“`html 2:00 Ben Clemens: Hey everybody, welcome to the chat 2:01 Ben Clemens: Let’s talk baseball! Randy: A testament to just how good he is that the sky was falling for Aaron Judge and his 125 wRC+. How good is the NYY team if they get 2022-2023 Judge? Ben Clemens: It’s so true. When you…
With five hits in a three-game span against the Diamondbacks and Mets, Paul Goldschmidt finally got off the interstate — to use former All-Star-turned-broadcaster Ken Singleton’s memorable term for hitters with a batting average below .200 — but as the end of April approaches, the 36-year-old first baseman has nonetheless produced at a sub-replacement level…
We’re nearly a month through the season and there’s still a jumble of teams sitting around .500 who could wind up in the playoff picture with one hot streak. That’s exactly what happened with the Twins last week. Of course, the opposite is true, too, with the Rays learning that lesson while getting swept by…
Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports When I interviewed Marco Gonzales in spring training 2018, the now 32-year-old Pittsburgh Pirates southpaw was with the Seattle Mariners and about to establish himself as a solid big league starter. We discussed his return to health — he’d undergone Tommy John surgery two years prior — as well as his…
Welcome back to Top of the Order, where every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I’ll be starting your baseball day with some news, notes, and thoughts about the game we love. At 13-16, the Arizona Diamondbacks have started their season with something of a whimper. The biggest reason for that, in my opinion, has been the…
(Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images) The Philadelphia Phillies are off to a strong start to the season and are sitting at 18-10 and keeping pace in the NL East with the Atlanta Braves behind a stellar pitching staff, but a few position players are off to incredible starts as well. One veteran has taken the…
Jared Jones had made just one big-league appearance when my colleague Ben Clemens wrote on April 2 that we should all get irresponsibly excited about the rookie right-hander. Little has happened to change that opinion. When Jones takes the mound this afternoon for the sixth time in a Pittsburgh Pirates uniform, he will do so…
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley discuss the projections that label the White Sox as a mediocre team, sophomore slumps, ballplayer dirt consumption, replay review protocol, promotion and relegation in professional baseball, the definition of “getaway day,” the value of pitcher fielding, intentional bad performance by big leaguers, pitch selection giveaways on pickoff throws, MLB rules…
(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) Nearly two weeks ago, the Chicago White Sox announced a potentially impactful signing. They had inked outfielder Tommy Pham to a minor league contract. Per the terms of the deal, the player had the ability to get out of the deal and test free agency again if he wasn’t called…
(Photo by Kyle Rivas/Getty Images) In many instances, fans criticize an organization’s failure to call up a seemingly MLB-ready prospect and chalk it up to service time manipulation. Many times, they are right. However, there are a few instances in which teams just want to make sure their prospects have completed every step of the…
