Top News:
Paul Pierce / Yahoo! Sports:
Professor Maddon's class is again in session — NEW YORK - Joe Maddon, with his shock of white hair and horn-rimmed glasses, looks far more like a professor than a manager. He felt like one Wednesday night, too. — Because the clinic put on by his Tampa Bay Rays against the New York Yankees …
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HardballTalk
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Bob Klapisch / NorthJersey.com:
Tampa Bay's bravado grows with every win — NEW YORK - As early as spring training, Yankee officials were hearing industry warnings about the growing threat in the AL East. No, it wasn't the Red Sox and their now-discredited decision to emphasize run prevention.
Mel Antonen / USA Today:
Yankees owner Steinbrenner is pillar of Tampa community — LUTZ, Fla. — High schools often carry the name of a church saint, president or other historical figure, so in this northern Tampa suburb there is George Steinbrenner High, a nod to “The Boss,” the principal owner of the New York Yankees …
Associated Press:
Rays beat banged-up Yankees for fifth straight victory — NEW YORK (AP) — Jason Bartlett (FSY) hit his latest leadoff homer in New York to begin a beating of the banged-up Yankees, and the streaking Tampa Bay Rays held on for a 10-6 victory Wednesday night in the opener of a two-game series between baseball's top two teams.
Joe Capozzi / Palm Beach Post:
Florida Marlins' Hanley Ramirez gets stern advice during an intervention by Hall of Famers Andre Dawson and Tony Perez — The door closed, and Andre Dawson looked directly into Hanley Ramirez's eyes. — “I'm not going to say a lot, because if you say the wrong the thing to me …
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Michael Silverman / Associated Press:
Sox recap: Red Sox start brief trip home with win — + Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email — THE BIG PICTURE — The Red Sox [team stats] took care of business last night, getting just enough of the job done with pitching and offense to top the Twins, 3-2, and open this oh-so-brief homestand on a high note.
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Dan Shaughnessy / Boston Globe:
Season is suddenly ripe for gripes
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Dan Shaughnessy Watch
Associated Press:
Strasburg overpowering yet again … ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — Stephen Strasburg had another dominant outing, giving up just three hits and striking out nine in 6 1/3 scoreless innings for Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday night. — Strasburg, the top pick in the 2009 draft by the Washington Nationals …
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Shawn Krest / MLB.com:
Strasburg continues Triple-A scoreless streak
Discussion:
BBTF's Baseball Primer …
Peter Abraham / Boston Globe:
Beckett on DL; Wakefield in rotation — Josh Beckett's bad back has landed him on the 15-day disabled list. Righthanded reliever Joe Nelson was called up from Triple A Pawtucket. — Tim Wakefield will take Beckett's place in the rotation and start against the Phillies Sunday.
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Scott Merkin / MLB.com:
White Sox GM: Relax, focus on details — Williams calls team meeting before series opener — CHICAGO — Where the topic of team meetings is concerned, Ozzie Guillen has followed one basic mantra since taking over the White Sox managerial reigns in 2004. — “Good teams win games …
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Peter Abraham / Boston Globe:
Scutaro injury leads to roster move — Scott Schoeneweis just told the Globe he was designated for assignment. No word on who is coming up. More to come on this. — UPDATE, 11:15 p.m.: Angel Sanchez will be here tomorrow from Pawtucket and will start at shortstop according to the Sox.
Nick Collias / MLB Rumors:
Maya Unblocked, Yankees Interested — May 20: The Phillies will also have a scout in attendance when Maya throws tomorrow, writes the Philadelphia Daily News' David Murphy, though he adds the team doesn't currently consider Maya a serious option for either the bullpen or rotation.
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Associated Press:
Heyward's RBI double helps Braves end Reds' four-game win streak — ATLANTA (AP) — Jason Heyward hit an RBI double with two outs in the ninth inning, giving the Atlanta Braves their answer to another Cincinnati comeback Wednesday night and lifting them over the Reds 5-4. — GAME REPORT: Braves 5, Reds 4
Sports Illustrated:
Jon Heyman>DAILY SCOOP — More ColumnsEmail Jon HeymanFollow Jon Heyman on — Inside the mess with the Marlins (cont.) — Of Mets' M and M boys, Manuel's the one under review — Mets manager Jerry Manuel is under the gun, whether it's deserved or not.
Troy E. Renck / Denver Post:
Rockies' offense asleep at the wheel in loss to Astros — HOUSTON — Rockies fans didn't need to witness the first leg of this road trip to cough up the exhaust fumes. — By the time the players arrived in their hotel rooms at 3 a.m., the week had already taken on a sense of urgency.
Chad Jennings / The LoHud Yankees Blog:
Pregame notes: One-more-day kind of thing — Nick Swisher said he feels better today than he did yesterday, and he felt better yesterday than he did the day before. He acknowledged this afternoon that the initial problem was a little worse than he indicated back in Detroit.
Discussion:
CastroTurf, River Avenue Blues, Sliding Into Home, Fack Youk, Yahoo! Sports, Bronx Baseball Daily and Yankees Daily
Associated Press:
Gonzalez's six-RBI night helps Padres snap Dodgers' win streak — LOS ANGELES (AP) — Adrian Gonzalez (FSY) homered and had a career-high six RBIs, Will Venable (FSY) had four hits including a triple and two doubles, and the San Diego Padres put an emphatic end to the Los Angeles Dodgers' nine …
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Yahoo! Sports
