mookie-betts Page 2 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Mookie Betts, not Ronald Acuña Jr., is the NL MVP
We’d all be better off if every MVP award was simply renamed, “Player Of The Year,” as it would save us a very annoying and tiresome debate about what “valuable” means. It gets doubly so in baseball, where we still haven’t quite escaped what numbers people should pay attention to, and what is overbl...

Who’s up for a non-NBA pro athlete slam dunk contest?
Everyone loves a good slam dunk contest. It doesn’t matter if it involves NBA players, college athletes, or dudes from the neighborhood. If those involved are talented, creative highflyers, folks will gather around to enjoy the festivities. Obviously, the NBA owns the crown when it comes to spectacu...

The Los Angeles Angels are going for it because they have to
I would never make the mistake of thinking any sports team owner has any shame. The cash comes too easy, they’re far too up their own ass because they’ve convinced themselves the money they have proves what a genius they are, and they’re too far removed from the fans to really fear any public backla...

Team USA loses exhibition to 3-9 San Francisco Giants
Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Trea Turner, Nolan Arenado, Pete Alonso, Paul Goldschmidt, Kyle Schwarber. With a roster like that, you’d expect Team USA Baseball to dominate every game they play. They’re totally going to destroy Great Britain this Saturday in their first game of the World Baseball Classi...

Winners and losers of the MLB offseason
With the MLB season around the corner, most of the offseason moves we saw over the last few months seem like they happened eons ago. One of the most coveted young players in baseball, Bryan Reynolds, requesting a trade would’ve made waves in any other offseason, but even as rumors surrounding his fu...

The Red Sox actually paid someone
At Monday’s Winter Classic, John Henry appeared, as the hockey team he owns (the Penguins) was playing the Boston Bruins at the ballpark he owns (Fenway Park, as owner of the Red Sox as well). Henry is more reclusive than a lot of owners, so it’s hard to know if he’s as deluded as some billionaires ...

I hope Steve Cohen breaks it all
This isn’t some argument that Steve Cohen is some type of hero. Or even a good guy. I’ve made it pretty clear what I think of any billionaire and the possibility of them being decent people. Camel going through the eye of a needle and all that. ...

No, the San Francisco Giants’ offense isn’t suddenly elite with Carlos Correa
After missing out on Arson Judge, it was only a matter of time before the San Francisco Giants used their massive spending budget on one of the few elite hitters left on the open market. For weeks, the Giants-Carlos Correa speculation had been swirling with some people considering San Fran the front...

When it comes to MLB rumors, why isn’t it ever anyone new?
Right before I sat down (or stood up as it were, as I’m one of those brain geniuses who works standing up. I’m ever so svelte!), news broke that the San Diego Padres had signed Xander Bogaerts to an 11-year, $280 million deal. Bogaerts kicks Fernando Tatis Jr. to the outfield or DH spot for a season...

Bellinger's days in Dodger blue aren't necessarily behind him despite being non-tendered
Prior to the start of the 2021 season, Dodgers’ outfielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger was considered one of the best baseball players on planet Earth. In his three full seasons with LA prior to 2021, he’d won NL Rookie of the Year, an NL MVP, and had smashed 111 home runs. 2020 wasn’t the kindest ...

It’s too early for the Blue Jays to be panicking
It’s hard to not see the Toronto Blue Jays sitting in the catbird seat. It doesn’t feel like the Yankees are exactly poised to hold onto their seat atop the AL East, even if Aaron Judge returns. They don’t have the potential for growth that the Jays do, given the youth of their roster. Bo Bichette, ...

The warm glow of MLB’s Hot Stove warming glow — NL West
Everywhere except Houston, it’s time for teams and fans to try and get to where Houston is. Or it will be in January or February instead of November and December, like it used to be. Anyway, we run through what teams might need and what they might do, for most of them these things don’t line up, and...

MLB needs to explain why Juan Soto is a Gold Glove finalist
A few days ago, Major League Baseball announced its finalists for the Rawlings Gold Glove Awards....

Aaron Judge to Hollywood?
Aaron Judge hadn’t been a free agent for…well, he’s not even a free agent yet at all, and already there is buzz that the Dodgers will be hot on his ass as they bid to create a 125-win team. The kicker is that according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, the Dodgers would ask Mookie Betts to move to second ...

Good riddance, Yadi
While my baseball fandom was thrown in the trash by the Ricketts family, that doesn’t mean the fires of distaste and hatred burn any less. Our passions and love can ebb and flow, but the force of our animus for former rivals always remains strong. Maybe you’re a Red Sox fan out there that can never ...

The Los Angeles Dodgers, the greatest team of all time
The Dodgers won on Sunday. Which really isn’t news, they do that a lot. Beating the Miami Marlins isn’t really cause for celebration either, as it’s far more of a function than an accomplishment. And yet, zoom out and it is pretty startling what the Dodgers have accomplished....

Did the Guardians win the Francisco Lindor trade?
Perhaps the biggest bane of modern baseball is most teams’ aversion to keeping the biggest stars in the game, or even having them in the first place. Only a few teams are willing to pay the best players what they’ve earned, and everyone else is looking for ways to move them along as soon as the play...

Let’s not crown the Dodgers just yet — but let’s sure as hell enjoy the excellence
The 2022 Dodgers may be the most dominant regular-season team we’ve ever seen. And they have a chance to solidify it....

The Dodgers will be buyers at the deadline — here’s who they should target
The Dodgers have a few glaring holes on their roster....

MLB trade deadline candidates — Bats
There’s still a lot of talent on the table, but not nearly as much as there was 365 days ago....