Top News:
Peter Abraham / The LoHud Yankees Blog:
Cranky, cranky, everybody is cranky — I'll try to explain this as simply as I can. — Before the game, Joe Girardi told us that Mariano Rivera went back to New York to get his standard end-of-the-season physical. He wasn't going to pitch anyway, the manager said, because he had a “cranky body.”
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Tyler Kepner / New York Times:
Rivera Is Aching, but Yankees Can't Agree Where It Hurts — TORONTO — Mariano Rivera pitched four times in five days before the Yankees were eliminated from playoff contention this week. On Thursday, he left the team to return to New York for a magnetic resonance imaging exam on his right shoulder.
Discussion:
New York Post, The LoHud Yankees Blog, My Pinstripes, Projo Sox Blog and River Ave. Blues
Bryan Hoch / MLB.com:
Giambi appreciates time in pinstripes — Wild ride with Yankees could be coming to end for slugger — TORONTO — Jason Giambi is aware that he may be putting on his Yankees uniform for the final time this weekend, ending a dizzying seven-year run in pinstripes filled with ups and downs.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors
George A. King III / New York Post:
GIAMBI WANTS TO REMAIN WITH YANKEES — TORONTO - The Yankees haven't made Jason Giambi an offer, but according to the first baseman, they have been asking what he wants to do next year. — “I talked to Cash (GM Brian Cashman), and he asked me if I was interested (in returning) …
Kat O'Brien / Newsday:Is Mo hurt or not? — Returns to NY for shoulder MRI; Yankees say it's not serious
Mark Herrmann / Newsday:
Rain could scramble Mets' schedule — If there is anything harder to predict than how the National League wild-card race will end, it is when it will end. An ominous forecast for New York for Friday night could mean a doubleheader Saturday — and another rainout then could bring a new meaning to “wild.”
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Mike Fitzpatrick / Associated Press:
Walk-off win helps Mets' playoff hopes — NEW YORK (AP)—With a desperate rally in the rain, Carlos Beltran and the New York Mets kept their playoff destiny in their own hands. — Beltran singled home the winning run with two outs in the ninth inning and New York beat the Chicago Cubs 7-6 …
Discussion:
Mets Geek, Blogging Baseball, The Musings and Prophecies …, My Summer Family and NY Daily News
Marty Noble / MLB.com:
Pedro tips his cap to Mets fans — In what could be his final Shea start, righty solid against Cubs — NEW YORK — If the Mets' season ends this weekend or in a tiebreaker game on Monday, Shea Stadium probably had its final glimpse of Pedro Martinez pitching in a home white uniform.
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com
Marty Noble / MLB.com:
Mets show cool under pressure — Beltran delivers game-winner, Mets now one back in NL East — NEW YORK — It was merely a slam they had witnessed, nothing grand about it. The baseball left the bat of Ryan Braun and instantly tightened the race for the National League Wild Card.
Discussion:
Mets Geek
Joe Capozzi / Palm Beach Post:
Marlins relish spoiler role — WASHINGTON — The Marlins didn't plan on missing the playoffs again this season, but they're at least hoping their season ends like it did in 2007 - by going to New York and eliminating the Mets. — “Anytime you have a chance to knock a big team …
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Juan C. Rodriguez / Sun-Sentinel:
Marlins aim to reprise Mets KO — Situation similar for another finale series playoff coup de grace — WASHINGTON - A year later, the memories haven't faded for the Marlins. Scott Olsen even recalled having pizza in the Shea Stadium visitors' clubhouse after that final regular-season win.
Jordan Bastian / MLB.com:
Halladay goes distance for No. 20 — Ace gives vintage performance in Jays' final home game — TORONTO — It seemed fitting that Roy Halladay would be on the mound for the Blue Jays' final home game this season. With Rogers Centre's dome open to welcome in the warm Toronto night on Thursday …
Discussion:
BBTF's Baseball Primer …
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Bill Conlin / Philly.com:
Brace yourself for wild weekend in baseball's homestretch — IMAGINE THE drama. Imagine the collective mass of several million lumps very high in several million throats. — Imagine the not-quite-final National League East standings showing that after 162 games the Phillies and Mets are tied for first place with 91-71 records.
Discussion:
Bats
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Darren Everson / Wall Street Journal:
Baseball's Luckiest Team — The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the team with the best record in baseball, have much worth admiring. A dominant bullpen. A strong pitching rotation. A first-rate farm system. — What they truly lead the league in, though, is luck.
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Kelly Thesier / MLB.com:
Twins take first on Casilla's walk-off hit — Second baseman singles in 10th to complete sweep of Sox — MINNEAPOLIS — The jubilant way that the Twins jumped into a pile following Alexi Casilla's game-winning single on Thursday night made them look like a team that had just clinched a playoff spot.
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Thomas Boswell / Washington Post:
Nats Are in Danger of Losing More Than Just Games — It's hard to lose 100 games. The St. Louis Cardinals haven't done it since 1908. The lousy Montreal Expos, after their initial expansion season, only did it once in their remaining 35 years in Canada.
Discussion:
Balls, Sticks, & Stuff, Oleanders and Morning Glories, Fire Jim Bowden and William World News
Kary Booher / Baseball America:
Brackman Kicks Off HWB — 2007 first-rounder makes pro debut, finally — Out in Hawaii Winter Baseball, Yankees' 2007 first-round draft pick Andrew Brackman already has his eyes on grabbing a surfboard and hanging 10. — Well, that and finally launching his pro career come Saturday night.
Joe Cowley / Chicago Sun Times:
Ozzie fires back at Cabrera — MINNEAPOLIS — White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen wouldn't fault Orlando Cabrera for the shortstop's latest finger-pointing. — As Guillen said Thursday, that's what happens when a player “thinks he's better than what he really is.”
