Top News:
Ian Browne / MLB.com:
Lester's injury appears to be minor — Lefty plans to make next start, is day-to-day with contusion — NEW YORK — At first, there was panic. How could there not be? Jon Lester, Boston's star southpaw, was in agony and on the ground after getting belted on the right knee …
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Peter Abraham / The LoHud Yankees Blog:
Game 154: Red Sox at Yankees (updated with Girardi pre-game audio) — YANKEES (97-56) — Pitching: RHP Joba Chamberlain (8-6, 4.73). — RED SOX (91-61) — Ellsbury CF — Pedroia 2B — Martinez 1B — Youkilis 3B — Ortiz DH — Bay LF — Drew RF — Varitek C — Gonzalez SS
Adam Kilgore / Boston Globe:
Francona on Lester: 'He's going to be OK.' — Jon Lester, who left tonight's game in the third inning after a line drive hit him on the inside of the right leg, is “going to be OK,” manager Terry Francona said. After consulting with team doctor Larry Ronan, the Red Sox think Lester may even have a chance to make his next start.
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MLB.com
Sean McAdam / Boston Herald:Jon Lester will start it off
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Circling The Bases, Angels Unplugged, Red Sox Monster, Yahoo! Sports, MLB FanHouse and The Bottom Line
TSN.ca:
CARDINALS FAIL TO CLINCH DIVISION WITH LOSS TO ROCKIES — The Sports Network — Denver, CO (Sports Network) - Yorvit Torrealba's sacrifice fly in the ninth inning capped a 2-1 Colorado victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in a playoff atmosphere at Coors Field.
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Purple Row
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Sports Illustrated:
Sox slow Tigers' title chase … CHICAGO(AP) Jake Peavy joined the White Sox so he could pitch in the playoffs. Since Chicago has already been eliminated, he settled for the next best thing Friday night. — He beat the Detroit Tigers , who are trying to win a division title.
Chicago Sun Times:
Three takes on the White Sox — Octavio Dotel said he approached the club about his immediate future and a contract extension last month and was told he wasn't in the plans. The reliever at least appreciated the Sox being upfront with him. As he turns his attention to free agency, New York is atop his wish list.
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Peter Botte / NY Daily News:
CC doesn't see himself as guy for Cy — ALREADY LEADING THE American League in victories, CC Sabathia will gun for his 19th today against the Red Sox. If he gets it, the lefty will get one try to complete the first 20-win season of his career in his final start Friday at Tampa Bay.
Elizabeth Doran / Syracuse Post-Standard:
Baldwinsville family says teacher told fourth-grader to turn Yankee shirt inside out — Van Buren Elementary fourth-grader Nathan Johns thought his teacher was kidding when he instructed him to go to the bathroom and turn his Yankees T-shirt inside out. — The blue shirt read “New York No. 52” …
Jerry Crasnick / MLB:
GM Kevin Towers says San Diego Padres could have interest in Milton Bradley — When Chicago Cubs general manager Jim Hendry begins aggressively shopping troubled outfielder Milton Bradley this winter, don't be surprised if one of his first phone calls is to San Diego.
Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com:
Rangers to be featured on TWIB — Show will highlight Kinsler, Ryan, Rodriguez — Barring a late miracle, this season won't bring a postseason berth for the Rangers. But 2009 did bring about change — the good kind. — Long known as a franchise with a vaunted offense but little else …
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball
Canadian Press:
HALLADAY SHUTS OUT MARINERS IN POSSIBLE LAST HOME START — TORONTO — Minus the angst and the emotional outpouring this time, Roy Halladay once again made what may have been his final start in Toronto as a member of the Blue Jays. — And boy was it a gem.
Thomas Boswell / Washington Post:
Nationals' Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn Shine Bright Amid the Gloom — There's plenty wrong with the Nats. But two very large things are right: Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn. You could hardly have a better Nos. 3-4 core at the center of a lineup. Amid the wreckage of 100 losses …
Ben Badler / Baseball America:
MLB Declares Chapman Free Agent — Aroldis Chapman is finally a free agent. — The agency for Chapman, a 21-year-old Cuban lefthander, sent out a release saying that Major League Baseball has declared Chapman a free agent. Chapman defected from Cuba at the World Port Tournament …
