August 16, 2012 11:05 am
By Matt Ford
The Nationals need to exercise extreme, borderline insane caution when it comes to Stephen Strasburg’s health.
He might be the most valuable pitcher in baseball — maybe baseball history.
There are lots of ways to explain this situation, but let’s try this one:
Would you rather have Britney Spears in 1999 or Jennifer Aniston from 1995-2010?
July 24, 2012 10:13 am
By Joe Trezza
The spell seems to have broken in the Steel City. As of July 23, the Pirates are 14 games over .500 at 54-40, half-game back of Cincinnati and 4.5 up on St. Louis in the NL Central. People are excited about their forever-dormant franchise finally rising up from the abyss.
How things have changed: Sportscenter and Baseball Tonight are leading with A.J. Burnett highlights, pitching for the Pirates, not the Yankees. Last week I tried to buy tickets for a Friday night game against the Marlins and could only get standing-room only.
A Pirates-Marlins game in July and I could only get standing-room only tickets?
With a cast not all that different from last year’s 72-90 club’s, on paper, the 2012 Pirates seem to have as much business being a contender as Kalifa’s unimaginative and repetitively asinine “Black and Yellow” had being a mega-hit. In other words, you don’t jump from worst-forever to first because your best player got a little better, or because you traded for a 35-year-old No. 2 starter.
So maybe it’s not that Pittsburgh has gotten better, but everyone else has gotten worse.
June 19, 2012 10:18 am
By Joe Trezza
“Golf has Tiger Woods, basketball has LeBron James, hockey had Wayne Gretzky and military history had Alexander the Great,” Tom Verducci wrote, leading into a sentence that would place Harper, as he is to baseball, in their company. And the legend was born.
We had to see it ourselves.
After all, I was there for the first Strasmas. Two years later, it’s almost June again, and another biblically-talked about figure has arrived in Washington.
By the time it’s over, we look back down to the field to see our hero run his victory lap. He’s already in the dugout. Happy Bryce-ster to all.
May 17, 2012 12:31 pm
By Matt Jones
The 2012 season is young and possesses examples of sample size errors, which are too often used to prop up premature declarations and flimsy conclusions. For instance, Albert Pujols is hitting .212/.248/.288, Josh Hamilton is on pace for 77 home runs, and the Baltimore Orioles are in first place of the American League East, sitting at 24-14 on May 18th.
The Orioles’ admirable start to the season has been a tough narrative for the media to ignore, because after fourteen straight losing seasons, I think it’s safe to say the Orioles franchise currently resides at rock bottom. The baseball world seems ready for a winning team in Camden Yards.
But the world will likely have to wait a bit longer.
May 15, 2012 5:48 pm
By Matt Ford
Did you know Bryce Harper has played all three outfield positions this season despite being a full-time catcher two years ago (while he was in high school)? Did you know that through as many games, Harper has put up better rookie numbers than Cal Ripken, Ken Griffey, Willie Mays or Mickey Mantle?
He plays every second of every game like it’s Game Seven of the World Series — if that game happened to be in extra innings. That kind of attitude is as rare as it is contagious, and gives Harper incalculable value as a teammate and lineup linchpin.
Is it possible, then, that — purely as a baseball player — Bryce Harper is actually underrated?
May 7, 2012 10:43 pm
By Justin Elliott
To be considered:
Two-team cities must have at least a 40-year title drought,
Three- or four-team cities must have at least a 20-year drought,
All teams must have the name of that city or play in the city. (So, no, Green Bay does not count for Milwaukee.)
We’ve added all the points up, and can tell you scientifically which city truly sucks the most for its fans. There were seven teams that qualified. Without further ado, let’s have a look at the skid marks of American sports!
