Street surrenders winning run in ninth - MLB - Yahoo! Sports
"Huston Street was already struggling in the frigid conditions. A missed call by plate umpire Jerry Meals in the ninth inning really put him in a bind. Following the game, Meals acknowledged that, after watching a replay, Chase Utley’s accidental swing hit the Philadelphia second baseman first before rolling into fair territory. It should’ve been a foul ball." Another blown call. MLB needs full-time refs! Wait... -duck
Punto's gaffe dooms Twins in Metrodome finale - MLB - Yahoo! Sports
"Nick Punto’s baserunning blunder cost the Twins a chance to tie the game in the eighth inning, and the New York Yankees eliminated Minnesota with a 4-1 victory Sunday night in their division series that shut the doors for good on professional baseball in the raucous, quirky ballpark." So no dome next year. That will really bring out the April home crowds... -duck
Angels rally off Papelbon in 9th to sweep Red Sox
"The Angels and Vladimir Guerrero(notes) shrugged off their postseason failures and swept away the Red Sox on Sunday, scoring three runs off Jonathan Papelbon(notes) in the ninth inning to beat Boston 7-6 and advance to the AL championship series." -duck
Will Jonathan Papelbon be wearing a Red Sox uniform in 2010?
"In the wake of Boston's 7-6 loss to Los Angeles in the ALDS, message boards and Twitter feeds everywhere wondered if Papelbon had thrown his last pitch in a Red Sox uniform. Over on Fox Sports, Ken Rosenthal suggested that Papelbon would be the one to take the fall for his team's quick playoff exit." Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. -duck
La Russa undecided about 2010 after early exit - MLB - Yahoo! Sports
"Tony La Russa’s not certain he wants to return for a 15th season as St. Louis Cardinals manager. For one thing, he didn’t expect to begin so soon the decision-making process that begins every time his contract expires." The Stones sang it best, Tony: "I sung my song to Mr. Jimmy / Yeah, and he said one word to me, and that was 'dead' ". What? You thought I'd go with the chorus? -duck
LA ready for time off after polishing off Cards
"Relishing the underdog role all series, the Dodgers made quicker-than-expected work of St. Louis to sweep into the National League Championship Series for the second straight year." Yeah, the Dodgers won two days ago. I like 'em, and I'm a mod. DEAL WITH IT! -duck
Baseball Prospectus asks: Whadda ya wanna know?
Interesting contest from Baseball Prospectucs: "If you had access to all of the information available to a major league team - both public and proprietary data, such as scouting reports, training reports, video, etc - what question(s) would you attempt to answer with that data?" Not sure if you need a login to see the contest post, but if you're a BP subscriber (and I'd suggest it), here ya go. -duck
Davey Johnson talks about the New York Mets winning the 1969 World Series. -duck
Albert Belle calls in advice: Don't trade your stars
Albert Belle gives the Indians' front office advice. And I think he really does want to be their manager. -duck
You're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view. Anakin was a good friend. When I first knew him, your father was already a great pilot. But I was amazed how strongly the Open Thread was with him. I took it upon myself to train him as a Jedi. I thought that I could instruct him just as well as Yoda. I was wrong.