York Mets' Billy Wagner to have surgery, could miss 2009 season
Bryan Hoch / MLB.com:
Girardi will return in '09 — Steinbrenner: Manager will be back for second season — ANAHEIM — The Yankees appear likely to miss the postseason for the first time in more than a decade, but the club plans to retain Joe Girardi as manager for the 2009 season.
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Associated Press:
Yankees: Girardi ‘will be back’ as manager in '09 — TAMPA, Fla. — The New York Yankees plan to retain Joe Girardi as manager next year. — “Joe will be back,” co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner said Monday at the club's spring training complex. “He's done everything he could. That's the bottom line.”
Kevin Horan / MLB.com:
Phils prevail, trim Mets' NL East lead — Offense gives Blanton needed lift; Philly 1 1/2 games back — PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies' bats bailed out pitcher Joe Blanton after a rocky start, lifting Philadelphia to an 8-6 win over the Marlins on Monday night.
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Anthony DiComo / MLB.com:
Registration for Mets playoff tix opens — Opportunity to secure first-round tickets runs through Sept. 15 — NEW YORK — Though the Mets may have plenty of work to do before they can play in October, preparations for the playoffs are beginning now. — The team on Monday announced …
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Associated Press:
Giants' Lincecum pitches another gem to sink struggling D'backs — SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Tim Lincecum struck out nine, Bengie Molina hit a three-run homer and San Francisco sent the slumping Arizona Diamondbacks to their fourth straight defeat with a 6-2 victory Monday night.
Associated Press:
Rain postpones Blue-Jays-White Sox — CHICAGO (AP) — Rain forced the postponement of Monday night's Toronto Blue Jays at Chicago White Sox's game. It will be made up as part of a split doubleheader beginning at 1:05 Tuesday. — The four-game series that was to have started at U.S. Cellular …
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Adam McCalvy / MLB.com:
Torres has rough ninth in loss to Reds — Kendall, Hardy go deep; Bush solid in eight innings — MILWAUKEE — If Brewers manager Ned Yost did not feel comfortable with his team's hold of the National League Wild Card going into Monday's game, imagine how he felt afterward.
Matthew Leach / MLB.com:
Pujols leaning toward elbow surgery — Slugger dealing with ligament tear since 2003 — ST. LOUIS — Slugger Albert Pujols told a local television station on Monday that he may be leaning toward undergoing Tommy John ligament-replacement surgery on his right elbow after the season ends.
On the Yankees beat:
Gameday Live 144: Yankees at Angels — Good evening Yankees enthusiasts, I'm Chris Mascaro and I'll be bringing you all of tonight's live game action, as the Yanks (76-67) open a three-game set in Anaheim against the Angels (86-56). — The Yankees are in the midst of a marathon 10-day road trip …
Jason Beck / MLB.com:
Sheffield hits Majors' 250,000th homer — Milestone dinger a grand slam against Athletics' Gonzalez — DETROIT — Gary Sheffield still needs a few home runs to get to his career milestone. In getting closer on Monday, however, his two-homer game reached a Major League mark that has been 133 years in the making.
Jeff Birnbaum / MLB.com:
Oswalt, Ethier share NL's weekly honors — Astros starter, Dodgers outfielder recognized for performance — Baseball season has entered the September home stretch, and the Dodgers and Astros both find themselves in the thick of the playoff hunt with three weeks to go.
Maury Brown / The Biz of Baseball:
At Current Pace, MLB Will Not Have Fifth Consecutive Attendance Record — Major League Baseball has enjoyed four straight seasons of record paid attendance, but at the current pace, the league will be coming in just below last year's record figure. — As of Saturday, Sept. 6 …
Discussion:
ShysterBall