Top News:
Jonathan Mayo / MLB.com:
Baker confirms Reds' interest in Sheff — Cincinnati manager to meet with recently released outfielder Thursday — SARASOTA, Fla. — For those who wondered if the Reds could possibly be interested in recently released All-Star slugger Gary Sheffield, the answer, apparently, is yes.
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Todd Zolecki / The Zo Zone:
Sheffield Update — Tigers manager Jim Leyland told reporters yesterday that three teams have expressed interest in Gary Sheffield. — We know the Phillies are one of them, and the fact Ruben Amaro Jr. has acknowledged that interest publicly tells me the Phillies very much want to sign him once he clears waivers at 1 p.m. today.
George A. King III / New York Post:
YANKS EAGER TO CHECK OUT NEW DIGS — TAMPA — Christmas in April. — That's what several Yankees were feeling on the eve of today's workout at the new Yankee Stadium when many of the players will get their first glimpse of the billion-dollar palace. — “I can't wait, I am fired up,” …
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Kat O'Brien / Newsday:
Yankees players eager to experience new Stadium — TAMPA, Fla. - Usually, players returning from a road trip are in their cars and on their way home in a flash. — But Joe Girardi had a feeling the Yankees' arrival in New York last night might turn out a little differently.
The Nyc / NYC Food Guy:
Citi Field Food Preview: A Culinary Revolution — The Mets first official game at their new ballpark, Citi Field, is just two weeks away and what better way to heighten the excitement than with a preview of the unprecedented culinary revolution taking place in Flushing?
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Phil Miller / TwinCities.com:
Minnesota Twins place Scott Baker, Joe Mauer on DL; Francisco Liriano to start Opening Night — FORT MYERS, Fla. — Scott Baker's Opening Night assignment has been called off. And so has the Philip Humber-R.A. Dickey roster competition. — The right-hander was placed on the disabled list today …
Discussion:
Hardball Times
Bill Madden / NY Daily News:
American League East Preview — The big-market Yankees and Red Sox would like to believe what happened last year - the Tampa Bay Rays with their paltry $43 million payroll rising from the depths of last place all the way to the World Series - was a one-year aberration.
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Childs Walker / The Toy Department:
Bill James talks O's, HOF and more ... It's easy to call Bill James something cute like the “Sultan of Stats” and leave it at that. But such a moniker undersells James' role in changing the way we've looked at baseball over the past 30 years. Starting with his annual Abstracts in the late 1970s …
Discussion:
THE BOOK
Adam Kilgore / Boston Globe:
Lineup, final edition — The Red Sox wrap up their Grapefruit League schedule today at Hammond Stadium against the Twins. They're working out right now at City of Palms Park, everything in the clubhouse packed away in bags and cardboard boxes. The Sox will head straight from Hammond to Southwest Florida International Airport.
Associated Press:
Hal admits some Yankees tix may be overpriced … NEW YORK (AP) — Sitting in new Yankee Stadium on the first day fans came to the $1.5 billion ballpark, general partner Hal Steinbrenner admits some tickets might be overpriced given the recession. — The Yankees set prices …
Discussion:
Fox Sports
Dave Studeman / Hardball Times:
Download THT — Things keep changing here at the Hardball Times. Tragically, we lost our good friend John Brattain last week, and, more positively, Josh Kalk moved on to work for the Tampa Bay Rays. John and Josh were both excellent writers, and we'll miss them both.
Discussion:
MVN
Steve Kornacki / MLive.com:
DETROIT TIGERS BASEBALL — Jeff Larish gets Tigers' final roster spot — LAKELAND — Players and staff were walking over to first baseman-third baseman Jeff Larish to congratulate him on making the team with the 25th and final roster spot. — A team source confirmed today that Larish …
Jay Jaffe / Baseball Prospectus:
Prospectus Hit and Run — NL Projected Standings — One real pleasure that we get in working with the PECOTA projection system comes when we move beyond the individual player forecasts to the team level. Every year, once we release the first batch of projections, our staff compiles depth charts …
Discussion:
Mets Merized Online
Ian Browne / MLB.com:
Papelbon perfecting delivery — Red Sox's closer refining mechanics to find 2007 form — BRADENTON, Fla. — As overpowering as his stuff can be, as glittering as his numbers have been for the past three years, Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon knows that the second he stops making adjustments …
Bruce Jenkins / San Francisco Chronicle:
Some Perspective on Pitch Counts — Late last summer, your 3-Dot proprietor composed a two-part series on pitch counts for the Sporting Green. It was a plea for teams to use common sense and visual observations, not strictly a set of numbers, to get their pitchers to work longer into games …
Discussion:
Hardball Times
Joe Sokolowski / Mets Geek:
What's a Fifth Starter? — If you haven't read Pat's piece on the Mets rotation situation, I highly recommend it. Whenever I read anything along the lines of analyzing a rotation, I'm reminded of perhaps my favorite sabermetric article, entitled “How Good Is Your Fourth Starter?”
Discussion:
New York Mets Fan Blog
Jordan Bastian / MLB.com:
Balanced Jays hold down Nationals — Halladay delivers solid performance in final start before season — BLUE JAYS 7, NATIONALS 6 — Nationals at the plate: Catcher Josh Bard doubled to left field in the second inning and then scored when right fielder Justin Maxwell reached on an error.
Discussion:
Batter's Box Interactive …
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