The Giants won their third World Series in five years in 2014 but entered this season with some serious questions as to whether they could do it again.
Who would replace Pablo Sandoval at third base? Who’s going to turn double plays with shortstop Brandon Crawford? Will former ace Tim Lincecum ever be the same? Will Matt Cain, for that matter? They even lost outfielder Hunter Pence at the start of the season.
The answers to some of these questions came in the form of third baseman Matt Duffy, second baseman Joe Panik, both of whom were unheralded prospects but have more than made up for the... Read More
Footage of the last championships for Kansas City and Pittsburgh is grainy enough to make anyone who remembers it feel very old.
The Pirates last won the World Series in 1979, led by Willie Stargell, and the Royals won in 1985, led by George Brett. Both players are in the Hall of Fame now, and the game has changed a great deal.
Since those last championships, many observers began to worry that large-market teams such as the Yankees, with their ever-thick wallet, had an unfair advantage in free agency. However, baseball’s leadership has made some adjustments to address the issue and, perhaps more importantly, small-market teams have... Read More
For the Mets to win the N.L. East, they’ll have to go through the Nationals. For the Yankees to win the A.L. East, they’ll have to fend off the Orioles (and also the Rays, Blue Jays and—yes—maybe even the Red Sox).
The Mets enter Monday’s contest with Washington two games behind, which sets up a series that could alter the division race. The Mets send ace Matt Harvey against Gio Gonzalez and the rest of the series, pitching-wise, will also be difficult for the Nationals to handle. It would be difficult for anyone to handle.
Hall of Famer John Smoltz recently said that the Mets' rotation is more talented... Read More
There are several amazing pitchers taking the mound this week on Sling TV, but seeing the Metropolitans’ Matt Harvey smoke an inside fastball past hitters might not surprise you quite as much as a pitch the Tigers’ Alfredo Simon has hidden up his sleeve.
The Eephus pitch might sound like baseball’s equivalent of the Yeti or Big Foot because not many fans have ever actually seen it live in a game. But every few years a video will surface of the pitch freezing a batter for a strikeout on a toss that usually doesn’t register more than 60 m.p.h. or so.
Each MLB game this week features a division leader, the most surprising of which might be the New York Mets.
Don’t get mad, Queens! That’s not hate. That’s just the fact that the Mets play in the same division as the Nationals, who many pegged as the favorite to win the World Series this year.
New York faces the Orioles on Wednesday and the Orioles have their own hopes and dreams. Certainly one of those dreams would to not be in the A.L. East, which is always brutal.
The Cardinals also lead their division and face many fresh faces on the Cubs on Monday night. Wunderkinds all: Kris Bryant, Addison Russell, Jorge Solar, Anthony Rizzo and many... Read More
It’s tempting to say that there are four teams playing this week on Sling TV who could win the World Series but there might really only be three.
There are certainly four cities that have that expectation but —- sorry, New York —- things don’t look so good in the Bronx despite what seems to be a renaissance for Alex Rodriguez.
The Yankees travel to Detroit on Monday to face a Tigers team that is managing to find its way in what is increasingly seeming like the post-Justin Verlander era–and Detroit is doing it in part thanks to an off-season trade with New York. The Yankees sent starting pitcher Shane Greene to them as part of a three-team trade that landed Didi Gregorious in pinstripes.
