Latest blog entries about MLB
We are finally done with mock drafts… Well after this one and until hopefully at least December of this year in order to find the Arizona Cardinals competitive in year one under Mike LaFleur and company. James Dator of SB Nation dropped his “Way-Too-Early” 2027 NFL Mock Draft and before I reveal a couple of […]
The Reynaldo Lopez mechanics saga is, well, a saga. First, we had his diminished velocity in Spring Training due to “mechanics” rather than injury or something else that persisted, as he was throwing in the high 90s in this 2026 debut. That debut went well without Lopez pitching all that well, but he looked and […]
For the third straight weekend, Texas A&M baseball made history. This time, the Aggies (33-8, 14-6) knocked off the Gators in Gainesville, Fla., to secure their first ever SEC series win in the Swamp and the second in twenty years. The Maroon and White outscored Florida 13-5 over the final two games of the three-game […]
This was the 3rd week of full minor league play (stats are entering play on Sunday, April 26th). According to FanGraphs (which factors in age and proximity to the big leagues), 22-year old backstop Caden Bodine continues to be the top hitter in the Rays system; the Rays acquired the former 1st round pick in […]
By all accounts, Alex Cora is a good manager as far as these things go. Dan is correct in that you really can’t predict or even properly judge a manager’s contributions except in obvious outlier situations, but the buzz around Cora has always been positive. His strongest claim to fame is winning a World Series […]
Two years ago, Colton Cowser nearly won AL Rookie of the Year. Last year, he battled through multiple injuries and saw his production decline dramatically. And this year, Orioles President of Baseball Operations Mike Elias is being asked questions about whether or not the former fifth overall pick could be demoted to Triple-A soon. Elias […]
This is the lab. In the lab we do experiments. Sometimes it is the moral and ethical equivalent of shining a magnifying glass on an ant. In other times, it is a little more serious. I should note that when I put things like this in the lab, it is not proceeded by “the Astros […]
A’s 2, Rangers 1
Outside that pair of series against the Athletics and Rays, this Yankees team has been pretty adept at quickly brushing off losses. That’s something they’ll look to do in the backend of this road trip after missing out on a sweep opportunity against the Houston Astros. After Luis Gil’s increasingly disappointing efforts on Sunday—ultimately leading […]
Meet the Mets The Mets lost twice to the Rockes in the span of six hours. Do you really want to hear any more? Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue Game One and Game Two, MLB.com Game One and Game Two, Newsday, New York Daily News, New York Post, The Athletic Following Sunday’s losses, the Mets […]
The Braves once again took care of business on Sunday, beating the Phillies and winning yet another series as their great start to the season rolls along. The amount of positive data points from the past few weeks is highly encouraging to see, including the Braves going 10-3 against NL East opponents over the past […]
The record-setting 2026 NFL Draft is behind us (as is the Blue-White Game), and we are well and truly off into this year’s off-season. There’s playoff hockey and basketball, as well as golf and baseball to fill our time over the next 4 months, but as always, we want football! So let’s look ahead to […]
Ellie Rodríguez, the Puerto Rican catcher who played nine major league seasons died on Thursday at age 79. Rodríguez only played the one season for the Dodgers, but he held a notable place in local baseball lore. The Dodgers acquired Rodríguez at the end of spring training in 1976 from the Angels for backup outfielder […]
Your morning round-up of the latest from Blueshirt Banter, Rangers News, and updates from around the NHL
Welcome to week 5 of our 2026 NL Central Power Rankings — let’s rank some teams! 1. Chicago Cubs (17-11); 5-2 this week; 73.7% chance to make postseason (FanGraphs) The top of these rankings remain a tough 1-2 punch, as the Cubs and Reds are both vying for the division lead. Chicago extended their win […]
Last Week’s Results Division Standings Last Week Top Pitching Performance of the Week This is an easy one. Harrison’s start on Sunday versus the Pirates was probably the Brewers’ best of the season. In Sunday’s win, which busted a four-game losing streak, Harrison went six shutout innings, allowed only one hit and one walk, and […]
Triple-A: Memphis Redbirds (STL) 14, Norfolk Tides 4 A rough way to close out the series at Harbor Park. The story of the afternoon was a scary moment in the third inning when starter Trey Gibson took a comebacker off his left leg and had to exit the game. He’d allowed five runs (four unearned) […]
Good morning, baseball fans! It’s a new week of San Francisco Giants baseball, so let’s see what’s on deck. The Giants continue their recent trend of having a day off today, before they hit the road again and head for the East Coast. First up will be a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies, before […]
Last week, I gave you some background on the Rockies’ Cultural Education & Development Program. This week, I’m going to follow up by providing some insight into the curriculum. Specifically, I will detail the program in the Dominican Academy and the Dominican Summer League since those are the most intensive programs. The focus is on […]
Happy Monday, everyone. The big news from over this weekend, of course, was the firing of Red Sox manager Alex Cora. The Red Sox are among the teams that have been struggling to start the season, but they are the first to take such drastic action. Alongside Cora, the team fired five additional coaches in […]
Jaylon Thompson writes about a terrific night at the plate on Saturday for Isaac Collins. Kansas City Royals outfielder Isaac Collins knows when he is going well. There is usually a glaring sign. “Just my swing decisions,” he said. “You know, if I’m taking those balls on the edge and executing pitches over the plate, […]
There’s been a strategy in baseball of cycling through bullpen arms to get maximum freshness from your fringier relievers. The Cardinals utilized this to some extent last year, but they’ve mostly abandoned it this year. I’ve seen some complaints about it. We are in late April and there’s really only one instance of using a […]
Divisional battles highlighted the week in the National League West. The San Francisco Giants took two of three games against at home the Dodgers, a series in which runs were at a premium, with 10 runs total between the two teams and two shutouts, nobody scoring more than three in any contest. Dalton Rushing was […]
1902 In a 9-0 whitewashing of the St. Louis Blues, leadoff hitter Sammy Strang played the full game with no official at-bats. That anomaly occurred due to a record-setting five walks in the game. Strang became the first of just six White Sox hitters ever to walk five times in a game (the feat, in […]
Triple-A: Syracuse Mets (13-13) WORCESTER 6, SYRACUSE 2 (BOX) Jonah Tong’s maddening start to 2025 continues. The right-hander continues getting plenty of strikeouts (38 in 25.1 innings), but has been allowing too many free passes (15 in 25.1 innings) and has been far too hittable, leading to afternoons like this one, where he allowed three […]