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Peter Abraham / The LoHud Yankees Blog:
Game 156: Orioles at Yankees (with audio) — YANKEES (84-71) — ORIOLES (67-86) — Chris Waters (3-3, 4.75) has never faced any of the New York hitters. — Andy Pettitte (13-14, 4.57) vs. the Baltimore hitters. — Notes: The Yankees are 4,132-2,430 at Yankee Stadium. There have been 17 ties.
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John Perrotto / Baseball Prospectus:
Every Given Sunday — Winding Down — A few months ago, it appeared that there would be wholesale changes made among major league general managers in the offseason, but now that no longer seems to be such a certainty. One team that will definitely have a new GM in 2009 is the Phillies …
Discussion:
MLB Rumors
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Joe Sheehan / Baseball Prospectus:
No Fish Story in Tampa Bay — In their 11th season of play, after a decade of never winning 71 games, of never finishing above .500, and never coming close to contention in any year, the Tampa Bay Rays clinched a playoff spot yesterday with a 7-2 win over the Twins.
Discussion:
Bucs Dugout
John Nadel / Associated Press:
Dodgers lose in 11, lead down to 2 1-2 — LOS ANGELES (AP)—James Loney could only shake his head as he contemplated one of the Los Angeles Dodgers' most frustrating losses of the season. — Rich Aurilia's two-out, RBI single in the 11th inning lifted the San Francisco Giants a 1- victory …
Discussion:
Baseball Musings
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Michael Schwartz / MLB.com:
Manny belts two to sink wild Giants — Dodgers draw 11 free passes, shrink magic number to five — LOS ANGELES — Manny Ramirez powered the Dodgers to another victory on Saturday, hitting a pair of homers and driving in five in Los Angeles' 10-7 win over San Francisco at Dodger Stadium that reduced the club's magic number to five.
Discussion:
Sons of Steve Garvey
Pat Graham / Associated Press:
Young's 4 RBIs power Diamondbacks to win — DENVER (AP)—Around this time last September, the Arizona Diamondbacks were celebrating an NL West title in Colorado. Things are quite a bit different this season, with the Diamondbacks being on the other side of the chase.
David Lennon / Newsday:
METS NOTEBOOK: Simulated outing leads to another for Maine — ATLANTA - John Maine reported no problems after throwing 24 pitches during a simulated inning yesterday afternoon at Turner Field. And yet, the possibility of a return this season remains cloudy.
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Scott Merkin / MLB.com:
Sox stopped by Davies, remain 2 1/2 up — Offense unable to post runs in support of Floyd's outing — KANSAS CITY — A little bit of the White Sox swagger was on display on Friday night at Kauffman Stadium, during an impressive victory over the Royals. — As for the second game of this weekend set on Saturday?
Discussion:
Baseball Musings
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Scott Merkin / MLB.com:
Thome's 2009 option kicks in — Designated hitter's plate performance extends contract — KANSAS CITY — Jim Thome's $13 million contractual option for 2009 with the White Sox kicked in this weekend in Kansas City by virtue of his ninth-inning strikeout on Saturday night.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors
Jon Paul Morosi / Detroit Free Press:
Kyle Farnsworth deal not as rewarding — Free-agent value has dropped — When the Tigers acquired reliever Kyle Farnsworth for catcher Pudge Rodriguez in July, the deal seemed to include a bonus for Detroit. — Farnsworth, 1-2 with a 3.65 ERA at the time, appeared on course to become a Type B free agent.
John Lott / Posted Sports:
Jays notebook: Burnett remains mum about off-season plans — • A.J. Burnett brushed aside questions about whether his start against the Yankees next Wednesday will be his last in a Toronto Blue Jays uniform. — During a media session after Friday night's 4-3 loss to the Red Sox …
Adam Kilgore / Boston Globe:
Lineups, etc. — A few quick notes from the Red Sox clubhouse, where Sunday morning today meant some soothing tunes from Milli Vanilli and Amy Winehouse, among others. (While we're on music, allow Extra Bases to humbly recommend checking out Fleet Foxes, a melodic acoustic group from Seattle …
Discussion:
SOX & Dawgs
Troy E. Renck / Denver Post:
Rockies' priority: pitching — An anticipated coronation became a rude education. — The Rockies went into this season eyeing a first-ever division title and spent the last six months learning lessons. — Expectations, for one, are powerful. They can drive a team to unimaginable heights or create paralyzing pressure.
John Harper / NY Daily News:
Harper: Mets will make it, Pedro might not — ATLANTA - The Mets aren't going to need any help from Pedro Martinez to make it to October, and they should be glad for that, not just because of his 5.50 ERA, but because he sounds like a man who needs to somehow be rejuvenated, both physically and spiritually.
