Top News:
Joe Frisaro / MLB.com:
Ump's calls upset Sox, Halos — Players, managers dispute pair of infield plays — ANAHEIM — Close calls created some dispute in Game 1 of the Red Sox-Angels series. — At the center of three disputed plays was first-base umpire CB Bucknor, who caught an earful from both managers …
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NY Daily News:
Harper: Ace should hear pitch from Mets — ANAHEIM - He has had a big-game reputation since he won Game 7 of the 2002 World Series as a 24-year-old rookie, yet John Lackey hadn't won a postseason start since that magical night. And last October he had raised eyebrows in his own clubhouse …
Associated Press:
Hunter homers, Lackey pitches Angels past Red Sox 5-0 — ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — With Torii Hunter hitting the rocks and John Lackey rolling through the Boston lineup, the Los Angeles Angels finally got on top of the Red Sox in the playoffs. — Lackey pitched into the eighth inning …
Discussion:
Angels Unplugged, Circling The Bases, NBCSports.com, sox1fan.com, Red Sox Monster, USA Today and Yahoo! Sports
Mike DiGiovanna / Los Angeles Times:
Angels show there's no hex factor in 5-0 win over Boston — Torii Hunter's three-run home run and John Lackey's superb outing give them a 1-0 series lead over their playoff nemesis. — Don't bring any talk of a “hex” by Torii Hunter's locker. That was the center fielder's stern message …
Discussion:
Surviving Grady
Dan Shaughnessy / Boston Globe:
Tables turned, a start to forget — ANAHEIM, Calif. - The Angels hate the Red Sox. — You would, too, if you had to listen to what the Angels have heard for the last couple of weeks. … Veteran Angels righthander John Lackey said the only way to stop the taunting was to beat Boston.
Joe Strauss / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Ninth-inning nightmare — October 8, 2009 — Cardinals left fielder Matt Holliday is unable to catch a fly ball off the bat of Los Angeles' James Loney for an error in the ninth inning (Chris Lee/P-D) — LOS ANGELES — What couldn't happen did happen to the Cardinals Thursday afternoon.
Discussion:
Viva El Birdos, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Dodger Thoughts, Hardball Times, Circling The Bases, seamheads.com/blog and 6-4-2
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Michael Buteau / Bloomberg:
What's Good for Jeter Is Good for Baseball; Yankees Aid Revenue — Oct. 9 (Bloomberg) — High above Interstate 85 in downtown Atlanta, Derek Jeter peers down from a 3,500 square-foot electronic billboard erected near the headquarters of Turner Broadcasting Systems, signaling the start of Major League Baseball's postseason.
Discussion:
Circling The Bases
New York Post:
Gaudin would start in ALCS instead of Chamberlain — Should the Yankees advance to the ALCS, they are leaning heavily toward using Chad Gaudin rather than Joba Chamberlain as the Game 4 starter, The Post has learned. — The Yankees would not finalize plans unless they beat Minnesota.
Discussion:
Mike Silva's …, River Avenue Blues, iYankees, It's About The Money, A Die Hard Yankees Fan and Sliding Into Home
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Joe Sheehan / Unfiltered:
Pop Quiz — Over the years, many Baseball Prospectus staffers have been hired away by major-league teams, which is a source of pride for us. We've gained a reputation as being a source of bright, dedicated people whose approach to baseball can be of considerable value to front offices …
Discussion:
THE BOOK
John Branch / New York Times:
Babe Ruth Like You've Never Seen Him Before — SECAUCUS, N.J. — Babe Ruth has struck out looking. Displeased, he leans on his bat, right hand on his hip, and looks back at the umpire. He utters something that can only be imagined. Lou Gehrig, on deck, leans on his bat, too, as if he has seen this act before.
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Richard Sandomir / New York Times:
Chip Caray Is in a Verbal Slump in the TBS Booth — In his third season as TBS's No. 1 national baseball announcer, Chip Caray is slightly better than he was two years ago when the network began carrying the league division series. But that doesn't mean he is a No. 1 announcer.
Discussion:
It's About The Money, Circling The Bases, WTBS-TV, This Purist Bleeds Pinstripes and Fack Youk
David O'Brien / Atlanta Braves with David O'Brien:
Wanted by Braves: Big bat, righty preferred — We've got some Junior Wells wailing on the stereo, Dodgers-Cardinals muted on the TV, door to the patio open and a nice Punch cigar burning. It hasn't been a week since the season ended, but doesn't it already feel like long time since the Braves …
Jim Baumbach / Newsday:
Derek Jeter believes it will be “awkward” without Jorge Posada starting a playoff game — As you know, Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada are close friends. Close enough that Jeter was Jorge Posada's best man at his wedding. So knowing that Posada is not happy about sitting yet having to toe …
Kristie Ackert / NY Daily News:
Twins Gomez feels ‘sorry’ for former Met teammates — Back in February of 2008 as the Mets proudly introduced Johan Santana as their new ace, nobody thought that the young outfielder the team had traded away in return for the two-time Cy Young winner would be chugging celebratory champagne …
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Jack Curry / Bats:
Burnett Readies for First Postseason Start — A.J. Burnett of the Yankees will make his first postseason start, against the Minnesota Twins in Game 2 of their division series, on Friday night. Burnett fielded one question about the Twins during Thursday's workout; he was asked more questions about who would catch him in the game.
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