players Page 18 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
The Angels distilled themselves to their essence against M's
In 10 or 20 years, baseball fans will look back in wonder at what the Angels have accomplished. Or to put it more accurately, all they’ve squandered. There has been no bigger sinkhole than the Angels, considering the resources on hand. They have best player of his generation and literally the most u...
God bless Johnny Cueto
There’s just something about a veteran pitcher whose stuff isn’t the same and yet finds a way. The joy is in knowing every opposing fanbase is screaming, “HE’S SPINNING IT ON HIS FINGER! JUST TAKE IT!” or some such derivative while he’s on the mound as they watch hitter after hitter be bewitched by ...
Will Fernando Tatis’ power (and career) go the way of Ryan Braun?
When I think of post-peak steroid era users in baseball, Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, or Robinson Cano aren’t the first names that come to mind. That dishonor goes to former Brewer Ryan Braun. The 2011 NL MVP began his career by regularly tallying 100-plus RBI, and 30-plus home run seasons. He acc...
Fernando Tatís Jr. suspended 80 games for PEDs
After an unfortunate motorcycle accident took the first half of Fernando Tatís Jr.‘s season from us, many baseball fans were getting hyped to see him return to action. He was pimping home run balls in the minors and hitting heckling fans with that signature “can’t touch me” attitude that many Padres...
Devil's advocate: Dylan Cease's 14-game stretch is being overhyped
00000111000111. In binary, that means “LJ” according to the free translator I just Googled, so take that translation with a grain of salt. In baseball, that string of numbers means “OMG”, because that’s exactly how many earned runs White Sox ace Dylan Cease has given up in each of his last fourteen ...
How rare is the HR cycle?
Since 1900, a player has hit three home runs in an MLB game 624 times. Only 16 times has a player hit four. Nobody has ever hit five....
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....
Mariners' outfielder Jarred Kelenic has been off to a historically bad start to his career
Seattle Mariners outfielder Jarred Kelenic was supposed to be a savior. He was supposed to help pull a franchise that had been mostly irrelevant in the annals of baseball history into World Series contention. He was a very popular pick for the 2021 AL Rookie of the Year Award last year....
And, voila, Cameron Smith’s charisma is gone
We’ve reached a point where a golfer has to take a blood oath on their mother’s grave while stabbing a voodoo doll of Greg Norman for me to believe that any of these amoral sociopaths are staying with the PGA Tour. My hopes weren’t high for Cameron Smith, the young Australian who just won the Open C...
Serena Williams calls it a career
One of the greatest athletes ever has signaled the end of her playing career. Serena Williams will hang up the racket after the US Open, tennis’ final major of the calendar year, she confirmed to Vogue Magazine in a personalized essay. Williams, 41, has one final chance to tie Margaret Court’s all-t...
Kevin Durant is an airhead
That is if reports are to be believed, and it would depend on which side this slithered out from. Smart money is on the Brooklyn side, but then again watching Kevin Durant throughout his career, this is the kind of hijinx he would think shines kindly on him....
Dodgers remind the loaded Padres that they’re still the team to beat
The Dodgers couldn’t care less about the Padres and the trade deadline....
The Dodgers care not for your newest superteam
The Padres certainly have a way of stealing the headlines. And that’s not a bad thing, always, especially as the Padres do it by being one of the few teams that are constantly adding good players. Even great ones at times. Which they kind of have to, given that they’re in a division with the Dodgers...
I thought GMs were supposed to be the smartest people in baseball
In a recent anonymous survey, The Athletic detailed how a few MLB executives felt about the recent trade deadline. Most of the answers were normal, everyday responses to basic questions....
The Dodgers’ real ace isn’t who you think it is
The Dodgers have three All-Stars in their starting rotation this season, but their best arm wasn’t even part of the Midseason Classic....
Aaron Judge is in a one-man race for home run immortality
It’s never happened. In the current digital age, baseball has never had a true chase for the sport’s most sacred single-season record. Aaron Judge is making his games appointment television in a transcendent way that the Major Leagues haven’t had for a non-playoff game since Barry Bonds’ 73-home run...
Miguel Cabrera is why you don’t trade Juan Soto
Miguel Cabrera was the easy comparison for Juan Soto when he was made available and then eventually shipped out of DC to San Diego. Miggy was the last historically good hitter to be traded at a still pre-peak age. He was 25 when he started in Detroit after coming up with Florida....
Russell Wilson’s oft-mocked ‘try too hard’ persona is just what the Broncos need
Do you know how we can tell Russell Wilson has that “it” factor? Because everything he does this offseason seems to spark a chain reaction on the wavelength of a butterfly causing a hurricane. It might be that Pennywise the Clown “It” factor to some, but “it’s” something, nonetheless....
Juan Soto’s departure marked the end ‘The Great Natsby’ era
The last time “Esa Muchacha” blared as Juan Soto stepped to the plate occurred on Monday night when he turned a 95 MPH pitch from New York Mets ace Max Scherzer into a deep centerfield moonshot. Soto later earned a standing ovation in what would be his home finale as a National, but Scherzer being t...
Best of the Rest: MLB trade deadline
This year’s MLB trade deadline may not have seen as many high-impact players dealt as 2021, but there was still a myriad of moves made that will impact the postseason races as the season winds down....