Latest blog entries about MLB
TV: NESN First Pitch: 6:45 p.m. ET The Red Sox and Phillies will tell us a lot about themselves during Wednesday’s matchup at Fenway Park. Boston and Philadelphia both notably fired their managers three weeks ago, with the former treading water (7-7) since dismissing Alex Cora in favor of Chad Tracy, while the latter has […]
Usually when the San Diego Padres score four runs, they can eke out a win with their strong pitching staff. Tuesday night, that was not the case. The Friars jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth inning. Unfortunately, that lead was immediately lost with starter Matt Waldron surrendering five runs […]
Max Fried only lasted three innings on Wednesday afternoon in Baltimore, indeed seeming to take himself out of the game after the third frame. Down 3-0, the lefty immediately went down the tunnel followed by members of the training staff, and pitching coach Matt Blake tapped Paul Blackburn to come in for longman’s work. Fried […]
For mere mortals, an off-day means an off-day, but for Shohei Ohtani, the definition of it is a bit different. For the fourth time this season, the Dodgers will take the field without Ohtani as their designated hitter. If the recent track record serves as an indicator, it’s one of those bad with him and […]
Last year, Dan and I recorded a pre-season podcast where we drafted spots for a Red Sox Bingo card that we never ended up making. I never ended up making. It was me. Despite that, we recorded a pre-season podcast this year where we drafted spots for a Red Sox Bingo card that I never […]
If Tampa Bay Rays owner Patrick Zalupski’s Plan B now that the city of Tampa and Hillsborough County won’t vote on stadium subsidies by the end of this legislative session is to go get state money first and figure out the rest later, uh, he may need a Plan C: Sen. Ed Hooper, a Clearwater Republican […]
The collective-bargaining agreement (CBA) between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association expires Dec. 1. Last time this happened, five years ago, a lockout was imposed on that date and lasted until mid-March, abbreviating Spring Training and forcing schedule changes which resulted in the Cubs playing six doubleheaders in order to get a full […]
Last week, in the space of fewer than 24 hours, Jake McCarthy hit a grand slam and drove in five runs as the Rockies beat the Mets 6-2, and Alek Thomas was designated for assignment. In the short-sightedness of many fans (no judgment; I’m in this category sometimes as well) this meant that we had […]
The Atlanta Braves pulled off a win against the National League Central-leading Chicago Cubs in yesterday’s matchup and are now looking at rookie JR Ritchie to continue their winning streak to capture an early series win. Ritchie, who’s boasting a 3.63 ERA and 1.50 WHIP, didn’t appear in his usual rotation during the Los Angeles […]
The glass of baseball is always half full and half empty at the same time and the 2026 A’s are no exception. Half full: the A’s still own sole possession of 1st place at the 1/4 mark. Half empty: their 21-20 record puts them currently on pace for only 84 wins. The Good Let’s start […]
It’s hard to find too much to gripe about with the 2026 Atlanta Braves through 42 games. At the plate, they lead the majors in batting average (.272), slugging percentage (.452), wOBA (.347), wRC+ (121), and have scored the most runs of any team (233). On the mound and with the gloves, they’re tops in […]
The Nationals have been a surprisingly fun team to watch so far in 2026. As we have documented, the offense has been absolutely electric and the pitching staff has stabilized after a rough start to the season. However, the defense has been very rough, and it is showing no signs of improvement. Even in last […]
The attrition within the Cincinnati Reds starting rotation has, apparently, finally become too much to bear. Hunter Greene is out until the All Star break, while Brandon Williamson only recently got sent to the 60-day IL for his shoulder ailment. Rhett Lowder, meanwhile, heard ‘clicking’ in his shoulder during his last start, and while an […]
There is a major change in out TV broadcasts. For the first time in many many years, Buck Martinez isn’t sitting in one of the chairs in the booth. Dan Shulman is still there. As is Hazel Mae and Arden Zwelling are still the sideline reporters. And Jamie Campbell and a rotating cast do the […]
The Nats have scored 5.4 runs per game in the first quarter of the season. That just isn't good - it's second best in baseball good. But to Nats fans this feels very weird. Sure they could be better than average if the pieces came through but second best in baseball? If you told me that last year I would have had at least some Dylan Crews fighting for ROY expectations. What do the stats say? BASE Average - .244 t10th OBP - .325 t9th SLG - ....
Were you excited about the ABS challenge system at the start of the season? Did you think Craig Breslow’s “pitching and defense team” would be taking advantage of a new tool to help them reach the playoffs again? Well, so far challenges aren’t really a Red Sox thing. Whether this was an Alex Cora decision […]
When the Jays are playing the way they are, I find it hard to come up with things to write about. Or perhaps I’m just depressed about the state of the team. At the quarter mark of the season, the surprise player (well, surprise in a good way) has to be Brandon Valenzuela. He’s only […]
After that skid in Milwaukee, the Yankees have the chance to get right back on the horse today with a series win over Baltimore. First pitch time has been moved up from 6:35pm to 1:05pm this afternoon with fears of some nasty weather tonight, but we’re all hoping for some nasty pitching from Max Fried […]
After a four-game sweep in the Bronx last week, I was in no hurry to see the Orioles face the Yankees again. This time it’s gone better, although far from great. In Game 1, the O’s snatched a late win, with Coby Mayo going yard after his team had been no-hit for six innings. But […]
The Giants outfielders got up close and personal with each other after winning.
Newcastle United are monitoring Lecce defender Tiago Gabriel ahead of a possible summer transfer as they prepare for a defensive-line rebuild. “Newcastle United are reportedly keeping tabs on Lecce’s young defender Tiago Gabriel ahead of a potential summer move,” Football Place reported on May 7. The interest comes as uncertainty surrounds the future of Fabian […]
The Royals were one of many teams to cut ties with Diamond Sports last winter, working with MLB to develop their own broadcast channel, Royals.TV. The broadcasts have looked largely the same as in past years, with many of the same faces – Ryan Lefebvre, Rex Hudler, Jeremy Guthrie, Joel Goldberg, and Jeff Montgomery. However […]
LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers swept the New York Mets four weeks ago, their second sweep in four series at Dodger Stadium at that point, running their record to 14-4. It feels like a lifetime ago now. The Dodgers also won their next game, the series opener at Coors Field for a 15-4 record. They […]
We’re a little more than a quarter of the way into what’s shaping up to be a profoundly disappointing season for the Blue Jays. I want to dig a bit into each of the guys who’s on the roster and has received significant playing time this year to figure out what’s going on and whether […]
1957 White Sox pitcher Billy Pierce became the first member of the team (and the first Chicago athlete) to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated, with the headline “Pride of Chicago.” In 1957, the year the magazine cover came out, Pierce went 20-12 with a 3.26 ERA. It was his second straight 20-win season, and he led the league […]