Top News:
Adam Kilgore / Boston Globe:
Sunday morning coming down — Terry Francona came to Fenway Park at 6:15 this morning, an arrival aimed at beating the traffic created by the BAA half marathon around the park. It worked. He was already halfway through a Full Throttle can at 8:50, when the local writers went into his office.
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Adam Kilgore / Boston Globe:
Breakfast of champions — The Red Sox are about 19 hours away from a game to save their season, and manager Terry Francona has carefully planned his strategy. — “Do what we always do on early games,” he said. “Have 12 pieces of bacon, a Red Bull, and go get 'em.” — And once the game begins?
Ian Browne / MLB.com:
Sox are specialists on October comebacks — Club knows what to do when it comes to elimination games — BOSTON — As uncomfortable a situation as it is, the Red Sox of recent Octobers have been there numerous times before and somehow crawled out of the hole.
Discussion:
Angels Unplugged, NESN.com, 6-4-2, The Joy of Sox, sox1fan.com, Red Sox Monster, The Heater, Boston Globe and Bronx Baseball Daily
Dave van Dyck / Chicago Tribune:
Los Angeles Dodgers top St. Louis Cardinals 5-1, sweep series 3-0 — Like Cubs, division rival Cards exit 1st round meekly — Game 3 starter Vicente Padilla sprays teammates as they celebrate. (Tom Gannam, Associated Press / October 10, 2009) — ST. LOUIS — The Cardinals …
Discussion:
Bleed Cubbie Blue
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Ken Gurnick / MLB.com:
Sweep deal: Dodgers return to NLCS — Padilla quiets Cards, Ethier homers in Game 3 clincher — ST. LOUIS — The Dodgers bounced the Cardinals on Saturday night as quickly as they did the Cubs last year, with a three-game sweep, clinching the best-of-five National League Division Series …
John Perrotto / Baseball Prospectus:
Post-season Weekend Update — Phil Cuzzi barely had enough time to mistakenly signal a foul ball when advocates of expanded instant replay started howling for change. Major League Baseball begrudgingly became the last major North American professional sports league to implement the use …
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Ian O'Connor / NorthJersey.com:
Tino says Yanks' swagger is back — MINNEAPOLIS - Through the prism of a high-def screen, it was easy to connect the delirious present to a dynastic past. Tino Martinez watched Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira unleash their epic swings, watched men celebrate like boys …
Chris De Luca / Inside the White Sox:
Thome hoping to return to Sox after postseason run with Dodgers — ST. LOUIS — Jim Thome was one of the first players to emerge from the clubhouse and into the visiting dugout at Busch Stadium on Saturday. Thome was decked out in Dodger blue. It all looked so wrong. And it seemed all so right.
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John Schlegel / MLB.com:
Game 3 of Rox-Phils NLDS postponed — Tilt moved to Sunday due to snow, record-low temperatures — DENVER — Rocktober became a winter wonderland overnight, so Major League Baseball announced Saturday that Game 3 of the National League Division Series has been postponed.
RELATED:
Patrick Saunders / Denver Post:Weather forces postponement of Rockies-Phillies game
Discussion:
Purple Row
Chicago Tribune:
Rogers' MLB whispers: Is Dusty Baker's job safe in Cincinnati? — (Paul J. Bereswill, Associated Press / July 12, 2009) — Dusty Baker may not be as safe in Cincinnati as the Reds' strong finish would suggest. Owner Bob Castellini reportedly has his eye on the Cardinals tandem …
Richard Justice / Houston Chronicle:
Five-point plan for fixing the Astros — 1. Be realistic. The Astros didn't become terrible overnight, and they're not going to be fixed overnight. They can still be interesting, but they're not going to be champions. Drayton McLane isn't fooling anyone by saying otherwise.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors
New York Post:
Joba could spend part of 2010 in minors — MINNEAPOLIS — The Yankees were exacerbated by Joba Chamberlain's inconsistency, and a faction of the organization wanted him sent to Triple-A in August, The Post has learned. — But they had nowhere to turn for alternatives.
