MLB

Report: MLB to only use DH in American League in 2021

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Multiple reports indicate that the DH will be used in the American League only in the MLB in 2021. With the pandemic-shortened season, the MLB decided to use a DH in both leagues with fans approving of the decision. Now in 2021, the league will revert back to having pitchers hit in the NL.

However, the MLB CBA expires at the end of next season. The future of the universal DH will lie through the collective bargaining next offseason.

A universal DH allows for NL teams to bat a regular player in place of the pitcher. Additionally, it reduces the risk of injuries for pitchers as they’d no longer have to hit and run the bases.

Nothing has been finalized yet. Stay tuned for updates.

MLB News: Tampa Bay Rays get revenge with win over the Dodgers, evening the series at a game apiece

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The Tampa Bay Rays took on the Los Angeles Dodgers last night behind one game in the MLB 2020 World Series. They put out co-ace Blake Snell to win it for the Rays; Snell is a left-hand hitter killer. The Los Angeles Dodgers sent out Tony Gonsolin in the hopes of continuing their winning ways. The Rays evened the series with the 6-4 win.

One out in the first inning Brandon Lowe hit a solo homer off Gosolin for the Tampa Rays early lead in the game. Then Joey Wendle drove in two with a double in the fourth as Tampa took a 3-0 lead, driving starter Tony Gonsolin out of the game. Dustin May took over for him, he allowed one on and then another homer for Brandon Lowe, and it was 5-0 Rays. Meanwhile, Blake Snell was dominant, with the Dodgers being hitless through four innings.

Snell showed his stuff as he got nine strikeouts through just the fifth innings. But Snell gave up a two-run home to Chris Taylor as the Los Angeles Dodgers got on the board and made it 5-2 Tampa Bay. A walk followed that to Mookie Betts as the Tampa Bay Rays got the bullpen warming up. Snell this year has seldom gone more than five innings in a game. Snell this gave up a hit to the hot Corey Seager moving Adames to second, and that was Snell’s night as Nick Anderson replaced him with two on base and the tying run at the plate in Justin Turner. Anderson struck out Turner ending the threat, but the Dodgers got within three.

Joe Kelly took over for the Dodgers in the sixth.  He gave up a single to Ray’s Ji-Man Choi. Manuel Margot singled, moving Choi to third. Joey Wendle had a sac fly scoring Choi for the Tampa Bay 6-2 lead. Margot stole second as Muncy overthrew to fist. Willie Adames struck out on a Kelly 98 mph fastball. Kevin Kiermaier grounded out, ending the inning, but the Dodgers got another run closer.

At the bottom of the frame, with Anderson still in, he gave up a homer to Will Smith drawing the Dodgers ever closer at 6-3 Rays. Now with a three-run ballgame, Cody Bellinger grounded out. Rios struck out, maintaining Ray’s three-run lead.

Entering the seventh inning Alex Wood took the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Zunino grounded out. Diaz singled to Mookie Betts, Lowe who hit two homers grounded back to the Wood, Mike Brosseau pinch-hitting, struck out ending the half. At the bottom of the seventh, Pete Fairbanks, who got the save in the ALCS, took to the mound and got Pederson to fly out. Taylor struck out, and Betts fly out for a perfect inning for Fairbanks. Rays 6 and the Dodgers 3.

The eighth inning featured Wood back on the mound for the Dodgers. Margot struck out, Joey Wendle to who had two homers in the game, popped out for the second out of the eighth. Willie Adames doubled for his first World Series hit. He was left on base by Kevin Kiermaier for another good inning for Wood. At the bottom of the frame, Cory Seager homered to right, bringing the Dodgers to within two of the Rays. Justin Turner doubled, Muncy flew out, Smith lined out but knocking out Fairbanks as Aaron Loup came in to close out the inning.

Entering the ninth inning with McGee pitching and one on Brandon Lowe stuck out, followed by the Yankee killer Randy Arozarena singling, making it two on with two outs. Renfro running for  Diaz. Mike Brosseau grounded out, leaving seven on base for the Rays. In the bottom with last licks for the Dodgers, With Loup back on the mound, Rios struck out. Austin Barnes flew out, and Loup was replaced by the Rays closer Deigo Castillo who had been warming to get the final out. Austin Taylor struck out, and that was the game as the Rays got their revenge and tied up the World Series at one game apiece.

Tomorrow night is a game night off; Friday’s game will be at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. It will feature a matchup between Ray’s veteran Charlie Morton facing the Dodger’s Walker Buehler at 8:08 pm on the Fox Network. Joey Wendle was the star in the game with two homers, and three runs were driven in. Nick Anderon took the win, and Gonsolin taking the loss. Deigo Castillo got the save in the 6-4 win for the Tampa Bay Rays.

 

 

MLB News: The Ray’s Glasnow allows six runs in Dodgers win in Game 1 (videos)

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Tyler Glasnow won over the New York Yankees, but the Los Angles Dodgers took him for six runs in Game 1 of the MLB 2020 World Series. On a beautiflul night in Arlington, Texas the Tampa Bay Rays and the Dodgers took to the field to play the first game of the seven game Fall Classic. The first three innings of the game were uneventful and both pitchers put down their opponents.

Tyler Glasnow first faced trouble in the bottom of the fourth inning. With Muncy on base, Cody Bellinger hit a homer to right center, scoring Muncy for the Los Angeles lead. The Tampa Bay Rays got a run back when Kevin Kiermaier homered to right field in the top of fifth inning.

The bottom of the fifth was a nightmare for Glasnow and the Rays, as the game got out of reach. Glasnow allowed four Dodger runs in the fifth inning, and Ray’s reliever Yarbourgh couldn’t prevent two more runs, left on base by Glasnow from scoring. Meanwhile, the Dodger’s starter Clayton Kershaw sat for nearly 30 minutes. But that didn’t stop him as he pitched a scoreless top of the sixth inning.

Mookie Betts waited until the bottom of the frame to hit his first home run of the postseason, a long one to left field. Fleming in for Yarborough, struggled as he allowed two balls to the wall for the Dodgers 8-1 lead. Devin Floro took over for Kershaw in the seventh inning. Ji-Man Choi, with two on, pitch hit for the Rays causing a pitching change as the Dodgers went to Victor Gonzalez as Rays countered with Mike Brosseau, the ALDS hero. Brosseau singled, allowing another Rays run for the Dodgers 8-2 lead. Kiermaier, who got the home run against Kershaw, singled, driving in another Ray’s tun. Gonzalez got out of the inning with a comebacker double play, Dodgers 8 Tampa Bay 3. Clayton Kershaw got the win and Tyler Glasnow the loss.

Tampa Bay didn’t seem to have it altogether like they did in the ALCS. The Los Angeles Dodger’s Clayton Kershaw showed off for the Dodgers being dominant, allowing only two  hits and one earned run. Previously he had to deal with near-constant criticism about his postseason track record, he delivered six innings of one-run ball. He struck out eight batters and allowed two hits and a walk wiping away any criticism of his performance. Meanwhile Tyler Glasnow struggled throwing 112 pitches before the fifth inning. That the most pitches thrown in so few innings in postseason history, since they were tracked in 1988.

Mookie Betts did it all in the game, he scored two runs one from his homer in the sixth innings. He became the first player in World Series history with 2+ steals, a homer, and 2+ runs in a single game! But the real hero of the game was Cody Bellinger. He homered and made a fantastic over the wall catch to prevent an Austin Meadows home run.

The best of seven MLB series will continue tonight in Arlington at Globe Life Field at 8:08 pm. Tony Gonsolin of the Dodgers will face Blake Snell of the Ray. Both teams will then have a day off on Thursday as they revert back to the Rays having home field advantage for the next three games at the same Globe Life Park. A game six and seven if needed will be on Monday and Tuesday of next week.  For MLB the bubble in the postseason has been very successful, not a single players has come down with the coronavirus.

MLB News: The Los Angeles Dodgers/Tampa Bay Rays World Series gets underway tonight

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With the New York Yankees out of MLB and licking their wounds along with the Houston Astros, many fans are still interested in the Fall Classic. Those interested want to see close games with a series that goes the full seven games, with outstanding pitching and long ball heroes. I can’t promise you any of these things, but for sure, it will be an exciting series with two teams that are very energized.

The Tampa Bay Rays haven’t been to the World Series since 2008, and the Los Angeles Dodgers haven’t won a World Series since 1988. The game tonight will be almost freaky as the cameras pan around, and you see and hear the cheers, and moans of real fans in the stands, albeit limited.

Tonight’s game and all the World Series games will be at the brand new Globe Life Field, the home of the Texas Rangers, in Arlington, Texas. The game time will be 8:09 pm, and the game-time temperature will be about  80 degrees and will stay in the upper ’70s throughout the game. The skies will be clear, and a perfect night for baseball in the open Globe Life Field. The game will be broadcast on the Fox Network.

First out on the mound will be pitching ace Clayton Kershaw as the first two games, the Dodgers will be the home team. Kershaw on the year was 6-2 with an ERA of 2.16. In the postseason, he was 2-1 with an ERA of 3.32. Kershaw is a seasoned veteran in the World Series with four starts in his career and one relief appearance. Kershaw relies mainly on a slider and a low ’90s four-seam fastball with some backspin. The 32-year-old, 6′ 4″ 225 pounder has re-invented his pitching in the last two years by adding a changeup to his repertoire.

The Tampa Bay Rays will start their strike-throwing Tyler Glasnow, who has pretty much cemented his place as the Rays ace over Blake Snell. Glasnow won his Wild Card Game against the Blue Jays, beat the New York Yankees on October 6, but lost his short rest to the Yankees on the 9th even though he didn’t have an earned run. In his last outing against the Houston Astros, he lost, giving up four runs in six innings.

Glasnow’s shortcoming is that he is basically a two-pitch pitcher; he throws a high ’90s four-seamer and a mid-’80s curveball.  He rarely throws a change-up. Despite being a two-pitch pitcher, he had 91 strikeouts in the regular season and had the fourth-most strikeouts in all of the baseball’s postseason with 25K’s.

I give the Los Angeles Dodgers and Kershaw the edge in Game 1.

 

The two absences that hurt the Yankees the most in 2020

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New York Yankees, Luis Severino

After the crushing loss in game five of the ALDS to the Tampa Bay Rays, it’s time to reflect on the season. It feels like a lifetime ago that Gerrit Cole signed the richest deal for a starting pitcher in MLB history with the Yankees back in December, a deal that put the team that made it to the ALCS last year the overwhelming favorites in the American League. But alas, the Bombers fell short of their ultimate goal, again.

If you told a Yankee fan back in January that their team would lose to the Rays in five games in the ALDS, you would have been mercilessly laughed at. Oh, the naivety.

Nevertheless, the season fell short for several reasons. Bullpen inconsistencies, offense not showing up in big spots, and yet another barrage of injuries that caused the team to fall to 21-21 at one point. But if you are like many Yankee fans that are searching for answers now that their season is over, l feel that the absence of two key players sealed the fate of the Yankees long before they were eliminated.

Luis Severino

When the Yankees signed Gerrit Cole, the thought of the 1-2 punch of him and Luis Severino was tantalizing. Two proven ace caliber pitchers were something the Yankees haven’t had since A.J. Burnett and CC Sabathia through their most recent championship run in 2009. When it was announced that Severino was to undergo Tommy John surgery back in February, it felt like 2019 all over again before the 2020 season had even started.

At least the team still could take comfort in the fact that the Yanks still had Cole, James Paxton, Tanaka, and Jordan Montgomery coming back from having Tommy John himself, still made for above-average rotation. But losing Severino was the first of many things that went wrong in 2020. When talking about the “core” that the Yankees have now, who comes to mind? Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres, Giancarlo Stanton, and D.J. LeMahieu are at the forefront, but Severino is just as integral to the teams’ success as any of them.

Signed to a four-year $40 million contract through 2022, Sevy was the bonafide ace before Cole came into the picture. He finished third in the AL Cy Young voting in 2017 and finished in the top 10 the following year. After missing a hefty chunk of 2019, 2020 looked to be a redemption year to prove what he is actually capable of. After James Paxton was diagnosed with a flexor strain in his right forearm and his season quickly came to an end, our once elite looking rotation dwindled and subsequently sealed the fate for the team. Don’t believe me? Go watch Severino in the 2018 wild card game against the Athletics and tell me he’s not a difference-maker.

Tommy Kahnle

One of the rocks of the “four horseman” of the Yankee bullpen, Tommy Kahnle, was another player lost due to injury that impacted the Yankees greatly. After undergoing Tommy John surgery in early August, losing Tommy Kahnle was the nail in the coffin for a bullpen that struggled in both the regular and postseason. The Yankees desperately missed Kahnle’s devastating changeup.

He was someone who would fill out the crucial sixth-seventh inning range before the team could rely on Zach Britton and Aroldis Chapman for the eighth and the ninth. Without him, guys like Jonathan Loaisiga and Jonathan Holder were the best options. Not a knock on either of those pitchers, but Kahnle performed significantly better than both of them since signing with New York in 2017.

Both of these absences are by no means the ONLY reasons why the team fell short this year, but having them both healthy for the entire year would have made a drastic difference. It is a sad day for Yankee fans, but now we move forward. They have their ace for the next decade, Sevy and Kahnle come back next year healthy, hopefully, the MLB season format returns to normal pending the status of the pandemic, and the Yankees can return to the top of the mountain. Right where they are expected to be.

New York Yankees: Possible landing spots for Masahiro Tanaka during his free agency

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New York Yankees, Masahiro Tanaka

New York Yankees’ right-hander Masahiro Tanaka just completed his seven-year contract with the club and is now an unrestricted free agent. Throughout those seven years, Tanaka has been solid for the Yankees, especially in the postseason. However, it’ll be interesting to see what his next contract will look like.

It was reported that the Rakuten Golden Eagles from Nippon Professional Baseball’s Pacific League in Japan are considering to offer Tanaka a considerable amount of money to come back to Japan to play ball. The club reportedly is offering anywhere from $20-25 million a year. The length of this contract is currently unknown. Tanaka has already spent some time for the Golden Eagles, playing seven years with them before coming to the New York Yankees.

As for the Yankees, their highest priority is making sure batting title winner DJ LeMahieu resigns with the team. Due to LeMahieu’s extremely successful two seasons in pinstripes, the Yankees definitely know he is looking to get paid this offseason. This could get in the way of Tanaka’s contract though. A contract between $30-40 million for three to five years is realistic, and that saves the Yanks some money and gets a few more years out of a starter who still has more left in the tank.

Other teams that need starting pitching that could possibly go after Tanaka are the Red Sox, Orioles, Giants, and Blue Jays.

The Yankees will probably extend an offer to Tanaka because of his success over the last several years. Although, they know that because of his age he’s looking for some length. There’s also the concern with injury since Tanaka has had UCL trouble over the past few years.

It’ll be interesting to see where Tanaka ends up this offseason and what contracts he is offered. The Yankees and the rest of the MLB know that he still has some gas left and can be a quality starting pitcher somewhere.

MLB News: Astros hopes dashed as Tampa Bay Rays win the ALCS

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The New York Yankees lost to the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS, now the Houston Astros have lost to them in the ALCS. So one of the teams with the cheapest payrolls will be in the World Series. We don’t know who they will be playing as the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Atlanta Braves are tied at three games apiece after the Dodgers evened it up with a 3-1 win Saturday afternoon in Texas. They will have an elimination game tonight at 8:15 with the game seven on FS1.

In the ALDS, the Tampa Bay Ray’s Randy Arozarena was a Yankee killer. He continued his torrid play in the ALCS against the Astros and was named Series MVP. The Rays won yesterday’s game 4-2, dashing the hopes of the Houston Astros of going to their second World Series appearance.  The Astros, born the Colt 45’s of the National League, became the Houston Astros in 2013 moved to the American League. Since then, they have won two AL Pennants in 2017 and 2019, both against the New York Yankees.

The Tampa Bay Rays had their way with the New York Yankees in this shortened pandemic season. They won eight games of the ten meetings on the year. They then won the East Division over the Yankees. The Yankees went on to the ALDS Wild Card round and swept the Cleveland Indians. The Yankees had to face the Rays in the ALDS that the Yankees lost, ending their season. That set up the Rays Astros matchup in the ALCS.

The Tampa Bay Rays continued to play great baseball, winning the first three games in a row, putting the Astros in an elimination game. In only the second time in MLB history, the Astros won the next three games, forcing a game seven at Petco Park in San Diego.

Yesterday’s win over the Astros, advancing them to the World Series, came with the Rays Charlie Morton on the mound against Lance McCullers Jr. Morton got the win and McCullers Jr. the loss, with Pete Fairbanks getting the save for the Rays. The Rays will now face today’s NL game winner and play the World Series’s first game on Tuesday at 8:09 pm and will be broadcast on the Fox Network. The game will be played at Gold

MLB News: Los Angeles Dodgers score record 11 runs in first inning in win over the Braves

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The postseason is over after losing game five of the ALDS against the Tampa Bay Rays for the New York Yankees, but there are still things going on in MLB. Last night the Los Angeles Dodgers, two games behind in the NLCS, in their quest for a World Series appearance, scored a record 11 runs in the first inning against the Atlanta Braves. No team has ever scored 11 runs in the first inning of postseason play.

The final score in the game was Dodgers 15 and the Braves 3. Before the Dodger win, the Dodgers were two games behind the Braves, now 1-2 in the seven-game NLCS. They got the win with 5 homers, 13 hits, and 15 runs scored, all in the game’s first 3 innings. The game was held at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, and was the first series of the year to have fans socially distanced in the stands. During the first inning, many Atlanta fans left for local restaurants.

On the MLB American League side, the Tampa Bay Rays may walk away with the America League Championship tonight as it will be an elimination game for the Houston Astros.  The Rays won the first game in San Diego at Petco Park 2-1. The Rays won game 2, 4-2, and the third game 5-2, putting the Astros in an elimination situation. But the Astros won last night’s game 4-3, starving off elimination, which they again face tonight. The Ray already won the ALCS series from the New York Yankees three games to two, with the Yankees losing the deciding game by just one run.

In other baseball news the Wall Street Journal reported that Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane will soon have a stake in the Boston Red Sox through his company RedBall Acquisition Corp. Since you can’t be involved in running two MLB teams at once, it appears Beane will instead leave baseball entirely — joining Red Sox owner John Henry’s business efforts across other sports (most notably soccer — Henry owns the Liverpool club). During Beane’s time with the Athletics he brought the team to seven division titles since 1998.

 

New York Yankees: Give DJ LeMahieu a blank check

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New York Yankees, DJ LeMahieu

Since joining the New York Yankees two years ago, DJ LeMahieu has arguably been one of the best players in the MLB. However, LeMahieu’s contract expires this offseason, and the Yankees could risk losing him.

LeMahieu has showed his love for New York and expressed his interest in returning, but in the end, money talks. For the Yankees to have the best chance to retain LeMahieu for the 2021 season and beyond, they need to give him a blank check.

With how invaluable LeMahieu’s been for the Yankees, the team can’t afford to let him walk. The Yankees need to let LeMahieu dictate how much money he wants and for how long, and give it to him.

LeMahieu was an MVP candidate in 2019, ultimately finishing fourth in voting. He hit 26 home runs, drove in 102 runs, and finished second in the batting average race.

The 32-year-old followed-up his 2019 performance with a batting title, 10 home runs, and 27 RBI in a shortened 2020 season.

LeMahieu is also a fantastic defender, winning three gold gloves in his time with the Rockies. Although he hasn’t won a gold glove yet as a Yankee, one could be coming in 2020. He can also play first and third base in addition to second, and could play shortstop in an emergency. In his short time in New York, LeMahieu has became a face of the franchise and developed into a leader.

DJ LeMahieu does so much for the Yankees, and the team can’t let him a walk. Giving him a blank check would almost certainly retain him, but the question is, will the Yankees give that to him? They already have a high payroll, and LeMahieu’s salary could be close to $20 million a year if he stays. But, for what he provides, a high salary is absolutely worth it.

 

New York Yankees: Good news and bad news in ugly end to the season

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Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees

Well in another depressing loss, the New York Yankees are going home once again. In game 5 of the ALDS against the Tampa Bay Rays, the Yankees not only lost, but they were sent home with silent bats. They had given everything they had on the pitching side of it but came up short. As we sit here staring the offseason in the eye, we now ask ourselves, what’s wrong? Why did this happen again? Why can’t we win with this core? While the game seems like it was all negative, let’s get into the actual game itself and see what went right and wrong for the Bombers.

Good News: Gerrit Cole is the truth

Gerrit Cole came in there and gave us 5.1 innings of 1 run ball. He struck out 9 Tampa Bay Rays and absolutely dominated. 1 hit, 2 walks, 1 HBP, and 1 home run. That’s an insanely dominant stat line off of THREE DAYS of rest. Gerrit, I apologize on behalf of the Yankees for not winning tonight. You absolutely shoved and yet outside of the man himself Aaron Judge hitting a bomb, they did nothing. Let’s stay with the good though and give props to Zack (with a K) Britton who was on his hard carry mode too, and all postseason he was the guy. Those two deserve tips of the cap, and they deserve to be able to rest up this offseason.

For the rest of you guys? You’re gonna hear it from everywhere, starting with me in what went wrong.

Bad News: The New York Yankees need a wakeup call

Aaron Boone has a guy with a 151 wRC+ versus right-handers off of the bench waiting. Who does he bench Higgy for? The dude who has a 48 wRC+ versus righties this year. Frazier should demand a trade. We aren’t treating him the way we should treat a star-caliber outfielder. Now for DJ; dude where were you in Game 5? Seriously? 0-4? Stanton, Voit, and Gio all went cold too. We had no offensive contributions tonight. Aroldis Chapman also played around way too much against Brosseau and that was because he couldn’t get his swing and miss pitch. It fell apart with this team tonight in the end. Everyone should look at themselves in disgust. The New York Yankees lost another crucial series.

The Rays just dug your grave, shoved you in, then danced all over it. Get it together for once, or else the “Yankee” mantra will be gone from this core.

This a rough season, and it’s disgusting to watch this team get embarrassed by a division rival. They have to tighten it up, and they have a long offseason to think about what they’ve just done.