Top News:
David Lennon / On the Mets beat:
Santana looks doubtful for WBC — Johan Santana just completed a conference call with reporters a few minutes ago and it looks like he's doubtful for the World Baseball Classic as he recovers from offseason knee surgery. Santana pitched the final month of last season with a torn meniscus …
RELATED:
ESPN.com:
Mets ace Santana unsure if he will pitch in WBC — NEW YORK — Johan Santana is unsure whether he'll be able to pitch in the World Baseball Classic following offseason knee surgery. — The two-time Cy Young Award winner said Wednesday he'd love to play for his native Venezuela in March …
Mike Puma / New York Post:
METS' OFFSEASON FOUNDERING AS THE BRAVES SWIPE VETERAN — The Mets aimed Lowe, bid low and missed, leaving them little choice but to scroll lower on the free-agent depth chart. — One step forward for GM Omar Minaya with Francisco Rodriguez's addition to the bullpen last month …
Bart Hubbuch / Mets Blog:Return of the 'Cou'-pons? — In light of the Derek Lowe signing …
Discussion:
Mets Fever
John Perrotto / Baseball Prospectus:
On the Beat — Ruminations and Meditations — Rickey Henderson holds two of the greatest records in baseball history, and on Monday he became a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Henderson and Jim Rice were elected by the 10-year members of the Baseball Writers Association of America, and they'll be inducted on July 26 in Cooperstown.
Discussion:
TigerBlog
RELATED:
Rob Bradford / WEEI Blogs:
Cora close to deal with Mets — Former Red Sox infielder Alex Cora is close to finalizing a one-year, $2 million deal with the New York Mets. The 33-year-old Cora played with Boston from July 7, 2005 — when he was traded from Cleveland for infielder Ramon Vazquez — through last season.
RELATED:
Doug Miller / MLB.com:
Mets said to reach deal with Cora — Infielder reportedly to sign a one-year, $2 million deal — The Mets have come to an agreement with infielder Alex Cora on a one-year, $2 million deal, according to a blog post at the Boston-based WEEI.com. — Cora, who has been with the Red Sox since mid-2005 …
Discussion:
Ya Gotta Believe
Bill Center / San Diego Union-Tribune:
Former Padres manager Gomez dies — Preston Gomez, the original manager of the major league Padres in 1969, died Tuesday morning in Fullerton. He was 85. — Gomez never fully recovered from head injuries suffered in March when he was hit by a pickup truck while crossing a service station driveway in Blythe.
RELATED:
Mike DiGiovanna / Los Angeles Times: Preston Gomez dies at 86; consultant was with Angels for 27 years
Rob Bradford / Archive:
How John Smoltz Convinced The Red Sox He Was Worth A Chance — The viewpoints of Nick Scherer and the Red Sox weren't all that different. — “When I think of a great pitcher,” said Director of Operations for the Georgia Tech baseball team, “I think of John Smoltz.”
Roch Kubatko / MASNsports.com:
Catching up with Benson — I had a nice chat last night with former Orioles pitcher Kris Benson, who surprised me with a phone call around 10 p.m. I didn't recognize the number and screened him. — Benson is throwing off a mound today after restricting himself to a long-tossing program …
Discussion:
MLB Rumors
Peter Abraham / The LoHud Yankees Blog:
At what point is rotation depth a concern? — At the moment, here are the starting pitchers with more than a game or two of major-league experience the Yankees have available to them: — CC Sabathia, A.J.Burnett, Chien-Ming Wang, Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, Alfredo Aceves, Jason Johnson, Dan Giese, Kei Igawa.
John Weisbarth / POSTGAME on Channel 4:
Who's on first? — So Quis and I were at dinner last night (Chipotle...it was lovely) and we got to talking about the Padres 2009 infield. More specifically...what's it gonna look like. Obviously we know Adrian Gonzalez will be at first and Kooz will be at 3rd...but then what?
Jeff Zrebiec / Baltimore Sun:
Orioles to introduce Uehara today — Pickup of Japanese import creates swell of media interest — The Orioles will unveil their first Japanese import, right-handed pitcher Koji Uehara, at a news conference today at Camden Yards that is expected to be one of the most well attended in team history.
Diane Pucin / Los Angeles Times:
Scully pulls up his own chair — Dodgers announcer watches a replay of his broadcast of Larsen's World Series perfect game and offers a review. — Vin Scully recently watched the MLB Network replay of the perfect game pitched by Don Larsen for the New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1956 World Series.
Richard Sandomir / New York Times:
Yankees Try New Strategy to Market Premium Seats — The Yankees have hired a division of a prominent Manhattan residential real estate brokerage, Prudential Douglas Elliman, to help sell some of their prime real estate: unsold premium seats and luxury boxes at the new Yankee Stadium.
