![]() | Reid Ryan represents a connection to the Astros' past while offering an enthusiastic vision for its future. He's Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan's oldest son, and that means plenty around these parts.
More»Biggio, Nolan Ryan on Astros' new executive hire |
![]() | The Braves have played 63.4 percent of their games on the road. And they have played considerable stretches of the early season without some of their most important personnel. It's not hard to see that even in first place, their overall direction should be upward.
More» Heyward makes a nice sliding catch |
![]() | If you're filling out your American League All-Star ballot, you should take a good, long look at Jed Lowrie for starting shortstop.
More» Lowrie belts run-scoring double in fifth |
![]() | Looking ahead, Jedd Gyorko should provide the Padres an offensive quality they will continue to welcome. He can flat-out hit. He has always hit. And that should continue.
More» Gyorko hits his first career home run |
![]() | It's been 40 years since the American League began using the designated hitter, and my teeth still are clenched.
More» Ortiz cranks a three-run homer to right |
![]() | Perhaps the most infamous trade in Phillies history occurred on Jan. 27, 1982. Dallas Green had just stepped down as Phils manager and taken over as general manager of the Cubs. In one of his first major moves, he traded second baseman Ivan DeJesus to the Phillies for incumbent shortstop Larry Bowa. The other guy in the trade was a little-known Triple-A infielder in the Phillies' organization named Ryne Sandberg.
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![]() | Forty games do not provide a very big sample. All kinds of weird things can happen in six or seven weeks of baseball, so here is a look at a few eye-popping, early-season performances, good and bad, and their likelihood of continuing.
More»MLB.com crew breaks down first quarter of 2013 season |
![]() | Reid Ryan's hiring as team president is a stroke of genius by Astros owner Jim Crane. It makes sense on so many levels that it's difficult to know where to start.
More»Ryan named Astros' president of baseball operations |
![]() | The Tampa Bay Rays Way has gone slightly astray here in 2013. The club's time-tested formula of cycling through one quality homegrown pitcher after another has hit a bit of a snag thus far this year, and now an injury to David Price has the potential to throw it completely out of whack.
More» Price talks about his left triceps strain |
![]() | If the season were to end today, Boston's John Farrell would be American League Manager of the Year. What Farrell has done with the Red Sox mess is not impressive; it is amazing.
More» Red Sox score eight runs in the third inning |
![]() | The Angels and White Sox, two of the sport's heaviest disappointments through the first quarter of the season, are sharing Angel Stadium through Sunday, and both have reasons to believe there's light at the end of the tunnel.
More» Pujols cranks a two-run shot in the fourth |
![]() | Less than a year ago, very few baseball fans had heard of Brewers shortstop Jean Segura. A quarter of the way through the 2013 season, Segura is on the short list of best young players you need to watch whenever you get the chance.
More» Segura gets three hits, three stolen bases |
![]() | Wednesday's successful return from the disabled list of Zack Greinke may have been the final push the Dodgers needed to begin their climb up the standings after a disappointing start to the season.
More» Greinke on his return from the DL |
![]() | You'd be hard-pressed to find a bigger baseball fan than Matt Eisner. A die-hard Nationals supporter, Matt is the author of the popular blog Matt's Bats.
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![]() | The reigning American League East champions have been absolutely assaulted by injuries this year, starting over the winter and continuing into the regular season, and while much credit should go to the gentlemen who have filled in, much anticipation should surround the returns of the guys who are still on the way.
More»Teixeira hopes to be back with Yankees by end of May |
![]() | Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper is a hustler, and that's one of the many things to love about him. He doesn't hesitate or meditate or otherwise complicate a sport that often rewards instinct, and Harper's instincts are wildly and often wondrously aggressive.
More» Harper collides with wall, exits the game |
![]() | Since the Rangers and Cardinals went toe-to-toe for seven tense, wonderful games in the 2011 World Series, plenty has happened to both franchises. Yet, in a lot of ways, nothing at all has happened. In many respects, these two organizations that exchanged punches for 10 days are mirror images of one another.
More» Gast earns first career big league win |
![]() | As he puts the finishing touches on a baseball career bound to take him to the Hall of Fame, Mariano Rivera chooses to say goodbye without the fanfare and festivities, but rather by reaching out to the grassroots of baseball, the so-called "little people" who do such big jobs to make baseball what it is.
More» Rivera interacts with Kansas Citians |
![]() | The closer you look, the more the 2013 Yankees look like a mirage. Until you look at their bullpen. The Yanks have MLB's second-best record despite the seventh-best run differential thanks to the fact they just don't lose leads.
More» Mo secures his 16th save by retiring Morse |
![]() | How good has Jean Segura been during the first six weeks of his first full Major League season? He has been Mike Trout-good. In this, Segura's first full season in the Majors, he has been something else. He has been Trout-like, and then some.
More» Segura ranges across middle for slick play |
![]() | Maybe the San Francisco Giants aren't going to tease us this year. Maybe, just maybe, they're going to keep rolling out quality starts and not wait until the last minute to make those playoff reservations. Regardless, we know not to take our eyes off them.
More» Lincecum shuts down the Braves, fans seven |
![]() | As the number of strikeouts reaches all-time highs, it's time to re-think the impact of not making contact. What once was a source of guilt and shame and sleepless nights is now, well, whatever.
More» Tigers 10-K game streak reaches seven |
![]() | The Yankees slowed down the early-season excitement in Denver and Kansas City last week by taking two of three from the Rockies and sweeping the Rockies.
More» Yanks notch fifth straight win, sweep Royals |
![]() | Los Angeles Dodgers prospect Yasiel Puig doesn't just have power and strength -- his speed and agility had the baseball world buzzing this spring.
More» Puig collects three hits vs. White Sox |
![]() | Felix Hernandez had a start last week that perfectly encapsulates the essence of what makes him one of the best pitchers in baseball.
More» Felix dominates over eight to earn fifth win |
![]() | Edward Mujica has filled the Cardinals' void at closer after losing Jason Motte to injury and Mitchell Boggs to ineffectiveness. The journeyman right-hander is indicative of a new trend of older pitchers finding success in the ninth inning after long careers spent in other roles.
More» Mujica strikes out Ransom for the save |
![]() | Until Wednesday night's A's-Indians game, the methods used to review boundary home run calls had been reliable in terms of their efficacy and efficiency. Despite this access and availability Wednesday night, Angel Hernandez blew it. In a big way.
More» Rosales' double, Melvin's ejection |
![]() | Major League Baseball is proud of its initiatives in the areas of affirmative action and diversity. It wants to be a mirror of America -- all of America, black and white, male and female. As part of that effort, the MLB Diversity Business Summit, to be held June 18-19 in Houston, will allow job seekers and entrepreneurs to meet teams at both the Major League and Minor League level, as well as an array of sponsorship partners.
More»Reinsdorf, Selig on the diversity in baseball |
![]() | Expanding instant replay in baseball will result in more stoppages to slow down the flow of the game, but what it don't do is insure that the umpires get every call right. That kind of perfection is impossible.
More» Rosales' double, Melvin's ejection |
![]() | On Saturday morning, Jose Cruz will be one of the proudest parents on earth as he watches his two sons, Jose Jr. and Enrique, get their degrees in sports management from Rice University.
More» No. 25, Jose Cruz |