Top News:
Peter Abraham / Boston Globe:
Saltalamacchia on the way; Cash to DL — The Red Sox have called up catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia from Triple A Pawtucket. Globe colleague Amalie Benjamin had the news first. — Catcher Kevin Cash is being placed on the disabled list with a hamstring injury.
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports and The Bottom Line
RELATED:
James Hall / MLB.com:
Cecil's next start pushed back to Saturday
Cecil's next start pushed back to Saturday
Discussion:
Batter's Box Interactive …
TSN.ca:
Marcum, Blue Jays take another shot at solving Red Sox
Marcum, Blue Jays take another shot at solving Red Sox
Discussion:
Baseball Prospectus and Canadian Press
Michael Silverman / Boston Herald:
Pieces come together for Red Sox
Pieces come together for Red Sox
Discussion:
Boston Globe and The Joy of Sox
Peter Abraham / Boston Globe:
A three-dimensional win for Red Sox
A three-dimensional win for Red Sox
Discussion:
Associated Press, Over the Monster and Bluebird Banter
Mike Sielski / Wall Street Journal:
No Cameras for Francoeur's Milestone — PHILADELPHIA—Is Bob Costas going to bring his gravitas to Citi Field? Will the MLB Network preempt its regular programming to cover this chase? — It was only last week that Alex Rodriguez hit his 600th home run, and already another New York ballplayer is pursuing a milestone.
Discussion:
UmpBump.com, New York Mets Fan Blog, New Jersey Online and MetsBlog.com
RELATED:
Andy McCullough / New Jersey Online:
Mets Jeff Francoeur, seeking playing time, open to trade — NEW YORK — Benched to make room for a 21-year-old rookie, marginalized as a platoon player, Mets outfielder Jeff Francoeur has told the club through his representatives that he is interested in being traded to a team that would play him more, both sides confirmed yesterday.
Ken Gurnick / MLB.com:
Torre sticks with Gibbons over Kemp to start — Dodgers manager rides hot hand for second straight day — PHILADELPHIA — Former Dodgers second baseman Orlando Hudson will look at Joe Torre's lineup for the first two games against the Phillies and know exactly what center fielder Matt Kemp is going through.
Discussion:
True Blue LA
RELATED:
Ken Gurnick / MLB.com:
Dodgers decide to place Furcal on DL
Dodgers decide to place Furcal on DL
Discussion:
True Blue LA and Fanhouse MLB Blog
Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
Giants Acquire Mike Fontenot — San Francisco is 2,100 miles away from Chicago, but Mike Fontenot didn't have to go far at all when the Giants acquired him today. The Cubs are in San Francisco, so all Fontenot had to do was walk from the visitors clubhouse to the home clubhouse.
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports and MLB Daily Dish
TSN.ca:
Braden goes the distance to help A's down Mariners — The Sports Network — Seattle, WA (Sports Network) - Dallas Braden threw his fourth complete game of the season — and of his career — while Mark Ellis doubled three times and drove in as many runs in helping the Athletics salvage their three-game series with the Mariners, 5-1.
Discussion:
Athletics Nation
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Infante's double, McCann's slam lifts Braves over Astros in 10 — HOUSTON (AP) — After getting blown out in the first game and needing late rallies to win the other two, Braves manager Bobby Cox was pleased to escape Houston with a series victory. — Omar Infante (FSY) …
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports
RELATED:
Kristie Rieken / Associated Press:
Big ninth inning gives Braves 4-2 win over Astros
Big ninth inning gives Braves 4-2 win over Astros
Discussion:
boston.stats.com, Talking Chop, The Crawfish Boxes and Yahoo! Sports
Sports Illustrated:
The problems with defensive stats … Let's suppose that you're a normal baseball fan with normal interests and an understanding that smart writers and operators think fancy defensive statistics are important. — Curious, you visit Fangraphs.com and see that Carl Crawford, Tony Gwynn Jr. …
Discussion:
THE BOOK
Jim Callis / Baseball America:
Yankees, Segedin Agree On $377,500 — The Yankees and third-round pick Rob Segedin have agreed to terms on a $377,500 bonus. Segedin, a Tulane third baseman who had extra leverage as a draft-eligible sophomore, exceeded MLB's guideline of $270,000 for the No. 112 slot.
Discussion:
Bronx Baseball Daily and River Avenue Blues
Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
The Brewers' 2011 Rotation — The Brewers made the 2008 playoffs thanks, in large part, to a rotation led by C.C. Sabathia and Ben Sheets. Yovani Gallardo has since established himself as a frontline starter, but the Brewers have struggled to surround him with equally capable arms.
Discussion:
ESPN
Associated Press:
Take that: Cardinals sweep Reds, take over first — CINCINNATI (AP) — With an emphatic sweep, the St. Louis Cardinals gave second baseman Brandon Phillips a different description to use. — Whiners? Complainers? — Try division leaders. — Colby Rasmus hit his first career grand slam …
Discussion:
Associated Press
RELATED:
New York Times:
Baseball's Praised Diversity Is Stranded at First Base — About 40 percent of the players in Major League Baseball are black, Hispanic or Asian, and the sport is seen as a leading example of diversity, yet a curious disparity has emerged in a corner of the game.
Discussion:
HardballTalk
Aaron Fitt / Baseball America:
Yankees Sign Burawa For $300,000 — The Yankees have signed 12th-round pick Daniel Burawa for a $300,000 bonus. The sophomore-eligible righthander came out of nowhere to rack up 12 saves for St. John's this spring, thanks mostly to a 93-95 mph fastball with good armside run.
Discussion:
River Avenue Blues
Ben Goessling / The Goessling Game:
The outfield outlook for 2011 — With Nyjer Morgan on the 15-day disabled list, we're getting a chance to see a different configuration of the Nationals' outfield. On most nights, that means Josh Willingham in left, Roger Bernadina in center and Michael Morse in right.
Discussion:
Mr. Irrelevant …, MLB Rumors and HardballTalk
Richard Durrett / ESPN:
Texas Rangers to skip Rich Harden's turn in rotation … ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington announced that right-hander Rich Harden will start Tuesday in Tampa Bay, meaning lefty C.J. Wilson will pitch Sunday against the Boston Red Sox.
Discussion:
NESN.com