Top 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
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Mike Fitzpatrick / Associated Press:
Mets rally, gain ground in NL East — 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
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.”
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 …
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.
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.
Kat O'Brien / Newsday:Is Mo hurt or not? — Returns to NY for shoulder MRI; Yankees say it's not serious
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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Richard Griffin / Toronto Star:Jays might be better off without Burnett
Discussion:
Drunk Jays Fans
Michael Vega / Boston Globe:
More or less, he was spot on — Lester in the zone in light workload — Jon Lester knew he wouldn't go long in his final start before the postseason, so he made the most out of his six innings. (Jim Davis/Globe Staff) — It was the only time Terry Francona said he ever rooted against Jon Lester.
Discussion:
SOX & Dawgs
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Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com:
Wet weather could impact races — Mets' farewell to Shea Stadium festivities in jeopardy — As if the National League East race and the Wild Card picture were not fuzzy enough, Mother Nature may deal Major League Baseball another dastardly card before the postseason begins on Wednesday.
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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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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.”
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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) …
Roch Kubatko / MASN Online:
Cakes on Moose — We debated last week, right here at The School of Roch, whether Mike Mussina belonged in the Hall of Fame. — Who better to ask than a Hall of Famer who's seen him pitch plenty of times? — I just got off the phone with Jim Palmer, not realizing that he's on the West Coast …
