Willson Contreras Tuesday doubled down on his stance that Braves catcher Tyler Flowers should have butted out of his conversation with an umpire Monday, and Cubs teammate Albert Almora Jr. added that he was ready to back his catcher “no matter what.” When Contreras punctuated the clash with a solo...
Whether Craig Kimbrel joins the Cubs on Thursday at Wrigley Field or this weekend in Cincinnati, one aspect of his arrival will remain firm. Kimbrel initially won’t be used for more than three outs. Joe Maddon realizes that it’s been less than three weeks since Kimbrel, a seven-time All-Star closer,...
Talk about a lost weekend. Sunday afternoon’s 6-4 loss to the Marlins at Citizens Bank Park was the Phillies’ seventh straight defeat and 16th in the last 21 outings. It closed out a brutal three-game sweep at the hands of the team with the worst record in the National League. The Marlins smacked...
The Miami Marlins will be in South Florida for the long term. This is ironclad and in writing. It’s important to note that up front amid the Tampa Bay Rays exploring a potential deal that would allow them to split home games between St. Petersburg and Montreal. Commissioner Rob Manfred announced...
Will Smith was hanging out with his triple-A teammates in the clubhouse of Oklahoma City’s Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark Saturday night when Alex Verdugo hit an 11th-inning walk-off home run for the Dodgers. “We were actually watching the game when Dugie hit it,” said Smith, one of the Dodgers’...
A woman at Dodger Stadium was taken to a hospital Sunday for precautionary tests after being struck in the head by a foul ball from Los Angeles star Cody Bellinger during the first inning of a game against the Colorado Rockies . The young woman was sitting four rows from the field along the first...
Paul Goldschmidt received a text message from St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Shildt in the hours before Wednesday’s game at Busch Stadium. Goldschmidt had been mired in a stretch of ugly baseball, at a time when his team could not afford it, with one hit in his previous 20 at-bats. Shildt gave...
The bear of a baseball man is a familiar sight as he stands in the dirt behind third base, leaning on a weathered fungo bat, cap pushed back on his sunburned face, note card sticking out of his back pocket. For 39 consecutive years he roamed both of southern California’s great baseball fields with...
Athletics pitcher Frankie Montas has been suspended 80 games by Major League Baseball after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. The penalty was announced Friday, a day after another fine outing by the 26-year-old right-hander. He is 9-2 with a 2.70 ERA in 13 starts. Montas made...
Texas Rangers third baseman Asdrúbal Cabrera never left the dugout and says he wasn't trying to hit an umpire with the equipment he threw onto the field after being ejected from a game. Cabrera is appealing a four-game suspension and undisclosed fine from Major League Baseball that was handed down...
News item: In an attempt to reduce the potential cost of a new stadium, the Tampa Bay Rays have been given permission by Major League Baseball to explore a two-city partnership with Montreal, which would allow the Rays (or whatever they would be called in French) to play the first half of each...
The New York Mets fired pitching coach Dave Eiland and bullpen coach Chuck Hernandez on Thursday, and named former Orioles manager Phil Regan interim pitching coach, Ricky Bones interim bullpen coach and Jeremy Accardo interim pitching strategist. The team announced the moves before its game against...
The Mets hired 82-year-old Phil Regan as their interim pitching coach Thursday after firing Dave Eiland, a move that flies in the face of conventional wisdom. In a game that’s trending younger, the Mets are going old school. Regan, who was part of the 1969 Cubs team that blew the division to the...