Top News:
Jon Heyman / Sports Illustrated:
Mets skipper Manuel agrees to return — Jerry Manuel has agreed to return as New York Mets manager, SI.com has confirmed. Manuel will get a two year contract, plus a club option for a third season. — When Manuel took over as interim manager for the fired Willie Randolph in mid-June …
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Andrew Marchand / ESPN.com:
Valentine all ears if Mets unable to sign Manuel — If the New York Mets are unable to sign Jerry Manuel to be their manager, Bobby Valentine sounds interested in returning to Queens. — Valentine is currently managing Chiba Lotte in Japan's professional league.
Joe DeMayo / Mike Silva's NY Baseball Digest:Bobby Valentine would take the Mets job?
Discussion:
SPORTSbyBROOKS
Bill Shaikin / Los Angeles Times:
Angels won't walk away with a victory — Despite facing Matsuzaka, who walks a lot of hitters, they don't plan to work the count in Game 2. — This could be the rare matchup that drives the purists and and the stat-heads nuts. Live from Anaheim: The team most likely to swing at a bad pitch …
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Adam Kilgore / Boston Globe:Santana by the numbers — ANAHEIM, Calif. - The Red Sox …
Discussion:
Over the Monster
Marc Topkin / St. Petersburg Times:
Injured eye forces Pena from game — ST. PETERSBURG — The irritation in 1B Carlos Pena's left eye Wednesday night was nothing like the pain he went through taking himself out of Thursday's game after two innings. — Pena was relaxing at home early Wednesday night when he felt something in his left eye and rubbed it.
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Nick Cafardo / Boston Globe:
Pena scratched — ST. PETERSBURG - Haverhill's Carlos Pena was originally in the Rays' lineup tonight for Game 2, but he was scratched after taking batting practice still suffering from blurrred vision in his left eye after he scratched it in a home accident Wednesday. — Pena left Game 1 after two innings.
Discussion:
The Heater
Bob Klapisch / NorthJersey.com:
Yanks, Mets poised for CC bidding war — Brian Cashman and Omar Minaya have always considered themselves friends, despite competing in the same super-charged market. In fact, when Cashman was rumored to be considering a job with the Mariners, Minaya said to a friend, “tell Brian he can work here anytime.”
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Scott Soshnick / Bloomberg:
Brewers Owner Attanasio Wants More Revenue Sharing From Yankees — Oct. 3 (Bloomberg) — Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio, seeking a “fair fight,” said high-revenue clubs like the New York Yankees should share more with the other teams. — “It's always amusing to me to hear the Yankees …
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Bruce Miles / Daily Herald:
Piniella fed up with Fukudome's play — Cubs manager Lou Piniella has all but written off right fielder Kosuke Fukudome for the rest of the playoffs and maybe longer. — “From now on, I don't want to hear about Fukudome anymore as far as whether he's going to play or not,” …
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Chicagosports / Hardball:
Curse removal backfires on Cubs — It was supposed to be a quiet ceremony with no publicity. — But when a TBS cameraman saw Rev. Father James L. Greanias spreading holy water in the Cubs dugout several hours before Game 1 of the Division Series on Wednesday, the priest …
Dylan Hernandez / Los Angeles Times:Dodgers defeat Cubs, 10-3, at Wrigley (No) Field
Discussion:
Bleed Cubbie Blue, Gaslamp Ball, Projo Sox Blog, Dodger Thoughts, Sports Illustrated, Washington Post and Baseball Musings
Carl Macgowan / Newsday:
Workers begin dismantling Shea Stadium — It's really happening, Mets fans. — Shea Stadium is coming down, one thousand-watt lamp and one sink at a time. Centerfield's iconic 410-foot sign now lies in a fenced-in area outside the ballpark, along with other pieces of the outfield wall.
Tom Haudricourt / Brewers Blog:
Brantley completes Sabathia deal — A source familiar with the deal just told me that the CC Sabathia trade has been completed with the Brewers sending minor league outfield prospect Michael Brantley to the Indians. — When the Brewers acquired Sabathia in early July …
Discussion:
Al's Ramblings
By Mike Danahey / Chicago Sun Times:
Is Fukudome a dirty word? — What's in a name? Ask Chicago Cubs fan Jill Howe, 15. — The Elgin High School sophomore had to remove her Kosuke Fukudome jersey and wear a gym T-shirt to class Wednesday because of a misunderstanding about how to pronounce the All-Star right-fielder's last name.
Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
Rosenthal's Latest: Vlad, Cano, Peavy, Hardy — By Tim Dierkes [October 3 at 8:23am CST] — Today we have a fresh column from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. — Vladimir Guerrero's $15MM option for '09 is a lock, but perhaps the Angels will reconsider extending him beyond that.
Discussion:
Kranepool Society
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Kevin Goldstein / Baseball Prospectus:
Future Shock — Missing Bats — A great deal of the e-mails and chat questions that I receive concern pitching statistics, with most writers wanting to know what numbers they should look at when evaluating prospects, and which are more relevant than others.
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball
