Top News:
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:
Fire Brand of the …, ESPN, Baseball Nation and The House That Dewey Built
RELATED:
Michael Vega / Boston Globe:
Hideki Okajima looking to move on from Red Sox, not get called up — PAWTUCKET, R.I. — With the injury to Rich Hill on Wednesday afternoon leaving the Red Sox without a lefthanded reliever in the bullpen, Hideki Okajima said he harbored little, if any, hope of getting called up to fill that open spot.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors
Gordon Edes / ESPN:
Source: Dice-K opting for Tommy John surgery
Discussion:
Fire Brand of the …, YFSF, Boston Globe, River Avenue Blues and Full Count
Associated Press:
Chavez Has Four Hits, Helps Rangers Beat Indians — CLEVELAND (AP) — Endy Chavez had four hits and the Texas Rangers overcame a three-run deficit to beat the Cleveland Indians 7-4 Thursday night. — Yorvit Torrealba drove in two runs and Nelson Cruz twice doubled to start three-run rallies …
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports
RELATED:
Marc Topkin / St. Petersburg Times:
Hellickson named AL Pitcher, Rookie of month
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com
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 …
RELATED:
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.
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:
USA Today, HardballTalk, baseballmusings.com and Baseball Nation
RELATED:
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:
Florida Marlins and HardballTalk
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
RELATED:
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
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
RELATED:
R.B. Fallstrom / Associated Press:
Schierholtz, Giants beat Cards 7-5 in 11 innings
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports, TSN.ca, Purple Row and McCovey Chronicles
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
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
Dylan Hernandez / Los Angeles Times:
Hiroki Kuroda was anything but a big man on campus in high school — The Dodgers right-hander spent most of his time at a Japanese high school on the bench. But he stayed persistent, made it in college and after 11 pro seasons in Japan, is in his fourth season in L.A.'s rotation.
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
Fox Sports:
Mets sell $200M minority stake — Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since August 2005. He appears weekly on MLB on FOX. Follow him on Twitter. — RADIO - SHOP - TICKETS - ODDS — NFL — MLB — NASCAR — NBA — NHL — NCAA FB
Discussion:
MLB.com, HardballTalk, MLB Rumors and Tedquarters
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
RELATED:
T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com:
Rangers won't fret over ‘signability’ this Draft
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball
