Top News:
Jeffrey Toobin / New Yorker:
MADOFF'S CURVEBALL … - POLITICS - PROFILES - THE TALK OF THE TOWN - COMMENT - THIS WEEK'S ISSUE - THE FINANCIAL PAGE - NEWS DESK - THE POLITICAL SCENE
Discussion:
New York Times, HardballTalk, CBS New York, Baseball Prospectus, Mets Merized Online, Tedquarters, ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, ESPN, Rising Apple, Mike Silva's …, The Big Lead, Deadspin, Can't Stop The Bleeding, New Jersey Online, Amazin' Avenue, MetsBlog.com, Baseball Nation, Subway Squawkers, The Knobler Blog, Kranepool Society, MLB Rumors, OnTheBlack.com, NESN.com, The 'Ropolitans and MetsMinorLeagueBlog.com
RELATED:
Matthew Cerrone / MetsBlog.com:
Wilpon's candid comments (and Toobin's insight)
Wilpon's candid comments (and Toobin's insight)
Discussion:
Amazin' Avenue, Kranepool Society and ESPN
Joe DiGiovanni / MLB.com:
MLB disciplines Rizzo, fines Rodriguez — MILWAUKEE — Nationals' general manager Mike Rizzo was disciplined and catcher Ivan Rodriguez was fined for their roles in a dispute with umpires last week in New York, a Major League Baseball source said on Monday.
RELATED:
Joe DiGiovanni / MLB.com:
Strasburg takes first step toward return — MILWAUKEE — Stephen Strasburg threw his first bullpen session on Monday since undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow on Sept. 3. — “First bullpen in the books,” Strasburg wrote on his Twitter account after throwing off a mound …
Joe DiGiovanni / MLB.com:
Cardinals take back reliever Broderick — MILWAUKEE — The St. Louis Cardinals on Monday took back reliever Brian Broderick, who had been selected by the Nationals in the Rule 5 Draft. — The Cardinals paid the Nationals $25,000 and assigned Broderick to Triple-A Memphis.
MLB.com:
Nationals place ailing LaRoche on DL — First baseman gets second opinion on shoulder injury — MILWAUKEE — First baseman Adam LaRoche on Monday was placed on the 15-day disabled list by the Washington Nationals to rest a torn labrum in his left shoulder. — The move is retroactive to Saturday.
Fox Sports:
Why all the parity in baseball? — Your eyes do not deceive you. The standings do not deceive you. There is indeed greater parity in baseball this season — so far. — Entering Sunday's play, 20 of the 30 clubs were within four games of .500 — the most ever on May 21, according to STATS LLC.
Steven Goldman / Baseball Prospectus:
The Annotated WARP Leaders — Our collection of BP-flavored single-season WARP scores currently goes back to 1950. Now that we've added fielding runs to the sortable choices, you can easily see the combination of offense and defense that made the top players during this period so valuable …
Discussion:
THE BOOK and Pinstriped Bible …
Bud Shaw / Plain Dealer:
Asdrubal Cabrera's emergence as a star lights the way for first-place Cleveland Indians: Bud Shaw — CLEVELAND, Ohio — Only Miss Manners could say for sure, but is it considered poor taste to send a thank you card to a player best remembered now for what his departure brought in return?
Discussion:
Boston Globe, Over the Monster, Projo Sox Blog, Ultimate Astros, The Knobler Blog, MLB Rumors and Cincinnati Reds
Scott Powers / ESPN:
Switch-pitcher? Ambidextrous HS star on rise … ELGIN, Ill. — Professional scouts are paying increasing attention to a right-handed pitcher and a left-handed pitcher from a tiny school in Elgin, Ill., and it happens to be the same player. — Ryan Perez has become a spectacle for fans …
Discussion:
HardballTalk
San Francisco Chronicle:
A's Josh Outman to return against Angels — (05-22) 21:27 PDT — No pressure, Josh Outman. First major-league appearance in nearly two years, on the road, Jered Weaver pitching for the Angels and the A's stumbling along on a five-game losing streak. — That's the assignment Outman …
Discussion:
MLB Rumors, River Avenue Blues and MLB Daily Dish
Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
Braves Sign Julio Lugo — The Braves signed shortstop Julio Lugo to a minor league contract that's pending a physical, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes.com. Lugo will earn $12K per month in the minor leagues and a pro-rated portion of $650K if he makes the Major Leagues, Rojas reports.
Discussion:
Talking Chop and MLB Daily Dish
Baseball Prospectus:
BP Announces Free Public Access to Archives — Baseball Prospectus, owner of BaseballProspectus.com (BP), today announced it has made its entire archive of premium and fantasy content over one year old completely and permanently free to the public. — Hundreds of original articles …
Discussion:
BBTF's Baseball Primer …
Associated Press:
Alexei Ramirez powers surging White Sox past Dodgers 8-3 — CHICAGO — Alexei Ramirez homered and drove in a career-high five runs, and the suddenly surging Chicago White Sox beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-3 on Sunday. — Ramirez hit a two-run homer in the first inning …
Discussion:
South Side Sox and baseballmusings.com
RELATED: