Top News:
Joel Sherman / Hardball:
3 UP: YANKEE PROBLEMS AT THE 13-GAME MARK — In my column in today's Post, I wrote about how close the Yankees were to the humiliating weekend double of having allowed 22 runs on Saturday and then losing to Carl Pavano on Sunday. They never did do much against Pavano, who changed speeds …
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Mark Hale / New York Post:
YANKS MAY SKIP STRUGGLING HURLER — “We have not made a decision yet,” Girardi said. — The Yankees have an off-day Thursday, so they can skip Wang's scheduled Friday start without disrupting the rotation. The next time they'd need a fifth starter would be April 28 against Detroit.
New York Post:
DOPEY METS WANNA ERASE DWIGHT'S CITI AUTOGRAPH — WHEN Dwight “Doc” Gooden attended the Mets' Opening Day ceremonies at Citi Field last week, he stopped by the Ebbets Club along the first-base line and mingled with fans who cheered him during his Met career. He shook hands, took pictures and signed autographs.
Discussion:
Mets Today, Walkoff Walk, MLB FanHouse, Can't Stop The Bleeding, Mets Merized Online and Hot Foot
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Joe Sheehan / Baseball Prospectus:
The End of the World — There's no minimizing it: Chien-Ming Wang has been absolutely crushed in his first three starts this season, a stretch that includes Saturday's four-out, eight-run throttling that kicked off the Yankees' 22-4 loss at the hands of the Indians.
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Anthony DiComo / MLB.com:
Wang's struggles a mystery to all — Yanks discussing whether to skip righty's next start — NEW YORK — The answers were no clearer one day after Chien-Ming Wang's latest implosion, and the Yankees remained as befuddled as they were the day before. — Wang, for his part …
Chico Harlan / Nationals Journal:
Zimmerman, Nationals Agree To Five-Year, $45 Million Deal — Until at least 2013, Ryan Zimmerman will play for the Washington Nationals — the team that drafted him, and the team that has now affirmed his role in its future. Zimmerman and the Nationals have agreed to a five-year …
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Duk / Yahoo! Sports:
Nationals bench Dukes after Little League-related tardy note — Just when you thought your 1-10 Washington Nationals couldn't grow any more absurd comes some news that goes beyond the ridiculous and into the territory of the just plain laughable. — On Saturday, Washington outfielder Elijah Dukes …
yankees.mlb.com:
Ballpark — Oakland Athletics at New York Yankees has been postponed. — Register to receive breaking news alerts and you'll find out first when the Yankees make major news announcements (a trade, big-name free agent signing, you name it). — POSTGAME ALERTS
John Harper / NY Daily News:
Harper: Don't swing away at Jerry for call not to bunt — You have to believe that Jerry Manuel would have played this differently in August as opposed to April. At this time of year good managers make decisions with the big picture in mind, so you can understand him rolling the dice Sunday …
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Roderick Boone / Newsday:
Mets can't come up with timely hits in 4-2 loss
Mets can't come up with timely hits in 4-2 loss
Discussion:
Archie Bunker's Army
ESPN:
Power Rankings: Mighty Marlins move into No. 1 spot — ESPN.com — What could be more surprising than the Florida Marlins' surprise appearance in the No. 2 spot of last week's MLB Power Rankings? This week, when they are No. 1. — After two weeks of play, our panel of experts agrees …
Discussion:
FishStripes
Carroll Rogers / Atlanta Braves with David O'Brien:
Cloudy in the capital... Washington, DC - Greetings from our nation's capital where there are big green blobs on the radar map, and I'm having a bad hair day. (Here's your clue No. 1 to double-check that byline at the top.) — We've got an 80 percent chance of rain forecast for tonight …
Jayson Stark / ESPN:
The good, the bad and the ugly — Marlins aren't going away any time soon, but Derrek Lee could be in the decline phase — We're two weeks into another wild and crazy baseball season. But who the heck knows what to believe and what not to believe. — So it's time once again …
Joe Capozzi / Palm Beach Post:
MARLINS THE TEAM THAT REFUSES TO LOSE — A packet of antibiotics and a bottle of Nyquil sat on Fredi Gonzalez's desk at Nationals Park after Florida's 7-4 win Sunday. The manager had a sore throat, and that might be the only thing ailing the red-hot Marlins.
Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Zimmermann set for Major League debut — Washington (1-10) vs. Atlanta (6-6), 7:05 p.m. ET — WASHINGTON — Monday's game between the Nationals and Braves will be worth watching. Why? Washington right-hander Jordan Zimmermann will make his Major League debut.
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Associated Press:
David Ortiz legs out triple as Red Sox top O's 12-1 — Dustin Pedroia went 4-for-6 with three run-scoring singles and David Ortiz [stats] had a two-run triple to lead the Boston Red Sox [team stats] to a 12-1 win over Baltimore, completing a four-game sweep of the Orioles in the Patriots [team stats]' Day game Monday afternoon.
Seth Livingstone / USA Today:
Upstart Marlins refuse to lose, own MLB-best 11-1 record — WASHINGTON — Two weeks into the baseball season, the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Los Angeles Angels, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees are looking up at unexpected division leaders. — Leading the charge …
Kevin Goldstein / Baseball Prospectus:
Monday Ten Pack — Adrian Cardenas, 2B, Athletics (Double-A Midland) — The big bat acquired from Philadelphia last year in the Joe Blanton deal, Cardenas entered the year with a career batting average of .299, a full .001 below expectations, as one scout had classified him as …
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball
Hal McCoy / Dayton Daily News:
Owings: the man who swings the bat — I'm thinking the same thing all of you are thinking, especially with the Reds hitting .210 as a team. — Micah Owings. Can you play left field? Every day? — After his game-winning pinch-hit two-run double off the screen in left center field …
Discussion:
MLB FanHouse