Tim Benz: New MLB postseason proposal stinks so badly, it must be on purpose
Is it too late for another “U mad, bro?” entry? How about a celebrity nomination? This one is from Cincinnati Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer. He’s obviously ticked at Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred because of potential plans to expand and overhaul the MLB postseason format. No idea who made...
Tim Dahlberg: Cheating Astros just don’t seem to get itVideo
Ah, the Houston Astros. Good at stealing signs. Not so good at pretending they’re sorry about it. The team’s official mea culpa Thursday in Florida turned out to be as predictable as it gets. From owner to star players, the message was the same, almost as if it had been...
Astros’ Bregman, Altuve apologize for sign-stealing scheme
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Alex Bregman spoke for about 30 seconds and said he was sorry but did not say why. He said he had learned, but did not say what. On a patch of grass between the Houston Astros’ spring training building and fields, under a sun obscured...
Mookie Betts, David Price arrive in Los Angeles eager for new startsVideo
LOS ANGELES — Mookie Betts and David Price finally turned up in Dodgers jerseys Wednesday, completing the journey from Boston to Los Angeles, where they’re expected to help end a World Series title drought dating to 1988. Neither seemed fazed by the trade that dragged out for more than a...
Ex-Pirate Gerrit Cole throws 1st bullpen session at Yankees campVideo
TAMPA, Fla. — Gerrit Cole threw a 25-pitch bullpen in a pinstriped, No. 45 uniform Wednesday at George M. Steinbrenner Field. After signing a record nine-year, $324 million deal with the Yankees this winter, Cole completed his first official bullpen session the day pitchers and catchers were required to report...
Blue Jays catcher, former Pirates’ 1st-rounder Reese McGuire charged with indecency in FloridaVideo
DUNEDIN, Fla. — Toronto Blue Jays catcher Reese McGuire is facing an indecent exposure charge in Florida. Deputies were dispatched to a shopping center parking lot in Dunedin on Friday afternoon following reports that a man sitting inside an SUV was exposing himself, according to a Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office...
MLB goes ahead with 3-batter minimum, roster changes
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball went ahead with its planned rules changes for this season, including the requirement a pitcher must face at least three batters or end the half-inning, unless he is hurt. The changes were agreed to by MLB and the players’ association last March 8, subject...
Ron Roenicke named interim manager of Boston Red SoxVideo
FORT MYERS, Fla. — It took Ron Roenicke almost five years to get another chance as a major league manager. He will need to wait at least until next week for “permanency.” The Boston Red Sox made Roenicke their interim manager Tuesday, promoting the former Milwaukee Brewers skipper to replace...
AP source: MLB considering expanding playoffs to 14 teams
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball is considering expanding the playoffs to nearly half the 30 teams and allowing higher-seeded wild-card teams to choose opponents. The playoffs would grow from 10 clubs to 14 under the plan, first reported Monday by the New York Post. There would be four wild...
‘Smart mound’ can help analyze efficiency of pitchersVideo
FARMINGTON, Conn. — Central Connecticut pitcher Michael Delease was throwing fastballs inside the Center for Motion Analysis and wasn’t getting much movement on his pitches. His problem was quickly diagnosed by coaches and scientists looking at data gathered by the instrumented pitching mound from which he was throwing, the electrodes...
Ex-Blue Jays reliever sues Astros in sign-stealing scandalVideo
LOS ANGELES — Former major league pitcher Mike Bolsinger sued the Houston Astros on Monday, claiming their sign-stealing scheme contributed to a poor relief appearance in August 2017 that essentially ended his big league career. Bolsinger’s suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court seeks unspecified damages for interfering with and...
Unfiltered: Tim Benz, Mark Madden break down Penguins’ weekend, Minkah Fitzpatrick comments, MLB newsVideo
TribLIVE columnists Tim Benz and Mark Madden recap a bunch of news from the weekend. The Penguins lost one game and won another in Florida, but another injury is going to hurt the team. Minkah Fitzpatrick made some interesting comments about how he thinks he should be used in the...
Tim Benz, Mark Madden discuss Penguins injuries, Steelers’ Minkah Fitzpatrick quotes, MLB news
We are all over the map when it comes to our “Madden Monday” podcast this week. Mark Madden and I touch on the Penguins, Steelers, Pitt football and two major baseball issues. We start with the Penguins splitting two games in Florida and how they will deal with their latest...
Ex-Pirate Morton says he regrets not trying to stop Astros from stealing signsVideo
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Two-time All-Star pitcher Charlie Morton said he regrets not doing anything to try to stop the Houston Astros from illegally stealing signs and relaying the information to their hitters during the team’s 2017 World Series championship season. Morton, who pitched seven seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates...
Fantasy sports podcast: Impact of the Mookie Betts trade, Josh Bell’s future, quarterback movement
Hey, Red Sox fans. Welcome to how the other half lives. OK, maybe not the other “half.” How about the bottom of the lower third? Whatever. This is what it is like to be a small market team, Boston. Selling off your best players in the prime of their careers....
MLB mulls limits to live video, other issuesVideo
ORLANDO, Fla. — Major League Baseball intends to impose new limits on what live video is available to teams, and commissioner Rob Manfred hopes to complete his investigation into alleged electronic sign stealing by the Boston Red Sox before spring training camps open next week. “I think you should assume...
Red Sox head into spring minus Mookie Betts, David Price, managerVideo
BOSTON — Well, that escalated quickly. In the 15 months since winning the World Series, the Boston Red Sox have traded away MVP winner Mookie Betts and onetime ace David Price, lost manager Alex Cora in a cheating scandal and fired the baseball boss who put together the greatest team...
Pete Rose asks for reinstatement, cites Astros and steroids
ORLANDO, Fla. — Pete Rose again asked Major League Baseball to end his lifetime ban, saying the penalty is unfair compared with discipline for steroids use and electronic sign stealing. Rose’s lawyers submitted the application Wednesday to baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, who in December 2015 denied the previous request by...
Scandal-ridden Astros hire Rays exec James Click as new general managerVideo
HOUSTON — The Houston Astros hired James Click as their new general manager Monday, taking the Tampa Bay Rays executive and putting him in charge of the scandal-ridden team a week before the start of spring training. Click succeeds Jeff Luhnow, who along with manager AJ Hinch was suspended by...
Padres’ Jacob Nix pleads guilty to trespassing in doggy door breachVideo
Jacob Nix this week pleaded guilty to misdemeanor criminal trespassing following his October arrest for attempting to crawl through a doggy door of a home near the Padres’ spring training complex in Peoria, Ariz. Nix received 18 months of probation as part of a plea agreement. The 24-year-old pitcher also...
Report: Astros working on deal to bring in Dusty Baker as managerVideo
HOUSTON — Dusty Baker is working to finalize an agreement to become manager of the Houston Astros, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told yhe Associated Press on Tuesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal has not yet been completed. The 70-year-old Baker becomes the...
House resolution proposed against minor league contraction
WASHINGTON — Four members of the House of Representatives introduced a resolution Wednesday urging Major League Baseball not to follow through with its proposal to eliminate 42 current minor league teams. MLB made the proposal last year to the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, the governing body of the...
Several Dodgers go public, peeved by Astros’ cheating scamVideo
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers would rather earn a World Series trophy on their own than accept any scraps from the Houston Astros or Boston Red Sox, the teams that beat them in 2017 and ‘18. Despite being eager to focus on the upcoming season, several Dodgers publicly...
Johan Camargo determined to seize second chance at 3B for BravesVideo
ATLANTA — Johan Camargo has a second chance to be the Atlanta Braves’ starting third baseman. Camargo’s renewed motivation to make the most of this opportunity comes after hard lessons learned in a demotion to the minors last season. It shows with a renewed commitment to conditioning this offseason that...
Sign-stealing whistleblower Mike Fiers wants to focus on upcoming seasonVideo
OAKLAND, Calif. — Oakland Athletics pitcher Mike Fiers didn’t have any more to say regarding his role as a whistleblower. Fiers declined Friday to answer questions about revealing the sign-stealing scam that has engulfed Major League Baseball, instead saying he simply wanted to focus on the future. He spoke a...
