Top News:
Jesse Rogers / ESPN:
Jose Ramirez's 2-run homer sends Guardians past Rays in AL opener — CLEVELAND — When the Cleveland Guardians needed a response, after Tampa Bay took a 1-0 lead in Game 1 of their AL Wild Card Series on Friday, it came as no surprise that All-Star third baseman Jose Ramirez would be the guy to come through.
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USA Today
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USA Today:
MLB playoffs live updates: Cardinals-Phillies underway, Shane Bieber dominates Rays in Cleveland win — Major League Baseball's best-of-three wild card series begin Friday, a quadruple-header to kick off the first year with an expanded 12-team postseason field.
Discussion:
MLB Baseball News …
Gabe Lacques / USA Today:
4 things we learned from MLB playoff openers: It's on Jacob deGrom to save the Mets' season — Blink, and it could be over. — For all the talk that Major League Baseball's best-of-three wild-card weekend would somehow be fairer than the one-game playoff that preceded it …
Discussion:
MLB Baseball News …
Tyler Kepner / New York Times:
Baseball's Postseason Is Evolving, for Better or Worse — With 40 percent of teams qualifying for the playoffs, and four teams getting first-round byes, October will have a very different feel. And plenty of new merchandise. — ST. LOUIS — Baseball people never use the word tournament.
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MLB Baseball News …
St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Notebook: How Game 1 is a ‘what could have been’ matchup for Cardinals and Phillies — Whatever gaze Jose Quintana gave manager Oliver Marmol during that start for the Cardinals in August radiated with such a “sense of purpose” that the manager returned again and again to that look …
Discussion:
New Jersey Online, Padres, NBCSports.com, AZ Snake Pit and Phillies Nation
Bob Nightengale / USA Today:
Will Albert Pujols go out on top? Cardinals legend says final MLB postseason is ‘why I came back’ — ST. LOUIS — Albert Pujols, driving his black Rolls Royce Phantom on I-64, takes exit 40 towards 6th Street, and heads into the players' parking lot at Busch Stadium.
Discussion:
MLB Baseball News …
USA Today:
MLB playoffs: From Mets to Mariners, one question for every team in baseball's wild card weekend
Discussion:
MLB Baseball News … and Yahoo News
Alden Gonzalez / ESPN:
‘This is how I want my career to end’: In magical final season, one last playoff push for Albert Pujols
Discussion:
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated:
Inside the MLB Culture Wars That Led to Joe Maddon's Firing — How could a World Series-winning manager with 19 years of experience lose his job over a 12-game sample? The answer is about much more than just a losing streak. — Excerpted from THE BOOK OF JOE: Trying Not to Suck at Baseball & Life by Joe Maddon and Tom Verducci.
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors, SGV Tribune and Bleacher Nation
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Jeff Fletcher / Orange County Register:
Angels GM Perry Minasian says it's ‘business as usual’ despite ownership questions — Minasian accepts responsibility for building a flawed roster last winter, when he focused on pitching. He says this winter he needs to improve the team in all areas. — ANAHEIM — Perry Minasian acknowledged …
Sarah Valenzuela / Los Angeles Times:
Angels GM Perry Minasian will look at ‘opportunities’ for team's roster in offseason
Discussion:
ESPN, Lookout Landing, The Athletic and New Jersey Online
Dan Albano / Orange County Register:
Mater Dei football knocks off St. John Bosco with big lift from defense — Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now — SANTA ANA — Mater Dei's football team claimed a state championship last season despite swirling controversy.
Discussion:
Daily Breeze
Evan Petzold / Detroit Free Press:
Detroit Tigers fire scouting director Scott Pleis after 15 seasons, per sources — Detroit Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris has started the restructuring of his front office. — Amateur scouting director Scott Pleis was fired after 15 seasons with the organization …
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors
Nick Piecoro / Arizona Republic:
Bullpen, right-handed bat, rotation help all high on Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen's to-do list — The Diamondbacks won 22 more games this year than the previous year, but it was clear from General Manager Mike Hazen's end-of-year session with reporters that fact did not mean much to him.
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors
Jon Heyman / New York Post:
Mets prospect hesitation their trade deadline undoing — MORE FROM: — The Cubs had two players that obviously would have helped the Mets at the deadline — Willson Contreras and David Robertson — but Cubs management is said to have grown so frustrated by the Mets' unwillingness to give …
Discussion:
NBCSports.com, Cubs Insider and Bleacher Nation
Abbey Mastracco / New York Daily News:
Jeff McNeil's .326 batting average edges Freddie Freeman by just a point — With Jeff McNeil leading the National League and the entire league with a .326 average, the Mets opted not to play their infielder/outfielder, instead letting him rest ahead of the postseason matchup against the San Diego Padres.
Discussion:
ESPN, New Jersey Online and Denver Post
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Bill Plunkett / Orange County Register:
Dodgers put finishing touches on historic regular season with 111th win
Discussion:
Whittier Daily News, Los Angeles Times and MLB Baseball News …
