Top News:
Jim Callis / Baseball America:
Mock Draft 4.0 — Bonus demands adds more confusion to wide-open draft — When team officials head to bed the night before the draft, they usually have a pretty good idea of who they're going to take in the first round. They may not know exactly who's going to fall to them …
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Baseball Analysts:
The 2009 MLB Draft is (Finally) Upon Us — The Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft begins today at 6 p.m. ET. The MLB Network will broadcast the first round from its Studio 42 in Secaucus, N.J. with MLB.com providing on-air coverage of the remainder of the draft …
Kevin Goldstein / Baseball Prospectus:
The Mock Draft — This one could be a mess folks, and it's all about bonus demands at this point. Right now, you have as many as four high school pitchers—Jacob Turner, Tyler Matzek, Matt Purke, and Shelby Miller—looking for big, big money, with the first three all telling teams they're looking …
Steve Henson / Yahoo! Sports:
Mock draft: No. 1 pick a no-brainer — Buzz up! — Attention: This is only a test. — This is not the real draft. — Not even close. — This is a mock draft, meaning I will undoubtedly be ripe mocking material Tuesday night after the real draft is conducted by real major league baseball decision-makers.
Jonathan Mayo / MLB.com:
Crystal ball: The final projection — With just hours to go, here's how we see the Draft shaking out — It would be tempting to continue making calls and tweaking the first-round projections until right up before the Draft, but at some point there comes a time to let go.
Philly.com:
Lidge goes on disabled list — Righthander Brad Lidge was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained right knee, retroactive to June 7, the Phillies said today. — To take his spot on the 25-man roster, the Phillies selected the contract of catcher Paul Bako from double-A Reading.
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Associated Press:
Phillies' Lidge on DL with sprained knee — NEW YORK (AP) — Philadelphia Phillies closer Brad Lidge has gone on the 15-day disabled list because of a sprained right knee. — The move was announced before Tuesday's series opener at the New York Mets and was retroactive to Sunday.
Dave Sheinin / Washington Post:
Strasburg Negotiations Between Nationals, Boras Could Result in Historic Signing — Nationals, Boras Set to Negotiate After MLB Draft — They are separated by 2,700 miles, a negotiating gap that could be as large as $40 million and a philosophical chasm regarding players' rights …
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Yahoo! Sports:
West, Marlins shut down Giants 4-0 — Buzz up! — MIAMI (AP)—The tall left-hander had not allowed a hit through six innings— and Randy Johnson — was already out of the game. — Facing the Big Unit, 6-foot-8 rookie Sean West — flirted with a no-hitter in his fourth career start.
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Dylan Hernandez / Los Angeles Times:
Padres' Heath Bell has a new look — Padres closer lost 25 pounds in the off-season. His trainer? Nintendo's Wii. — Reporting from San Diego — Heath Bell reported to the San Diego Padres' camp this spring weighing 25 pounds less than he did at the end of last season. — His secret?
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Joe Posnanski / Sports Illustrated:
Talkin' about the underappreciated base on balls, with Bill James … People have violently different views about walks in baseball. I like them because I believe that they are still the most underappreciated weapon in baseball. Bill likes them because they epitomize team play — “Hey …
Discussion:
BBTF's Baseball Primer …
Jared Diamond / MLB.com:
‘Judge Mo’ ready for next kangaroo court — Rivera receives robe, gavel from Milian of 'The People's Court' — NEW YORK — Mariano Rivera had already been named honorary judge of the Yankees' clubhouse when he presided over the team's kangaroo court almost three weeks ago. Now the team has made it official.
Discussion:
Hardball Times
Trsullivan / Postcards from Elysian Fields:
Rangers acquire RHP Grilli — The Rangers have acquired RHP Jason Grilli for cash considerations, according to a source. He was designated for assignment by the Colorado Rockies last week. — He was 0-1 with a 6.05 ERA in 22 games for the Rockies as a reliever.
Jeff Pearlman:
the gay athlete — I wrote the following piece recently as a freelance assignment, but it never made print. Hence, I offer it below. — Obviously, the whole gay rights issue is one I feel very strongly about. I wish I had been alive for the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s …
Discussion:
Hardball Times
Mark Feinsand / NY Daily News:
X-man making progress; pitchers take their cuts — Xavier Nady continues to make progress with his injured right elbow in Tampa, leaving open the possibility the outfielder could rejoin the Yankees next week for their nine interleague games in National League parks.
Bart Hubbuch / Mets Blog:
Chipper no fan of Citi Field — Longtime Mets nemesis Chipper Jones did so much damage at Shea Stadium that he named one of his sons “Shea” in honor of it. It's safe to say the Atlanta slugger won't be making any similar tributes to Citi Field. — Jones ripped the Mets' new park …
Discussion:
Mike Silva's …, Walkoff Walk, Amazin' Avenue, Mets Today, The Musings and Prophecies …, MetsBlog.com and Mets Fever
Bob Raissman / NY Daily News:
Raissman: Keith in no hurry to rip loafing Met — Considering the current state of effort in baseball, it's big news when a player actually busts it out of the box determined to arrive safely at his final destination. — Players who go catatonic as soon as they hit the ball, guys who jake it …
ESPN:
White Sox recall Jose Contreras, give deal to Freddy Garcia — The slumping Chicago White Sox made a couple of moves to shore up their pitching staff. — The team announced that it had called up right-hander Jose Contreras from Triple-A Charlotte to start in the second game of a doubleheader …
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