Top News:
Associated Press:
Carlos Peguero's two homers lead Seattle past Rays, 8-2 — SEATTLE — Rookie Carlos Peguero hit two of Seattle's season-high four home runs, all off James Shields, and ace Felix Hernandez cruised through seven innings to lead the Mariners to an 8-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night.
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Associated Press
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Jerry Crasnick / MLB:
Crasnick: Baldelli aiding Tampa Bay draft effort — Former 2000 first-round draft pick now scouting amateur players for Rays — Rocco Baldelli's new career as a troubleshooting scout for the Tampa Bay Rays got off to a shaky start this spring when he suffered a case of food poisoning that necessitated a trip to the emergency room.
Discussion:
DRaysBay
Marc Topkin / St. Petersburg Times:
Hellickson named AL Pitcher, Rookie of month
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com
Andrew Baggarly / Extra Baggs:
Giants GM Brian Sabean rips Scott Cousins, says club would be happy if he never plays in big leagues again (31) — Buster Posey's season-ending collision with Marlins rookie Scott Cousins remains an emotional subject for the Giants, and clearly, one of those emotions is anger.
Discussion:
Baseball Prospectus, El Lefty Malo, USA Today, HardballTalk, Baseball Nation and MLB.com
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Henry Schulman / San Francisco Chronicle:
SF Giants' Brian Sabean blasts Cousins — Giants general manager Brian Sabean on Thursday tore into Scott Cousins of the Florida Marlins for his devastating hit on Buster Posey, saying the Giants will have a “long memory” of play and everyone in the organization will be happy if Cousins is through as a major-league player.
Discussion:
Fish Tank, Florida Marlins and HardballTalk
Peter Abraham / Boston Globe:
Medical updates on Hill, Matsuzaka — Lefthanded reliever Rich Hill, who left yesterday's game clutching his arm, has a serious injury according to a major league source and is likely to require season-ending surgery. — Hill and the Red Sox will seek a second opinion …
Discussion:
Projo Sox Blog, YFSF, Fire Brand of the …, ESPN, The House That Dewey Built, Baseball Nation and Full Count
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Michael Vega / Boston Globe:
Hideki Okajima looking to move on from Red Sox, not get called up
Discussion:
MLB Rumors
Peter Abraham / Boston Globe:
Report: Daisuke Matsuzaka decides on Tommy John surgery
Discussion:
MLB Daily Dish, Yahoo! Sports, The House That Dewey Built and joy of sox
Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Nix sits on Thursday in favor of Ankiel, Bernadina — PHOENIX — Although he has been the Nationals' most consistent hitter this season, outfielder Laynce Nix found himself on the bench against D-backs left-hander Zach Duke on Thursday. — Instead manager Jim Riggleman decided to play Rick Ankiel …
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Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Hitting coach looks to ignite Nats bats — PHOENIX — Nationals hitting coach Rick Eckstein said Thursday afternoon he understood why general manager Mike Rizzo instructed him not to talk to the media for several weeks. Eckstein would have blamed himself for the team's weak offense.
Bill Shaikin / Los Angeles Times:
Nine of 30 teams reportedly in violation of MLB debt service rules — Dodgers' and Mets' issues are well-known but others are said to carry debt 10 times more than annual earnings. McCourts' personal use of redirected funds makes situation different, consultant says.
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com
Amy K. Nelson / ESPN:
MLB resolves Yuri Sucart issue — The matter regarding Alex Rodriguez's cousin being at the New York Yankees' team hotel has been resolved, Major League Baseball said Thursday. — “Our position is, we told the Yankees, they agreed, that [Yuri Sucart] should not be allowed in any non-public areas …
Discussion:
HardballTalk, Baseball Nation and New Jersey Online
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Associated Press:
Chris Johnson homers, Astros beat sloppy Padres 7-4 — SAN DIEGO — Chris Johnson homered and the Houston Astros used a five-run third inning to beat the sloppy San Diego Padres 7-4 on Thursday night in a matchup of the NL's two worst teams. — The Astros (23-34), last in the NL Central …
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports
R.B. Fallstrom / Globe and Mail:
Aubrey Huff powers Giants past Cardinals — Aubrey Huff hit three home runs and matched his career best with six RBIs and the San Francisco Giants hammered a pair of rookie pitchers making their major league debuts in a 12-7 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night.
Discussion:
McCovey Chronicles
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R.B. Fallstrom / Associated Press:
Schierholtz, Giants beat Cards 7-5 in 11 innings
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports, Purple Row, TSN.ca and McCovey Chronicles
Joey Nowak / MLB.com:
Twins lose Thome, Kubel to 15-day DL — The Twins placed outfielder Jason Kubel and designated hitter Jim Thome on the 15-day disabled list, the club announced Thursday afternoon. — Kubel, who leads the Twins in RBIs (30) and batting average (.310) among position players this season …
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com and Yahoo! Sports
Sports Illustrated:
Pujols, Crawford among big names on All-Disappointment team … At this point, with a third of the season in the books, it's fair to start taking performances seriously. The stat-head warning — “small sample size” — is a bit less ominous as we get through 200 plate appearances for hitters …
Discussion:
Orioles Insider and Cincinnati Reds
Associated Press:
Chavez Has 4 Hits, Helps Rangers Beat Indians — CLEVELAND (AP) — Endy Chavez wasn't sure he would ever play again. The Texas Rangers are sure glad he hung in there. — Chavez, who spent nearly two years recovering from knee surgery, had four hits to help Texas overcome a three-run deficit …
Discussion:
Associated Press and Yahoo! Sports
Corey Brock / MLB.com:
Padres plan to take advantage of extra picks — With five of the first 58 selections, Draft a big day for franchise — SAN DIEGO — It's one thing to have the benefit of additional Draft picks to use in the First-Year Player Draft, but it's something else to have the luxury of extra picks in what is considered a very deep Draft.
Discussion:
Talking Chop
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T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com:
Rangers won't fret over ‘signability’ this Draft
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball
