Top News:
Associated Press:
Botched calls prompt World Series umpire switch … NEW YORK (AP) — Stung by a rash of blown calls in the playoffs, Major League Baseball is breaking tradition and sticking with only experienced umpires for the World Series. — Longtime crew chiefs Joe West, Dana DeMuth and Gerry Davis …
Discussion:
Circling The Bases, bronxbanterblog.com, Pinstripe Alley, Athletics Nation, Lookout Landing and ESPN
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Billy Witz / New York Times:
For Angels, Thrill of Victory, Then a Rush of Relief — ANAHEIM, Calif. — If it was going to end, this was not the way the Los Angeles Angels wanted it to. Not with Manager Mike Scioscia wondering if he had handled a pitching change like Grady Little. Not with John Lackey seething about a strike that the plate umpire said was not.
Jon Heyman / Sports Illustrated:
Dodgers owner fires wife as team CEO … Dodgers owner Frank McCourt has fired wife Jamie as CEO of the team, the first shot in what promises to be bitter battle over the storied baseball team, SI.com has learned. — Jamie McCourt was fired within the last two days, according to several sources.
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Bill Shaikin / Los Angeles Times:
Dodgers' owner Frank McCourt fires wife Jamie — She had been the club's chief executive. The couple announced last week that they had separated. — Dodgers owner Frank McCourt watches as his estranged wife Jamie enters their field level box for Game 1 of the National League Championship Series last week.
Matthew Leach / MLB.com:Dodgers' nucleus will be back in 2010 — Starting rotation likely …
Discussion:
ESPN
NY Daily News:
Harper: Yankee failure starts with A.J. — ANAHEIM - A.J. Burnett was at his dazzling best Thursday night as long as he was losing by four runs. When it really mattered, however, he didn't look at all like the guy the Yankees saw as a big-game pitcher when they gambled $82.5 million on him last winter.
Discussion:
ESPN, New York Times, New York Post, TedQuarters.net, Blogging The Bombers and The Big Lead
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Bridget Wentworth / New Jersey Online:
NY Yankees can't afford to give struggling Nick Swisher another at-bat … ANAHEIM, Calif. - The number was illuminated for everyone to see in bright Hollywood lights. — There it was, dead center on the scoreboard, and Nick Swisher had to stare at it as he stepped to the plate. .
ESPN:
Chat with Keith Law — Welcome to SportsNation! On Thursday, MLB Insider Keith Law will be here to take your questions on anything baseball related. — Law is the senior baseball analyst for Scouts Inc. Before joining ESPN, Law served as special assistant to the general manager …
David Brown / Yahoo! Sports:
Giddy Halos fan takes a dive into the waterfall at Angel Stadium — Why is this guy all wet? Not because Angel Stadium has a pool. No, he's dripping with “holy” water because he went for a frolic in the ballpark's rocky waterfall. — Because an Angels' four-run lead over the Yankees …
MLB.com:
2009 Players Choice finalists announced — Pujols, Mauer highlight potential award winners — The 2009 Players Choice Awards will be announced exclusively next week in five daily segments of ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike in the Morning show. — Players in both leagues voted in mid-September …
Discussion:
FishStripes
Rebecca / This Purist Bleeds Pinstripes:
It's all about the leverage (or why Mariano should have pitched the 7th) — Leverage is a funny word. A loaded word, if you will. — For one thing, it's more or less responsible for the financial collapse of America. — In baseball parlance, leverage refers to an on-field situation …
Discussion:
Bronx Baseball Daily
Amalie Benjamin / Boston Globe:
Wakefield looking for 200 wins — ANAHEIM, Calif. — Having undergone surgery to repair a herniated disk on Wednesday, Tim Wakefield said yesterday that he expects about a four- to six-week rehab before he begins to get down to his usual offseason program. — “Everything went awesome,” Wakefield said yesterday.
Sam Mellinger / Kansas City Star:
This is gonna hurt, but the Royals should at least look at trading Joakim Soria — Aside from a barstool, there may be no more emotional position in baseball than closer. This is certainly true for Jonathan Papelbon and K-Rod, but more, it's true for the people watching.
