Top News:
Ken Gurnick / MLB.com:
Torre in different place from Yanks — Skipper on cusp of in playoffs, looking out at former team — LOS ANGELES — Estranged Yankees Joe Torre and Don Mattingly are very much alive for postseason glory with the Dodgers, while their former team is done after a 13-year run.
Discussion:
Sliding Into Home
RELATED:
Buster Olney / ESPN:
Yankees' fall from grace stems from years of draft neglect … George Steinbrenner lorded over the staff meetings he attended, and as the Yankees prepared for the amateur draft in the spring of 2000, Steinbrenner noted aloud that Jorge Posada was moving closer to free agency.
Discussion:
Sliding Into Home
Bryan Hoch / MLB.com:
Steinbrenner questions divisional setup — The Sporting News to publish Yanks' co-chairman's comments — TORONTO — The divisional setup in Major League Baseball is at the top of Hank Steinbrenner's concerns with the state of the game, according to a column written by the Yankees co-chairman that will appear on newsstands this week.
Duk / Yahoo! Sports:Hank Steinbrenner cries over Yanks' great misfortune in AL East
Discussion:
Sox and Pinstripes, Baseball Musings, The Mighty Quinn Media Machine and Sons of Steve Garvey
Paul Sullivan / Chicago Tribune:
Lou Piniella cites ‘toll’ of managing — NEW YORK - Cubs manager Lou Piniella is only one victory shy of his 1,700th career triumph as manager, but he seems to be weary of the long grind that accompanies the season. — “It has been a tough year,” Piniella told the New York Daily News.
RELATED:
Anthony McCarron / NY Daily News:Johan Santana's broken-bat hit sparks Mets' rally in 6-2 win over Cubs
Chad Finn / Boston Globe:
Francona: Drew will start tonight — When the Red Sox take the field against the Cleveland Indians tonight at Fenway Park, J.D. Drew will be in the lineup for the first time since Aug. 17. — Manager Terry Francona revealed this afternoon during his weekly interview with the …
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Stan McNeal / Sporting News:
Tigers' Todd Jones to announce retirement — After 16 seasons, 319 saves and approximately 250 columns for Sporting News, Todd Jones is retiring from baseball. — Jones, who writes about his decision to call it quits in the latest issue of Sporting News magazine, is expected …
Jeff Passan / Yahoo! Sports:
Twins dig long ball, at least for one night — MINNEAPOLIS - Inside the Minnesota Twins dugout, they figured the roar was for Jason Kubel. His teammates were telling him to take a curtain call after his second home run, and everybody was so busy patting Kubel on the back and slapping …
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Bill Chastain / MLB.com:
Rays have two ALDS sellouts — First playoff games at Tropicana Field prove hot tickets — BALTIMORE — The Rays have sold out the first two playoff games that will be played at Tropicana Field. — A limited number of tickets will still be available for fans who make deposits on 2009 season tickets.
Discussion:
The Griddle
RELATED:
Sabernomics:
A Divorce on the Horizon? — Terance Moore reveals some infighting within the Braves organization involving some guys at the very top. … I'm not surprised with a clash of egos, but I am surprised that this has gone so public. Aaron wasn't caught off guard by a good question.
RELATED:
Terence Moore / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:Aaron recalls making call on Chipper
Discussion:
Talking Chop
Buster Olney / ESPN.com:
Sources: Mets GM Minaya to get 4-year extension … Omar Minaya will receive a four-year extension to continue as general manager of the New York Mets, sources said on Tuesday. The deal is all but done, but it is not known when the extension will be formally announced.
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Geoff Baker / Seattle Times:
Rebuilding the Mariners | M's puzzle tougher to reshape with big contracts — And a nervous Kenji Johjima seemed to be dying a little inside as he spoke... It was the night the Mariners saw their 2008 season die for good. — And a nervous Kenji Johjima seemed to be dying a little inside …
Bill Ballew / Baseball America:
South Atlantic League Top 20 Prospects — Only 19, Bumgarner pitches like a vet — Youth was served throughout the South Atlantic League in 2008, a season in which teenage talent dominated the low Class A circuit more than at any time in recent memory. League champion Augusta set the tone …
David Murphy / Philly.com:
Your 2008 Playoff Roster — Here's a short story about a guy named Steve Green. I shared it briefly in the comments section of the Happ post yesterday. Steve Green has pitched six innings in his major league career. He's currently a 30-year-old pitcher for Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Discussion:
Phillies Nation
Ed Sherman / ESPN:
Sadly, one play defined Merkle's career, life — WATERTOWN, Wis. — Fred Merkle was born in Watertown, Wis., in 1888, but he spent only one year there before his family moved to Toledo, Ohio. — Still, that didn't prevent Watertown resident David Stalker from claiming Merkle as the town's very own.
Gerry Fraley / Sporting News:
Revitalized Lidge ready to face postseason demons — This qualifies as supreme irony. — Because Brad Lidge flamed out in the 2005 postseason with Houston, Philadelphia could be a force in the 2008 postseason. — The Phillies go into tonight's game against Atlanta with a magic number …
Maury Brown / The Biz of Baseball:
Nationals On Pace to Set Attendance Low for New Ballpark — Nationals Park, sparsely attended … In sports, we've all heard this saying at the end of a season: — “They have a mathematical chance.” — And, while that chance is normally referring to teams straining to make the postseason …
Discussion:
Walkoff Walk
Bob Keisser / Long Beach Press-Telegram:
Lederer following in dad's footsteps — Fifty years ago, George Lederer reported to Vero Beach as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat writer for this newspaper in the club's first season in Los Angeles. He spent 11 years with the Dodgers, their best 11 years to those who grew up in the Koufax, Drysdale and Wills era.
