0 comments by Ian Casselberry on 9/19/2014
The Padres were viewed as a sleeper contender coming into the 2014 season. They probably weren’t capable of hanging with the Dodgers and Giants (or maybe even the Diamondbacks) in the NL West, but if either of the favorites faltered and the Padres’ roster stayed healthy throughout the season, there was a chance that meaningful baseball […]
0 comments by Ian Casselberry on 9/18/2014
The NL Central was supposed to be a three-team race between the Cardinals, Pirates and Reds this year. St. Louis and Pittsburgh fulfilled their expectations, but Cincinnati fell off in a major way. Coming into the season, the Reds were viewed by some as a better club than the Pirates. The team showed what it was capable […]
0 comments by Ian Casselberry on 9/17/2014
For the past six weeks, it looked like the Dodgers would win the NL West and perhaps the league’s top seed despite getting little contribution from Yasiel Puig. In August, the Cuban sensation compiled a slash average of .216/.296/.247. As that slugging percentage indicates, Puig wasn’t hitting for any extra-base power, managing only two doubles […]
0 comments by TOC Locker on 9/16/2014
The immediate aftermath of Giancarlo Stanton being hit in the face by a pitch from Mike Fiers on Sept. 11 was gruesome. Yet as terrible as the injury was, it could have been so much worse. Stanton has even entertained thoughts of
0 comments by Ian Casselberry on 9/15/2014
The Cubs certainly weren’t expected to contend in a loaded NL Central with the Cardinals, Pirates and Reds. The Brewers emerging as a contender through most of the season (before their September collapse) didn’t make matters easier. But at least the Cubs weren’t going to be dead-last, thanks to the D-Backs and Rockies. But thanks […]
0 comments by Ian Casselberry on 9/12/2014
Following two consecutive 81-81 seasons, the Arizona Diamondbacks looked like a fringe contender in the NL West if everything went right for them this year. However, little worked out as hoped — whether it was pitching injuries, poor performance from past-their-prime veterans or just a general lack of talent on the roster general manager Kevin Towers […]
0 comments by Ian Casselberry on 9/11/2014
Following up a World Series title with another championship would be a difficult task for any team. But so many things went right for the Red Sox in 2013 — with several players having seasons unlikely to be repeated — that it was difficult to imagine circumstances being so favorable for them this year. The task […]
0 comments by Ian Casselberry on 9/9/2014
While the race between the Royals and Tigers receives most of the attention in baseball this week — at least from Monday through Wednesday, when the two clubs meet in a three-game series — another AL Central team seems to getting overlooked. Yet perhaps it’s the Cleveland Indians that could eventually emerge as the AL […]
0 comments by Ian Casselberry on 9/4/2014
The past couple weeks have seemed relatively encouraging for the Philadelphia Phillies. This past Sunday, four Phillies pitchers combined to throw a no-hitter against the Braves. On Tuesday, the team’s top prospect, Maikel Franco, made his major league debut. That was followed on Wednesday by Cuban pitcher Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez pitching in his first big […]
0 comments by Ian Casselberry
It won’t go down as one of manager Joe Mikulik’s best tantrums, but the Myrtle Beach Pelicans manager had another memorable blow-up with umpires during his team’s Carolina League playoff game with the Salem Red Sox Wednesday night. During the 10th inning of a 1-1 ballgame, Mikulik took issue with the umpires ruling a drive […]
0 comments by Ian Casselberry on 9/2/2014
We almost made it through an entire season without a manager being fired, you guys. We had just one month to go! Maybe that’s really the only surprising thing about the Houston Astros firing Bo Porter. At this point on the 2014 schedule, why not just let him finish out the season? But Porter was […]
0 comments by TOC Locker on 8/29/2014
I don’t know anyone who watches MLB’s Off the Bat on MTV, but if major leaguers faced a pitching machine that fired 186 mph fastballs at them, that could be a reason to tune in. For now, the market of launching baseball missiles at batters is left to Japanese game shows. And the show found […]
0 comments by Ian Casselberry on 8/28/2014
With a full month remaining in the 2014 season, two individual games likely won’t have decided the AL Central. But if the Royals end up winning the division and the Tigers either settle for the wild card — or worse, miss the postseason entirely — it’s possible we could look at this last week of […]
0 comments by Ian Casselberry on 8/27/2014
If the Cardinals intended to put some space between themselves and the Pirates, they failed to do so by losing two out of three to Pittsburgh, capped off by a 3-1 loss at PNC Park on Wednesday. More troubling for St. Louis, however, could be the status of No. 1 starter Adam Wainwright. The Cards’ […]
0 comments by TOC Locker
If you ever hoped John Rocker would be sent to a desert island, CBS is granting your wish. Sort of. The former Braves reliever is part of the new cast for Survivor — or as fully titled, Survivor: San Juan del Sur — Blood vs. Water. For those not familiar with previous seasons of Survivor the “Blood […]
