Each morning, Monday through Friday, I'll hook you up with reading material to skim through as you slug down coffee and slack off at the start of your workday -- that way I'll have an excuse to do the same at the start of mine.
Running it back:
The Ravens struck a deal with Marshal Yanda, agreeing Tuesday afternoon to a five-year deal with the coveted offensive lineman that is believed to average a little more than $6 million per season. ... With Yanda locked up, the Ravens' focus now turns to re-signing cornerback Josh Wilson. ... Domonique Foxworth is ready to get back on the field. ... The Orioles pounded out four home runs en route to a rare win in Toronto. ... Vladimir Guerrero was activated from the disabled list. Can he salvage his season?
Hitting the links:
1. Peter Schmuck says the Ravens will miss the leadership of Todd Heap and Derrick Mason [Baltimore Sun]
2. Did the Ravens cut those players so they could make a run at Nnamdi Asomugha? [CBS Sports]
3. How did the cuts affect local sporting goods stores? [ABC2]
4. Domonique Foxworth is worried about his job [CSN Baltimore]
5. The Ravens play into a couple offseason storylines [SI]
6. Jared Gaither to the Raiders? [Ravens Insider]
7. Dawan Landry to the Jaguars? [Ravens Insider]
8. Marc Bulger to the Cardinals? [Ravens Insider]
9. How ready are the Ravens? [ESPN]
10. Ed Dickson is a top NFL "prospect" [ESPN]
11. Pick your pump-up song, Ravens fans [Ravens.com]
12. What's up with Brian Matusz? [Orioles Insider]
13. The Orioles are still waiting for their young pitching corps to develop [MLB.com]
14. Parting with Jeremy Guthrie won't be easy to do [MASN]
15. Why can't the Orioles stop losing? (Well, they used a different word than losing) [Artie Donovan's Workout Partner]
16. Zach Hample snagged Mike Trout's first home run [LA Times]
You said it:
"Heap's many injuries will likely keep him out of the Hall of Fame, but he's a lock for the Raven's Ring of Honor or whatever they call it. Heap has a ton of football left in hin if he can stay healthy. And I doubt if he wants to go anywhere else. We should work with him on bringing him back." -- reader Fanger pays tribute to Todd Heap, who will be released later this week
Video of the morning:
Jake Arrieta hit Jose Bautista in the head with a pitch Tuesday night. It sounds like he's OK.
Send me your funny and/or interesting links, photos, YouTube videos, blogs, Tweets, comments, emails, ideas, etc. If I deem them to be worthy for the blog, I'll give you a plug. You can reach me at Matt.Vensel@baltsun.com and twitter.com/mattvensel.