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History lesson: These call-ups set the bar for Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Funny how that word “history” tends to set an outrageously high bar for a rookie’s expectations. Often, it’s set far too high. As Guerrero begins his quest for a rookie year for the ages — not to mention a predicted Hall of Fame career — we asked: Just what might an all-time-great Guerrero rookie season […]
Continue readingDoes trade help Myers, Shields?
The Kansas City Royals, who kept Myers in the minors for the entire 2012 season, where he wound up winning the Baseball America, J.G. Taylor Spink and USA Today Minor League Player of the Year awards, dealt from their wealthy stable of prospects Sunday night, shipping Myers, right-hander Jake Odorizzi, left-hander Mike Montgomery and third […]
Continue readingThe Shohei Ohtani experiment isn’t just working — it’s been perfect
At the time, that was a fairly common, if not quite universal, sentiment. It was too risky. Ohtani was a potentially special pitcher, and you don’t take chances with special pitchers. Just a year later, though, a crazy, risky suggestion would be the opposite: stopping the two-way experiment. Hardly anything has ever worked as well […]
Continue readingThe four hottest, most available bats in fantasy baseball
The point here isn’t to parrot the obvious about superb May performers, like “Kris Bryant and Nolan Arenado are good,” “Rafael Devers continues to grow,” or “Gleyber Torres loves facing the Orioles.” Let’s go with the more helpful angle: focusing on May mashers on fewer than 50 percent of ESPN fantasy rosters. Were these hot […]
Continue readingSocial media shows Mike Trout is everything that’s right about baseball
ANAHEIM, Calif. — The strange back-and-forth between Major League Baseball and the Los Angeles Angels over Mike Trout‘s popularity, or lack thereof, spawned something unexpected: Appreciation. In the days leading up to the Angels’ first second-half game on Friday afternoon, Twitter lit up with fans sharing personal photos, videos and anecdotes relaying their unique interactions […]
Continue readingWhy the Braves made Freddie Freeman their new Chipper Jones
Over a span of nine months in 2014, Salt and Pepper received an education in how economics can trump sentiment in the big picture. Here are some of the highlights from ESPN’s MLB coverage. Teams answer nagging questions » The Brewers emerge » Astros rule power rankings » Insider: Why this week matters » Béisbol […]
Continue readingHot Stove notebook
Such was the case with Wednesday’s Los Angeles Angels-Seattle Mariners trade, which was widely reported a “needs” swap for both teams, overshadowed by Monday’s far-larger, seven-player R.A. Dickey trade. The truth, however, is that perhaps no player who changed uniforms this week increased in fantasy value more than Jason Vargas, whom the Mariners sent to […]
Continue readingDFS Roundtable: When to take the highest-salary pitcher
Derek Carty, Renee Miller, Todd Zola and Joe Kaiser answered those questions and more in our first MLB roundtable discussion. Note: This was conducted before games on Tuesday, August 4. Carty: Let’s start with the basics and go from there. Because pitchers score more points than hitters and because you only get two of them, […]
Continue readingDon Baylor breaks leg on first pitch
Baylor will have surgery Tuesday on his right femur. The injury cast a pall over Opening Day at Angel Stadium. Baylor, who joined the Angels’ coaching staff in the offseason, had to be helped off the field after squatting to catch Guerrero’s off-target throw. Baylor was taken to a hospital before the Angels’ 10-3 loss […]
Continue readingFarrell: Xander, Will, JBJ ‘our guys’
That’s the loudest message resonating these days from Yawkey Way, communicated here by Red Sox manager John Farrell this week in a way that left no room for mistaking the meaning. It wasn’t, “These are our guys for now.” Or, “These are our guys until someone better comes along.” Or, “How did I get stuck […]
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