Top News:
Johnette Howard / ESPN:
Yankees don't look ready for Red Sox — With Boston coming to Bronx, bumbling Bombers blown out by Kansas City Royals — NEW YORK — The way they dove to snag ground-ball smashes and sprinted from gap to gap all night long to take away base hits, the way they batted around in the second inning …
Discussion:
Boston Globe, Pinstripe Alley, Surviving Grady and WasWatching.com
RELATED:
NY Daily News:
Bondy: Girardi hoping for BoSox boost — The Yankee-Red Sox rivalry never dies, but it has cooled to a hypothermic state best described as dormant. — That's what we get Friday, when Boston arrives in the Bronx with a sub-.500 record, a pitching staff ranked 12th in the American League and a very recent history of non-contention.
Discussion:
Boston Globe and HardballTalk
Jon Cooper / MLB.com:
Sweet! Harper's hitting streak hits 16 games — ATLANTA — The beat goes on for Bryce Harper. — The Nationals' first-round Draft pick singled in the third inning on Thursday night to extend his hitting streak to 16 games. — Harper lined a single to right field off Delmarva Shorebirds …
RELATED:
David Schoenfield / ESPN:
Beltran's homers suggest a new home — Here's how much the sport of baseball has changed in just a few short years: On Thursday, Carlos Beltran became the first player in 2011 to hit three home runs in a game. — From 1995 through 2010, this happened 178 times (including three four-homer games) …
Discussion:
Mets360, Tedquarters, New York Magazine and Mets Merized Online
RELATED:
Jonathan Mayo / MLB.com:
Who will Pirates take No. 1 overall in Draft? — Bucs' selection draws intrigue with no clear-cut top pick this year — As exciting as the past two First-Year Player Drafts have been, who the No. 1 pick would be had all the drama and intrigue of a trip to the accountant.
Discussion:
Baseball America and Bucs Dugout
Canadian Press:
Former Toronto Blue Jays pitching coach Mel Queen dies — TORONTO — Mel Queen, the Toronto Blue Jays former pitching coach and manager who rejoined the organization in 2008 at its player development senior advisor, has died. He was 69. — The cause of death was not divulged.
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports and Batter's Box Interactive …
Gene Sapakoff / The Post and Courier, Charleston SC:
Tale of salvation: Formerly a tormented teen, RiverDogs star and top Yankee prospect Slade Heathcott has turned his life around — Slade Heathcott aimed the shotgun at his father. — “I was ready to do it,” the Charleston RiverDogs' 20-year-old millionaire center fielder said. “Had my finger on the trigger.”
Discussion:
The Yankee Analysts, The LoHud Yankees Blog and River Avenue Blues
Dylan Hernandez / Los Angeles Times:
Dodgers being carried by starting pitching — Injuries have knocked out leadoff hitter, third baseman and two top relievers, but Clayton Kershaw and Co. have kept the Dodgers in the race. Game against Pirates is rained out. — Reporting from Pittsburgh — Only two of the players in their lineup present real threats.
RELATED:
Matt Eddy / Baseball America:
Minor League Transactions: May 4-10 — Players listed with an asterisk (*) signed minor league contracts, replacing major league pacts with the same organization. — Arizona Diamondbacks — Released: LHP Ron Mahay — Optioned to Triple-A: RHP Barry Enright
Discussion:
MLB Rumors
Ronald Blum / Associated Press:
AP Interview: Schieffer says ‘complexity daunting’ — NEW YORK—The man charged by Major League Baseball with sorting through the finances of the Los Angeles Dodgers is finding a complex jigsaw of companies. As Tom Schieffer traces the money from the baseball team to Frank McCourt …
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com
RELATED:
Bill Shaikin / Dodgers Blog:
Selig on Dodgers: ‘The outcome is not predetermined’
Discussion:
HardballTalk and Baseball Nation
Daryl Van Schouwen / Chicago Sun Times:
White Sox need Juan Pierre to be the repair man — OAKLAND, Calif. — The White Sox are going to need better defense in left field and better production at the top of the batting order if they plan to climb their way into contention in the American League Central.
Discussion:
South Side Sox
Jeff Passan / Yahoo! Sports:
Agent puts kibosh on Royals locking up Hosmer — Agent Scott Boras on Thursday shot down any hopes the Kansas City Royals had of signing burgeoning star Eric Hosmer — to a long-term extension, telling Yahoo! Sports he expects massive increases in television revenue to change the landscape of salaries in baseball.
Discussion:
FanGraphs Baseball, HardballTalk, Minor League Ball and MLB Rumors
Aaron Gleeman / HardballTalk:
Harmon Killebrew: “My battle with esophageal cancer is coming to an end” — Hall of Famer and Twins great Harmon Killebrew has entered into hospice care following unsuccessful treatments for esophageal cancer and issued a very sad and equally brave statement: … Damn.
Discussion:
Twinkie Town
Sports Illustrated:
Underperforming pitchers … Tom Verducci breaks down three big-name starters who have not lived up to expectations this year. — It's official: The Rockies no longer have an ace. It's not Ubaldo Jimenez right now — not the way he's pitching. A team doesn't go 0-9 behind its ace …
Discussion:
Denver Post
