grapefruit-league Page 11 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Olympic baseball won’t feature best vs. best and that’s a shame
It’s exciting that baseball is back in the Olympics for Tokyo after having been out of the program in 2012 and 2016. It’s also going to be a weird mix of intriguing and disappointing to watch it all unfold, because while there are going to be familiar faces, the Olympics happening simultaneously wit...
Deadspin predicts: Teams that will improve, or regress, in the second half
The All-Star Game has come and gone. The American League continues to wreck the Senior Circuit year-in, year-out, and it’s abundantly clear that Vladdy Jr., Shohei Ohtani, and Liam Hendriks are the coolest dudes in the sport. Now, the attention turns to the second half of the season. Will the teams ...
So what are the Red Sox doing here?
It used to be that when the Yankees were good (which definitely isn’t the case now), not only did it piss everyone off, because YANKEES, but it was an indictment of the whole league. The Dodgers have taken that mantle for the most part, but seeing either team atop the standings, past or present, mea...
The Baltimore Orioles are a beautiful mess that makes absolutely zero sense
The Orioles are not a good team. They haven’t been a consistently great team since the late ’90s. Sure they had that one season in 2014 where they got swept in the ALCS after winning their first division title in 17 years, but were only good for that one season. The Orioles have finished either 4th ...
The latest problem for the Yankees? Their equipment truck
It wasn’t supposed to be this way for the Yankees. The pundits proclaimed 2021 could be their year. But it’s just not....
What does Major League Baseball have against the Rays?
I swear, the Tampa Bay Rays are the Rodney Dangerfield of Major League Baseball — they get no respect. And I don’t get it. I just don’t. What do the Rays have to do in order to earn some praise for what they’ve done? Win an AL pennant? Nope, not good enough. MLB gave the Rays just an 18.6 percent ch...
Astros can’t handle the truth
It’s not like the Astros could have been surprised. And if they were, that’s on them. But then again, the Astros haven’t really stopped bitching since they got caught doing whatever it was they did for two or three years. They told you it wasn’t that big of a deal, after they told you that they didn...
When fans care more about cheats than abusers
The Houston Astros missed out on all the fun last year. They still might not get the full brunt of it this term. And by the time baseball stadiums are full again, which might not be until 2022, maybe it will have blown over to a degree....
Mellon Collie and The Minnesota Twins: At this rate a playoff collapse looks unlikely
It’s probably hard enough to be the Minnesota Twins under normal circumstances. Because no one outside of the Twin Cities wants to see you in the playoffs ever again. Some have even drafted measures to get you banned from the postseason forever. That’s what happens when you can’t manage to win a sin...
Everything is going great in the Bronx, except for the numbskull fans and very not good Yankees baseball
For everyone who’s ever said the Yankees are the worst, today is your day....
How well did<em> MLB: The Show</em> choose cover athletes? We rank all 15 player performances that season
One month later than usual, MLB: The Show is finally releasing their 2021 installment. Although the game itself doesn’t fully come out until Tuesday, April 20, today begins the early access release period, meaning if you pre-ordered the game, you’re probably playing it right now....
On Opening Day, the signs of how much we’ve lost were everywhere
After getting the coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday, I was pretty out of it on Thursday, which meant that Opening Day was a different experience than usual. I woke up in the morning, had breakfast and walked the dog, then went right back to sleep, setting an alarm to be able to watch the first inning...
What to expect in the AL West
Can anyone rise over .500 and challenge the A’s? How will the Astros do without George Springer? Can the Mariners surprise a few people? Will we hear anything from Mike Trout and the Angels? And how bad will the Rangers be?...
What to expect in the AL East
Can the Rays repeat as division champs without starters Charlie Morton and Blake Snell? Can the Yankees stay healthy enough and is their starting pitching good enough to return to the top? Are the Blue Jays and all their young talent ready to break through? Where are the Red Sox? And will we see any...
What to expect in the NL East
Francisco Lindor is in Queens. Mets Owner Steve Cohen’s Twitter feed. The Braves are still young and loaded. And is Bryce Harper still a superstar? ...
AL West Preview: Now without the noise, what are the Astros?
There are many who thought the Astros got off light before even hitting spring training last year. While the response was always “immunity,” only a couple managers and a GM suffered with the loss of their jobs. ...
AL East Preview: Baseball Royalty? Let's discuss
The American League East is full of baseball history and royalty, with the likes of the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees often reigning from on high. Last year, the Tampa Bay Rays stole that crown, winning the division in a shortened season by a commanding seven games. The Red Sox, contrastin...
NL East Preview: Are the Mets good enough to topple the Braves?
You could make a definitive argument that the National League East is the strongest 1-through-5 division in Major League Baseball, so long as no one fucks this up....
Derek Jeter won’t rest until the Marlins are as boring as he is
For a team that’s won two World Series, the Marlins existence has been rather unspectacular. Other than those wins, all they’re known for is trading players away. First in 1998, then Marcell Ozuna, Giancarlo Stanton, and Christian Yelich. Whatever happened in between has been covered by the sands of...