Top News:
John Harper / NY Daily News:
Harper: Sox steal Yankee pride — BOSTON - In the end, the steal of home was more than an embarrassing punctuation mark to a sweep at the hands of the Red Sox that was full of heartbreak and exasperation. — For the Yankees, it was symbolic of a weekend in which they were beaten in the cruelest of ways …
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Projo Sox Blog:
Harper knew Ellsbury could do it — BOSTON _ Tommy Harper knows a thing or two about stealing a base. — He holds the Red Sox' single-season record for stolen bases with 54 in 1973 and he knows it won't stand much longer. That's because there's this very fast guy named Jacoby Ellsbury who plays center field for the Red Sox.
Ken Davidoff / Newsday:
It's only April, still plenty of time to panic — Welcome, Yankees fans, to this annual pit stop on your baseball calendar. — It's your April state of emergency. — You know the drill: The Yankees visit Fenway Park early on the schedule, and things don't go well.
Bart Hubbuch / New York Post:
PUTRID PEREZ FACES BULLPEN OR MINORS — The Mets might have been better off lighting that $36 million on fire. — Just four starts into Oliver Perez's dubious three-year deal, the Mets already are running out of patience with the mercurial left-hander after he imploded again yesterday in an 8-1 loss to the Nationals.
Discussion:
New Jersey Online
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Sean Brennan / NY Daily News:
Beltran's play stands out — First, the good news on Carlos Beltran. — He was leading the National League in batting coming into Sunday's series finale with Washington. When the game ended he still owned a nine-game hitting streak, during which he is hitting at a torrid .472 clip …
Barbara Barker / Newsday:
Fans getting on Wright; he's trying to be positive — Was it only 14 days ago that fans at Citi Field were on their feet cheering David Wright as he became the first player to hit a home run in the new park? — Wright is the most popular Met, but if you had dropped in from Mars to attend …
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com
Kevin Goldstein / Baseball Prospectus:
Monday Ten Pack — Homer Bailey, RHP, Reds (Triple-A Louisville) — Bailey has been crowned as the savior of the Reds' rotation for some time now, but he's run into some frustrating bouts of inconsistency at the upper levels. Some mechanical changes this spring renewed his former promise …
Rick Hummel / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Cardinals, Pujols come under fire from Cubs' Harden — With his team having lost four straight games, Chicago Cubs righthander Rich Harden did what good, veteran big-league starters do. He stopped the losing streak, pitching six strong innings and striking out nine Sunday as the Cubs beat the Cardinals 10-3 at Busch Stadium.
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Marc Topkin / St. Petersburg Times:
Tampa Bay Rays starter Andy Sonnanstine frankly assesses start as “embarrassing” — OAKLAND, Calif. — The word RHP Andy Sonnanstine used was “embarrassing.” — As much as he believes he isn't pitching that poorly, and as close as he thinks he is to winning, Sonnanstine was realistic enough …
Discussion:
DRaysBay
Zachary Levine / Houston Chronicle:
Astros notes: Valverde may miss more time — Valverde iffy — Closer Jose Valverde may need to miss more time with the strained calf muscle that cost him a few days of availability during the Astros' homestand. In closing Sunday's 3-2 win over the Brewers, Valverde felt pain on every pitch and …
Discussion:
The Crawfish Boxes
Gary Thorne / USA Today:
Nolan Ryan stresses conditioning over pitch counts — Under the leadership of club president Nolan Ryan, the Texas Rangers have embarked on a pitching experiment that could be called “back to the future on the mound.” — The experiment may also have a major impact on the use …
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball
Peter King / Sports Illustrated:
Peter King: Jets-Browns trade, thoughts on all 32 draft classes … KANSAS CITY — I'm going to have 32 opinions on 32 teams here in a few paragraphs, and a few will surprise you. But I've got to start off with a cool story that played a big part in the trade of the weekend — and, in all likelihood, the trade of the year in the NFL.
Murray Chass / Murray Chass On Baseball:
JAYS FLY DESPITE PITCHING BLUES — This is probably like playing fantasy baseball, which readers of this site know I abhor, but what if the Toronto Blue Jays have finally put it all together and are ready to compete for real in the American League East? Doesn't that division already have enough serious contenders?
