Emma Span
Emma Span
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blog May 21, 2013

Scapegoating Mattingly

don_mattingly
We knew before the season even started that Don Mattingly would be managing for his job -- and the Dodgers are looking dreadful. Part of a manager's job is to be a scapegoat, but Mattingly isn't even one of L.A.'s top 10 problems right now. More»
arroyo_br_1980x1100 article May 12, 2013

Lost in History

From Bronson Arroyo to Cannonball Titcomb, from Turkey Gross to Stubby Clapp, it's far to easy to become lost in the history and clever advertising at Baseball-Reference.com. More»
a_rod article May 8, 2013

Facing The A-Rod Reality

It seems impossible that this situation with Alex Rodriguez -- a huge star openly disparaged and unwanted by his own team, fans and league -- could possibly endure at this high pitch for another five full years. And yet that's the scenario we're facing. More»
blog April 27, 2013

Budget? We Don't Need No Stinking Budget

Hey, remember when the Yankees structured their entire offseason around trying to stay under the $189 million luxury tax threshold in 2014? Yeah, that's not happening -- it seems the Yankees didn't quite understand the details of the collective bargaining agreement. More»
blog April 20, 2013

Better Than Strasburg?

"There's no such thing as a pitching prospect," goes the old baseball saying. Except that every once in a while, there is. Mets ace Matt Harvey certainly fits the profile and, after beating Stephen Strasburg at Citi Field, he's starting to live up to the hype as well. More»
blog April 18, 2013

Padres CEO Not 'Very Smart Guy'

Padres CEO Tom Garfinkel made several mistakes when talking about Zack Greinke: conflating social anxiety disorder with the autism of "Rain Man"; making fun of a mental health issue at all; and assuming it would stay private in the "trust tree." Really. More»
twinsbp_1980x1100 article April 11, 2013

The Thin Edge

The Minnesota Twins announced Tuesday that they would charge $15 for special "early batting practice" tickets for up to 60 fans. Just a few hours later, they backtracked in the face of fan outrage. Why did their plan strike such a nerve? More»
1980x1100_MLB_OD_2013_v3 article April 1, 2013

30 Teams, 30 Reasons to Watch

Ah, it's nice to finally watch baseball games that count and there many abstract reasons to be happy about that. But if there's one thing MLB fans will never, ever run out of, it's details. So, getting more specific, here are 30 things to look forward to this season. More»
blog March 29, 2013

Memories of Johan Santana

Every baseball fan knows that pitcher health is fragile, but it takes something like Johan Santana's possible career-ending injury to feel just how unfair that is. Still, Santana left behind lot of indelible memories: That changeup. Those Cy Young years. The no-hitter. More»
blog March 27, 2013

All's Wells That Ends Wells

To be honest, the Vernon Wells-to-the-Yankees trade is more important as a joke than it will likely be in baseball terms. Due to his ludicrous contract, Wells has been a punchline for several years now, but the deal isn't as ridiculous as it appears. More»
blog March 16, 2013

Seeds and Scene Set

The World Baseball Classic is packing up and leaving Miami, and Saturday's low stakes game between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic in front of a relaxed yet exuberant crowd at Marlins Park was a pleasant sendoff. More»
NelsonFigeuroa article March 16, 2013

Moving On

This is what the WBC is all about: A journeyman pitcher -- Nelson Figueroa -- shuts down a lineup of All-Stars as Puerto Rico stuns Team USA 4-3 to knock Joe Torre's squad out of the tournament. Bad for the U.S. Good for the sport, in general. More»
dr_reyes1980x1100 article March 15, 2013

Style Points

The Dominican Republic team in the World Baseball Classic, which beat Team USA on Thursday, has taken the unwritten rules and torn them into a million pieces. It has been fairly spectacular to watch, and a welcome break from business as usual. More»
jasonheyward article March 14, 2013

The Braves' New World

The NL East is set to dethrone the AL East for the title of Toughest Division In Baseball. What's most unusual is not that the Braves are expected to be contenders, but that they're expected to be good but are not favored thanks to their new rivals in Washington. More»
wbc_usa_1980x1100b article March 13, 2013

It's Not About Us

Team USA beat Puerto Rico in round 2 of the World Baseball Classic, but more importantly, it has become apparent that the success or failure of the international tournament does not ride solely on the shoulders of the American squad. More»
1980x1100_SOE_WBC_span article February 28, 2013

International Intrigue

The World Baseball Classic may not be "important" in the grand scheme of things, but you don't need to have a large emotional investment in the outcome to enjoy it. The WBC is fun, and it's different, and it's baseball, unusual baseball. More»
lameduck_managers_1980x1100 article February 21, 2013

Baseball's Lame Duck Managers

Nine of the 30 major league managers enter this season in the last year of their contracts. But how much does being a lame duck matter, and which of those nine is most likely to be out of a job, perhaps before the season heats up? More»
RA_Dickey article February 12, 2013

Go Ahead, Dream Big

From the resurgent hopes of the rebuilt Blue Jays to the high expectations of the high-priced Dodgers, optimism is the operative word across the baseball world this week (well, maybe not in Houston). Here are the top stories to watch as camps open. More»
arod1980x1100 article January 30, 2013

Breaking the Cycle

With Alex Rodriguez again accused of using performance-enhancing drugs, it's time to stop being angry at the aging star and ask: Since this keeps happening, how can we start talking about and dealing with PEDs in a more productive way? More»
andrayblatche article January 14, 2013

Uncomfortable Silence

Andray Blatche has not been accused of sexual assault, but he was staying in a suite with two friends who are. The complete dismissiveness of everyone in the Nets’ organization who’s spoken publicly, and the lack of noise in the media about it, is striking. More»
aaron_rodgers_mustach article December 31, 2012

2012: The Year In Mustaches

It's been a mixed year for mustaches in sports. There were triumphs and joy … and there was loss (RIP, Keith Hernandez’s mustache). Some were grown for charity, others for personal reasons. They were not all good ideas. More»
RiveraYearEnd article December 26, 2012

He's Only Human

The baseball world was stunned when Mariano Rivera went down with a career-threatening knee injury on May 3. For all of us — and especially the author — it was a poignant reminder that we are witnessing the fleeting last days of a living legend. More»
dickeytrade article December 16, 2012

Raising The Stakes

R.A. Dickey appears headed to Toronto in exchange for multiple top prospects. While the Mets are folding to wait for a better hand, the Blue Jays are betting everything on 2013. Who better to challenge the odds than a 38-year-old Cy Young winner? More»
A_Rodstrikeout article December 4, 2012

GM For A Day: New York Yankees

The phrase “the Yankees on a budget” sounds downright oxymoronic., but they still have financial issues to wrestle with as they try to fill a plethora of holes -- a problem that's gotten even worse because of Alex Rodriguez's injury troubles. More»
bluejaysthree article November 21, 2012

High Hopes

Toronto has been alternately respectable and mediocre, over or near .500, for several years in a tough division. But the AL East is starting to unfreeze, and with the Jays' recent moves, success might not be assured, but it's at least easy to imagine. More»
charlestillman article November 9, 2012

No Debate

Bears cornerback Charles Tillman received some unnecessary backlash when he revealed he could miss a game for the birth of his daughter. Luckily, we appear to be mostly past this kind of debate. But why would anyone argue against it in the first place? More»
marathon article November 5, 2012

Not A Sprint

It’s hard to recall the context of any sporting event changing as quickly and dramatically as that surrounding this year’s New York City Marathon. Much of New York’s sporting world did go on, but the city was not ready for a race so quickly. More»
Leyland article October 31, 2012

Back in the Saddle

Jim Leyland can come across as a caricature of an old-school manager. A mustachioed chain-smoking baseball lifer, he looks like he stepped out of Central Casting. 'Everybody think I'm a grumpy old man,' he said. 'I'm old but I'm not grumpy.' More»
1980x1100_SOE_WS_debate article October 24, 2012

World Series Dish

The Tigers and Giants took very different paths to the World Series -- one via a steamrolling sweep of the Yankees, the other with a come-from-behind win over the Cardinals. So what can we expect in this year's Fall Classic? Emma Span and Gwen Knapp weigh in. More»
yankees article October 14, 2012

Power Outage in the Bronx

The Tigers are 2-0 on the road in the ALCS, and perhaps it's unfair to overlook that. But what the Yankees AREN'T doing may be even more remarkable. Baseball slumps are mysterious things, and the timing of this one couldn't be worse for New York. More»
jeter_story article October 14, 2012

Agony in Defeat

You wouldn't expect a Yankee to say 'we didn't have much luck' after yet another Raul Ibanez homer. But Mark Teixeira did, and he was right. New York lost Game 1 after a grueling 12 innings, but more importantly, they lost their captain, Derek Jeter. More»
cc_game5 article October 12, 2012

Empire State of Mind

Why, when they had done it all season, could the Orioles not hold on a little longer? The answer is simple, really: CC Sabathia. The Yankees' ace threw a complete-game win on Friday to end the O's fairy-tale run and send New York to the ALCS. More»
orioles article October 12, 2012

Game of Endurance

Sometimes the games are magical and thrilling. Other times they're just a grind, drawing more sighs of relief than jumps for joy. Such was Game 4, a 13-inning Baltimore win that left the Orioles tired, the Yankees more so and Joe Girardi most of all. More»
raul article October 11, 2012

Pair of Jacks Wins

How cool a story is Raul Ibanez? Many thought the guy had nothing left, but first he saved the Yankees' division title, and then he did the unthinkable: pinch-hit for A-Rod ... and crushed two homers to beat the Orioles. HOW COOL IS RAUL IBANEZ? More»
1980x1100_SOE_MLB_playoffs article October 4, 2012

MLB Playoffs: Reading the Tea Leaves

Billy Beane was right: The playoffs are a crapshoot. Anything can happen in a short series, let alone the new wild-card matchups. So this year, in addition to evaluating every team and analyzing the numbers, we sought a little help ... from a psychic. More»
Tony La Russa article September 26, 2012

He's Grrreat! (Really, He'll Tell You.)

Tony La Russa has won three World Series trophies, six pennants, four Manager of the Year awards and 2,728 total games, third on the all-time list. There's no arguing any of this. (Oh, and he loves puppies.) But as his memoir reminds us, he is SO annoying. More»
Trouble with the curve article September 24, 2012

The Real Trouble With 'The Curve'

I wanted so much to like 'Trouble With the Curve.' And a part of me did, but the basic premise of the film, its stats vs. scouts stance, is just too unrealistic, especially in this day in and age. Especially when the 'Moneyball' A's are winning again. More»
R.A. Dickey article September 13, 2012

Kind of a Big Deal

The major leagues' lone knuckleballer, R.A. Dickey of the Mets is also one of the game's best pitchers this season. He leads the NL in ERA, has an eye-popping strikeout-to-walk ratio and might just add an unprecedented honor: a Cy Young Award. More»
Bobby Valentine article September 6, 2012

A Sad Valentine

Bobby Valentine seemed like a smart hire for the Red Sox. He got a lot out of his Mets teams, was second in Manager of the Year voting with the Rangers and was generally liked by fans. So what happened? How did things go wrong in Boston? More»
Roger Clemens article August 26, 2012

Unprecedented, But Not Unthinkable

Fifty years old and out of work for five years -- it's not the usual résumé of a pitching prospect, but Roger Clemens could make the unprecedented leap back to the majors. Of course, if he does return, his true motivation may always be questioned. More»

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