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Wallace Matthews / Newsday:
No sense of relief in this Mets victory — At second base, Jose Reyes and Luis Castillo leaped gracefully into the air like a couple of ballet dancers and exchanged a triumphant high-five as if they had just won the World Series. But in the Mets dugout, Jerry Manuel didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
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Ken Mandel / MLB.com:
Happ shuts down Braves — Left-hander throws six scoreless for first big league win — ATLANTA — A few game balls rested on the top shelf of J.A. Happ's locker, next to a few tickets from Turner Field and a lineup card devoid of discernable creases. — He coolly turned in six scoreless …
Marty Noble / MLB.com:
Homers trump ‘pen woes in Mets’ win — Relief corps makes it interesting, but bats lead charge over Nats — WASHINGTON — It was something less than the manager had sought. Jerry Manuel had ordered up a shutout Wednesday afternoon. — “Nine innings of shutout ball — I won't take anything less …
Mark Newman / MLB.com:
MLB reveals 2009 schedule — Next season features old rivalries, new parks and more — The 2009 Major League Baseball season: A late start and the probability of November baseball; two grand openings in New York, one grand re-opening in Kansas City and one farewell season in Minnesota …
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Roderick Boone / Newsday:Fans stealing Yankee Stadium mementos face arrest
Discussion:
Bronx Banter
Fred Goodall / Associated Press:
Rays rout Red Sox 10-3, lead East by 2 — ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP)—Baseball's feel-good story of the year is on the verge of getting even better. — The AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays beat the Boston Red Sox 10-3 Wednesday night, moving closer to their first playoff berth with another …
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Bill Chastain / MLB.com:
Aybar leads way in Rays' rout — Three early homers chase Sox's Wakefield in series clincher — ST. PETERSBURG — Years from now, there's a good chance the Rays will look back on the just-completed series with the Red Sox and fondly remember how they made their bones.
Tony Massarotti / Boston Globe:
Sox to consult specialists on Lowell — Unsurprisingly, Mike Lowell was sore today. The question now is whether Lowell's hip has suffered more damage that would prevent him from helping the Red Sox the balance of the way. — Prior to tonight's series finale between the Sox and Tampa Bay Rays …
Scott Merkin / MLB.com:
Richard solid, but White Sox fall — Chicago maintains 2 1/2-game lead on second-place Minnesota — NEW YORK — A number of White Sox players gathered in front of a big-screen television placed front and center in the visitors' clubhouse at Yankee Stadium following New York's 5-1 victory on Wednesday night.
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Associated Press:
Ichiro ties MLB record for 200-hit seasons — KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki matched Willie Keeler's major league record of eight straight 200-hit seasons Wednesday night, beating out on infield single in the eighth inning for his third hit against Kansas City.
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Anthony Witrado / Brewers Blog:
Sheets' elbow pain has lingered, not structural — Chicago - Even when something finally went right for the sagging Milwaukee Brewers, it came with a large dose of bad news. — The Brewers finally won a game Wednesday night, toppling the Chicago Cubs, 6-2, at Wrigley Field but might …
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MLB FanHouse
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John Hickey / Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
Bedard could miss 6-9 months — KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Given his general demeanor, Erik Bedard wasn't about to spend much of the past three months talking about his injuries. He's not big on talking, and what would have been the point? Bedard couldn't pitch, his left shoulder was sore and it wasn't getting better.
Ken Gurnick / MLB.com:
Dodgers outslugged by Pirates — Billingsley lasts 4 2/3 innings; Nomar reinjures left knee — PITTSBURGH — The Dodgers, who won a game earlier this year without a hit, had 18 of them Wednesday night and lost. — In a real mess of a game, Adam LaRoche slugged two homers with five RBIs …
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Dodger Thoughts
Dejan Kovacevic / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Pirates Notebook: LaRoche, team face questions — Center fielder Nate McLouth attempts to corral a ball hit by Los Angeles' Casey Blake as it caroms off the wall last night at PNC Park. Blake wound up with a triple — one of his three hits. — The Pirates face what some might …
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MLB Rumors
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Joe Capozzi / Palm Beach Post:
Ramirez exits win with bad shoulder — NL East standings Team W-L Pct GB — Philadelphia 85-67 .559 - — New York 84-67 .556 1/2 — Florida 79-72 .523 51/2 NL wild-card standings — New York 84-67 .556 - — Milwaukee 84-68 .553 1/2 — Houston 80-71 .530 4 — Florida 79-72 .523 5
Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
Offseason Outlook: Atlanta Braves — By Tim Dierkes [September 17 at 10:43pm CST] — Next up in our Offseason Outlook series, the Braves. Here's how they set up for '09 using internal options only: — C - Brian McCann - $3.5MM — C - Clint Sammons - $400K — 1B - Casey Kotchman - $1.45MM+
Joel Sherman / Hardball:
3 UP: Joba, Giambi/Abreu and Epstein — 1. The Yankees are strongly weighing sending Joba Chamberlain to some form of extra pitching — likely either the Arizona Fall League or the Instructional League — as a way to further build his inning load this season to better prepare him to start in 2009, Hardball has learned.
