nationalleague Page 7 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Nick Castellanos has mastered the untimely home run
Cincinnati’s Nick Castellanos has arguably been the Reds’ best hitter this season. He leads the team in batting average, OPS, RBI, and WAR. He’s hit some timely home runs. He’s 22 for 73 (.301) with runners in scoring position. He’s been a phenomenal ballplayer for the Reds ever since he first set f...
Yeli and Beli both suck now
Not long ago, the game of baseball was in the hands of young superstars Cody Bellinger and Christian Yelich. “Yeli vs Belli” was a debate for two years. The Los Angeles Dodger and Milwaukee Brewer, respectively, were lighting the league on fire and ushering in what appeared to be the next generation...
Hey Cardinals fans, would you still rather have Arenado, or Arozarena and Garcia?
First off, I want everyone to know that I know that neither Randy Arozarena nor Adolis Garcia were pieces in St. Louis’s trade for the former Rockies’ third baseman. This is merely a hypothetical question. Both of the young up-and-comers started their professional baseball careers within the St. Lou...
A new HR king declines possible crown, for now
Is this like when LeBron James opted out of the dunk contest early on in his career? Maybe....
HEAR ME OUT: MLB should restructure league like Euro soccer
It’s always neat when a European sporting event comes along and provides some games to watch during the daytime hours here in North America. Right now, it’s the pandemic-delayed Euro 2020 soccer tournament, and while the teams involved are national sides, part of the nature of soccer is that there’s...
Rick Wise had the greatest game in baseball history 50 years ago today
Fifty years ago today, Rick Wise performed arguably the most impressive single-game performance in baseball history, throwing a no-hitter while hitting two home runs. The feat has never been duplicated, and is in no danger of being matched unless Shohei Ohtani goes off in a National League park....
The biggest snubs so far in first round of MLB All-Star voting
Yesterday, MLB released its first All-Star voting update after the polls first opened on June 3. However, phase one of All-Star voting does not finish until June 27. When that day comes, only the top-three vote-getters (nine for outfield) at each position will advance to phase two of voting which wi...
Man, do the Cubs need to shut up
I’ve documented how on the field, the Chicago Cubs are quickly becoming one of the stories in Major League Baseball. This is a team that had been partially stripped for parts by its owner (even though he’s tried to duck that in recent days like the coward he is), who also left the roster high and dr...
Is Albert Pujols ... good again?
It’s been a minute … maybe even millions of them....
Choose your fighter: deGrom or Ohtani?
New York Mets’ starter Jacob deGrom is kinda having a pretty alright season. More than 60 games in, his 0.56 ERA is half that of Bob Gibson’s from 1968 (1.12 — the lowest single-season ERA in the modern era). He’s also striking out 14.48 batters per nine innings pitched, which would also be the all-...
Brandon Crawford deserves more love than he’s been getting
When the 2021 MLB All-Star Game polls opened on June 3, I filled out five ballots. I’ve voted at least once every day since. And every time, I voted for pretty much the same team with a few minor adjustments. ...
The Cleveland Avengers, really?
When a team changes its name, there’s so much potential for creativity. Obviously, there are some aspects that need to be avoided. You don’t want to pick a name that will marginalize or stereotype any groups. You also want to choose something that represents the city, state, or area you’re playing f...
The Chicago Cubs are the real-life team from 'Major League'
Now you have to imagine Tom Ricketts in her dress. Have a nice day....
Position player pitching alert gone awry: Wilmer Difo ignominiously and historically lit up
Wilmer Difo has played second base, shortstop, third base, and all three outfield positions during his career with the Nationals and Pirates, and now he can add pitching to his resume....
Albert Pujols is the latest Hall of Famer you’ll forget played for the Dodgers
The possibility of Albert Pujols returning to St. Louis to finish his career where he started it, this time as a bench bat for a Cardinals team that has title aspirations and Paul Goldschmidt at first base, was too good to be true....
The Reek in Review: L.A. Dodgers edition
You smell that?...
Albert Pujols’ career wasn’t supposed to end like this
Albert Pujols’ lifetime numbers are utterly staggering. He has 667 home runs, that’s more than Willie Mays. 3,253 hits, more than all but 14 players, more than hitting machines like Rod Carew, Tony Gwynn and George Brett. More than some guy named Napoleon Lajoie, who played 120 fucking years ago and...
What are the Giants doing here?
The baseball world was all gaga over the seven-game rumble the Padres and Dodgers put together in the season’s opening weeks. The part of the story that got lost and ignored is that they’re currently 2nd and 3rd place teams. It seems while they were eyeballing each other, the San Francisco Giants we...
Dustin May’s injury highlights a bigger problem in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball gets a lot of flack for its unwritten rules, inaction against cheaters, television blackouts, and inability to market top players. Yet, what MLB gets the most hate for is its unwillingness to change....
Please, please, send John Smoltz to a farm upstate
It was a slow, lazy Saturday afternoon. It would have to be for me to turn on the Mets when Jacob deGrom isn’t pitching (though Marcus Stroman can be a very entertaining watch, too). I grew up at a time here in Chicago when we hated the Mets as much as the Cardinals, and those instincts still flicke...