Top News:
Steve Dorsey / MLB.com:
Riggleman named to All-Star coaching staff — MIAMI — Manager Jim Riggleman will be one of the National League coaches for this summer's All-Star Game, being held at Chase Field in Phoenix on July 12. — Bruce Bochy, skipper of the defending World Series champion Giants, will manage the NL team.
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Steve Dorsey / MLB.com:
Ankiel sits on Friday, could return on Saturday — MIAMI — Center fielder Rick Ankiel was held out of Friday night's series opener against the Marlins at Sun Life Stadium as he continues to nurse a sprained right wrist. — It's the fourth consecutive game that Ankiel is not in Washington's lineup …
Steve Dorsey / MLB.com:
Burnett enjoying homecoming weekend — MIAMI — Sean Burnett always looks forward to a Nationals road trip to Miami. The left-handed reliever attended high school in Wellington, about an hour north of Miami, and resides there in the offseason. He'll have plenty of family and friends …
Jay Greenberg / MLB.com:
Coffey deals with nosebleed on mound
Jay Greenberg / MLB.com:
Riggleman, Eckstein give hitters pep talk
Mark Bowman / MLB.com:
Top prospect Teheran will make debut Saturday — PHILADELPHIA — Instead of having either Tim Hudson or Tommy Hanson pitch on short rest, the Braves will allow top pitching prospect Julio Teheran to make his Major League debut Saturday night against the Phillies.
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports
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Kevin Goldstein / Baseball Prospectus:
Julio Teheran: One-Night Stand — Despite my pleas for sanity, I continue to receive a deluge of “When will Player X be in the big leagues?” questions. Again, I certainly understand them, but I still don't know, and neither does anyone else. A great example of how the calendar plays …
Discussion:
Minor League Ball and Talking Chop
New York Post:
Hedge funder Steve Cohen frontrunner to buy minority stake in Mets — Controversial hedge-fund titan Steve Cohen is very close to being a baseball owner, The Post has learned. — The billionaire money man is the frontrunner to buy a minority stake in the money-losing team and was set …
Discussion:
MLB Rumors, New Jersey Online, MetsBlog.com, HardballTalk, ESPN, Real Dirty Mets and Tedquarters
Jayson Stark / ESPN:
Reviewing what is painfully obvious — Major League Baseball has no excuse for continuing to miss the call on instant replay — This is a tale of two no-hit bids with two very different places in history, all because baseball still can't bring itself to acknowledge the invention of a scary …
Lynn Henning / Detroit News:
Mets' David Wright an option if Tigers continue struggles — Notes, items, thoughts as the best month of the year — May — blissfully begins ... — As mentioned last week, David Wright looks as if he will be available and the Tigers almost certainly will be among those clubs inquiring.
Discussion:
ESPN
Nick Cafardo / Boston Globe:
Live updates: Twins at Red Sox — Top 7th: Twins 9, Red Sox 2 — Sox starters John Lackey and Tim Wakefield have allowed a combined 14 earned runs in 8-1/3 innings the last two starts. As Bill Parcells used to say, “That's not what we're looking for.” — Top 6th: Twins 9, Red Sox 2
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com
Associated Press:
Reds take third straight as Bruce homers in win over Cubs — CHICAGO — Jay Bruce hit a three-run homer while Brandon Phillips made some key defensive plays at second base as the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Chicago Cubs 5-4 on Friday for their third straight win.
Discussion:
Associated Press, Yahoo! Sports and Bleed Cubbie Blue
Marc Topkin / St. Petersburg Times:
Lower-back strain sends Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Jeff Niemann to disabled list — ST. PETERSBURG — RHP Jeff Niemann is headed to the disabled list with a lower-back strain that will sideline him for an undetermined about of time. — “It's very frustrating,” he said.
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports, HardballTalk and Rays Index
Sports Illustrated:
Six teams that could be in need of a trade for Mets' Reyes … The first Jose Reyes trade rumor was thrown out early — surely way too early to be seriously considered, as it came nearly three months before the trade deadline. But it won't be the last. — No, this was very likely …
Discussion:
HardballTalk, Federal Baseball and MLB Rumors
Baseball America:
Prospect Hot Sheet: May 6 — Team: high Class A Wilmington (Carolina) — Why he's here: 2-0, 2.57, 13 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 2 R, 1 BB, 18 SO — The Scoop: The Royals' first wave of prospects are starting to filter into the big leagues—Eric Hosmer's callup means the first baseman will join …
Associated Press:
MLB, union consider plan to handle DUI incidents … NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball and its players' association are considering a formal plan for dealing with alcohol-related incidents in the next collective bargaining agreement. — Two people familiar with the talks confirmed them to The Associated Press on Friday.
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports
Associated Press:
Dykstra indicted in feds' bankruptcy fraud case — LOS ANGELES — Former New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Lenny Dykstra has been indicted by a Los Angeles federal grand jury in a bankruptcy fraud case. — The 48-year-old filed for bankruptcy in 2009 and is accused …
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports and ESPN
Howard Bryant / MLB:
Bryant: Even at 80, Willie Mays' superstar legacy endures — Nearly 40 years after his final game, Willie Mays' superstar legacy has endured — The words reverberate, vibrating noisily like a quarter sitting atop a spinning washing machine, rattling and demanding acceptance from those who wince …
Discussion:
AZ Snake Pit
Fox Sports:
Too much for Twins to overcome? — At a time when it's tempting to play “Taps” for the 2011 Twins, a drum roll, please, for some of the comebacks in the franchise's recent history: — 2006: 11 1/2 games back on June 7, the Twins pass three teams to win the AL Central, with first baseman Justin Morneau winning the league MVP award.
Discussion:
Baseball Nation