Top News:
Marty Noble / MLB.com:
Dominant Santana helps Mets keep up — Schneider adds two jacks, helps club stay on course in NL East — WASHINGTON — The visiting clubhouse was, as usual, a beehive of activity. Hours remained before the Mets would engage the Nationals on Thursday night.
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Matthew Cerrone / MetsBlog.com:
postGame: Mets 7 Nationals 2 — The Mets (85-67) defeated the Nationals (58-95) by the score of 7 to 2 in Washington, D.C., tonight. — For a recap, boxscore and stats from tonight's game, click here. — Lastings Milledge misjudged a hit by Daniel Murphy in the first inning, which allowed Jose Reyes to score the game's first run.
John Harper / NY Daily News:Johan Santana lets Jerry Manuel wear his poker face
Discussion:
24 Hours From Suicide
Howard Fendrich / Associated Press:Santana, Schneider power Mets over Nats
Discussion:
The Good Phight
Scott Merkin / MLB.com:
White Sox drop series in New York — Vazquez struggles as AL Central lead is trimmed to 1 1/2 games — NEW YORK — It took Ozzie Guillen one disparaging word to describe his team's 9-2 loss before 53,152 at Yankee Stadium on Thursday night. — That same word could have described …
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Ken Mandel / MLB.com:
Burrell lifts Phils to seventh straight — Slumping outfielder's two-run shot the difference vs. Braves — ATLANTA — Pat Burrell struck out five times Tuesday. — Five times, and looked bad doing it. He stroked a single on Wednesday, but not much else.
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Jordan Bastian / MLB.com:
Marcum undergoes MRI on right arm — Jays awaiting second opinion from Dr. James Andrews — TORONTO — The Blue Jays have performed their own tests on the ailing right arm of Shaun Marcum and have drawn their own conclusions about the extent of the starter's injury.
Discussion:
Bluebird Banter
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Anthony McCarron / NY Daily News:
Joe Girardi mulls Bernie Williams for spring training stint with Yankees — Joe Girardi has long wanted Bernie Williams to return to Yankee Stadium. If the manager has his way, Williams' appearance at Sunday's finale ceremonies will only be the beginning of the former center fielder being around the team again.
Discussion:
Sliding Into Home
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Ken Gurnick / MLB.com:
On Loney's hit, Dodgers prevail in 12 — Bases-loaded RBI single trims LA's magic number to seven — PITTSBURGH — If things break just right, the Dodgers can mark their 50th anniversary in Los Angeles by clinching the division title at home after edging the Pirates on Thursday in 12 innings …
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Jenifer Langosch / MLB.com:
Traffic stop surprises Morgan — Police pull over outfielder for heavily tinted windows — PITTSBURGH — Nyjer Morgan found himself in the middle of a scene with Pittsburgh police outside of PNC Park in the early-morning hours that resulted from heavily tinted windows on Morgan's black SUV.
Discussion:
Bugs & Cranks
Bill Chastain / MLB.com:
Rays unable to protect late lead — Twins' five-run ninth off Wheeler, bullpen erases five homers — ST. PETERSBURG — All season long, the back end of the Rays' bullpen has been a place where opposing rallies have gone to die. — Entering Thursday night's game, the Rays had a record …
Joe Capozzi / Palm Beach Post:
Marlins beat Astros for eighth straight win — MIAMI GARDENS — Now comes the tough part. — The red-hot Marlins won their eighth straight game Thursday night, completing a sweep of the Astros with an 8-1 victory without injured All-Star shortstop Hanley Ramirez.
David Andriesen / Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
Bedard's injury seldom leaves players the same — Of 36 pitchers with torn labrum, only one returned to earlier form — A double play is known as “a pitcher's best friend.” A torn labrum should probably be known as his worst enemy. — A broken arm, a torn rotator cuff, even the dreaded …
Joe Strauss / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Kennedy seeks trade for '09 — CINCINNATI — Convinced manager Tony La Russa no longer considers him an everyday player, Cardinals second baseman Adam Kennedy has asked that the club trade him rather than bring him back for the final installment of his three-year, $10 million contract.
Rick Gano / Associated Press:
Cubs score 4 in 9th, beat Brewers in 12 — CHICAGO (AP)—Geovany Soto and the Chicago Cubs can almost taste the champagne after one of their sweetest and most improbable victories of the season. — Soto hit a tying three-run homer with two out in the ninth inning, Derrek Lee singled …
Discussion:
Bleed Cubbie Blue
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ESPN:
LYMAN WESLEY BOSTOCK, JR. BELOVED HUSBAND-SON NOV. 22, 1950-SEPT. 24, 1978 — “I used to go and kneel at his grave and cry,” she says. “And one day I went and I said — it was like a voice was speaking to me — I said, 'You know what? He's not here. Why are you doing this to yourself?'
Discussion:
BBTF's Baseball Primer …
Brittany Ghiroli / MLB.com:
Rays could shift Upton to right field — Maddon pondering idea to take stress off center fielder's leg — ST. PETERSBURG — B.J. Upton took batting practice prior to Thursday's game, and while he stated his availability to pinch-hit, the Rays could explore another option to get the center fielder …
Discussion:
DRaysBay
