(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) The Houston Astros had to make a tough decision on Friday. After signing first baseman Jose Abreu to a three-year, $58.3 million contract before the start of the 2023 season, the team released the former star on Friday. It was certainly shocking for some, but from a performance standpoint, it’s…
(Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) In MLB, players who have a reputation for being good clubhouse presences are valued, especially if they are respected veterans who have had success. Of course, there has to be a minimum of on-field production to justify their presence on the roster. In the specific case of Houston Astros first…
(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images) Before the start of the 2023 season, the Houston Astros made a puzzling move: they signed a veteran, past-his-prime slugger in Jose Abreu to play first base. Abreu, of course, had been one of the most productive players in the American League for almost a decade with the Chicago…
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports Among the panoply of stats created by Statcast and similar tracking tools in recent years are a whole class of stats sometimes called the “expected stats.” These types of numbers elicit decidedly mixed feelings among fans – especially when they suggest their favorite team’s best player is overachieving – but they…
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about this season’s giant cluster of wild card contenders, the potential for an inactive trade deadline, the role the White Sox will play, whether the compression of the standings is good or bad for baseball, and expanded-playoffs incentives. Then (33:46) they talk to NPR producer Alana Schreiber, creator and…
Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports One advantage of living in an age where the wealth of human knowledge is at one’s fingertips is that no curiosity need go unsatisfied. I was just sitting around wondering idly about the relationship between how hitters get pitched and how well they do against certain types of pitches. So I…
Welcome to another edition of Five Things I Liked (Or Didn’t Like) This Week. Last week, I was feeling a bit under the weather, which gave me the perfect excuse to sit back and watch some baseball. Despite not feeling my best, I was treated to some exciting series and matchups in the world of…
Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports Well, it’s Friday, and over the past couple weeks, I have crunched so, so many bat tracking numbers. I wrote about them last week and then again on Wednesday, and the effort required to write those two articles has worn me down into a smaller, duller baseball writer than I was…
David Banks-USA TODAY Sports Below is an analysis of the prospects in the farm system of the Atlanta Braves. Scouting reports were compiled with information provided by industry sources as well as my own observations. This is the fourth year we’re delineating between two anticipated relief roles, the abbreviations for which you’ll see in the…
Welcome back to Top of the Order Every Tuesday and Friday, I’ll be starting your baseball day with some news, notes, and thoughts about the game we love. It’s not uncommon for league champions to struggle in the following year. The Marlins, for example, sold off most of their good players after winning the World…
