U mad, bro? Prickly Pitt fans, Matt Murray defenders, Barry Bonds debaters sound off
How are we going to start this week’s “U mad, bro?” With me being mad. That’s how. I was mad because I got locked out of my email. My stupid password expired. Why do they make me update that thing so often?! So I couldn’t get to my usual material...
Phillies sign ex-Pirates Neil Walker, Francisco Liriano to minors dealsVideo
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday signed former Pittsburgh Pirates Neil Walker and Francisco Liriano to minor league contracts with invitations to attend major league spring training Walker, a Pine-Richland graduate who was selected 11th overall in 2004, batted .261 with a .344 on-base percentage, eight homers and 38...
Mets tab Luis Rojas to replace Carlos Beltrán as manager
NEW YORK — The New York Mets are finalizing a multiyear agreement with quality control coach Luis Rojas to make him the team’s new manager, general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said Wednesday. Rojas would replace Carlos Beltrán, who left the team last week before managing a single game as part...
Derek Jeter, Larry Walker elected to Baseball Hall of FameVideo
NEW YORK — Derek Jeter came within one vote of being a unanimous pick for the Hall of Fame, and Larry Walker also earned baseball’s highest honor Tuesday. Jeter, the longtime New York Yankees captain, appeared on 396 of 397 ballots cast by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, falling...
L.A. City Council says Dodgers should be awarded World Series titles
LOS ANGELES — With Los Angeles fans reeling from news that two of the Dodgers’ recent World Series opponents were linked to a cheating scandal that tipped off batters to what pitch was about to be thrown, the City Council voted Tuesday to ask Major League Baseball to strip the...
Tim Benz, Mark Madden discuss Penguins beating Bruins, Super Bowl matchup, Astros scandal
This week’s “Madden Monday” with Mark Madden features three big topics: • The Penguins comeback win Sunday against the Boston Bruins • The AFC and NFC championship games • The Houston Astros cheating controversy We start with the Penguins. How big of a deal is it that they got at...
Tim Benz: Hard to find sympathy for ‘cheated’ Astros rivals who stood silent
For the past week, the news cycle surrounding the Houston Astros sign-stealing controversy has been constant. And so has the bloodletting. Manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow have been fired. Because they were formerly members of the Astros, Red Sox manager Alex Cora and Mets manager Carlos Beltran...
Astros, Red Sox look ahead in wake of sign-stealing scandalVideo
Players from two teams at the center of baseball’s sign-stealing scandal faced their fans Saturday for the first time since the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox ousted their managers amid the fallout from the investigation into Houston’s elaborate scheme. The Astros and Red Sox held their annual fan fests,...
Analysis: Baseball has become a prisoner of technology
NEW YORK — Technology unleashed baseball’s Analytics Era, and now it’s holding the sport prisoner. AJ Hinch, Alex Cora and Carlos Beltrán are casualties, a triple play of hubris. At the cutting edge with the Houston Astros, now they have been cut. Their sign-stealing system exposed, all three managers were...
Ex-White Sox catcher, Pitt star Kevan Smith at center of Astros’ sign-stealing: ‘We knew they had something’
A former WPIAL baseball star is speaking out about the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal. He was a first-hand witness to it and was prominently featured in the exposure of it. I spoke with Seneca Valley alum and former Pitt quarterback Kevan Smith on Thursday. You can hear the entire conversation...
Giants make Alyssa Nakken first female major league coachVideo
SAN FRANCISCO — Alyssa Nakken became the first female coach on a major league staff in baseball history Thursday when she was named an assistant under new Giants manager Gabe Kapler. Major League Baseball confirmed Nakken is the first woman coach in the majors. Nakken is a former softball standout...
Stolen away: Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher recalls 1951 sign-stealing scamVideo
NEW YORK — Stealing signals. Banging on a trash can. Beating the Dodgers in October. Sounds very familiar to Carl Erskine. “If they’re going to go back to 2017 with penalties for the Astros,” he said Wednesday, “then I want them to go all the way back to 1951 to...
Carlos Beltrán out as Mets manager in wake of sign-stealing scandal
NEW YORK — Carlos Beltran is out as manager of the New York Mets before a single game, the latest fallout from the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal that has rocked MLB. The Mets announced the decision Thursday in a news release, saying Beltran and the team “agreed to mutually part...
Red Sox manager Alex Cora fired in sign-stealing scandalVideo
BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox fired manager Alex Cora on Tuesday, a day after baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred implicated him in the sport’s sign-stealing scandal. Cora was the bench coach for the Houston Astros when they won the 2017 World Series and led Boston to the title the following...
Manager AJ Hinch, GM Jeff Luhnow fired for Astros’ sign stealing
HOUSTON — Astros manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were fired Monday after the pair were suspended by Major League Baseball for the team’s use of electronics for sign stealing during Houston’s run to the 2017 World Series title and during the 2018 season. In U.S. sports’ largest...
Mookie Betts agrees to record $27 million deal with Red SoxVideo
BOSTON — Outfielder Mookie Betts agreed Friday to a $27 million contract with the Boston Red Sox, the largest one-year salary for an arbitration-eligible player. Outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. also agreed to an $11 million deal, ensuring Boston will avoid salary arbitration with two of its biggest stars. Betts’ deal...
Gerrit Cole and wife Amy announce they are expecting their first child
Former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole and his wife Amy announced Wednesday they are expecting their first child in June. “Baby Cole on the way soon” reads the baby onesie Amy is holding in the photo posted to Cole’s official Instagram page. “Can’t wait to meet our son in June,”...
Don Larsen, who threw only perfect World Series game, dies at 90Video
NEW YORK — Don Larsen, the journeyman pitcher who reached the heights of baseball glory when he threw a perfect game in 1956 with the New York Yankees for the only no-hitter in World Series history, died Wednesday night. He was 90. He died of esophageal cancer while in hospice...
Gerrit Cole, Yankees finalize record $324M, 9-year contract
NEW YORK — Gerrit Cole brought along a sign for the news conference to announce his signing with the New York Yankees: a crinkled board that read “Yankee Fan Today Tomorrow Forever.” Then 11, Cole was caught on camera holding up that message in the seats at Game 6 of...
Indians deal 2-time Cy Young winner Kluber to Rangers
CLEVELAND — Corey Kluber led by example and excellence in Cleveland. The Texas Rangers are hoping he can do the same for them. The Indians traded the two-time Cy Young Award winner — and their unquestioned ace over the past six seasons — to the Rangers on Sunday, a blockbuster...
Babe Ruth’s 500th homer bat sells for more than $1 million
Babe Ruth has hit another one out of the ballpark. The bat used by the legendary baseball player to hit his 500th home run was auctioned on Saturday for more than $1 million. SCP Auctions didn’t identify the buyer. The auction was held in Laguna Niguel, California. Ruth hit his...
Bernie Sanders makes pitch for minor leagues
BURLINGTON, Iowa — Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator and Democratic presidential candidate, is aggressively opposing a Major League Baseball plan to cut 42 minor league teams across the country after 2020. Among the targeted are the Vermont Lake Monsters, the Single-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics in his hometown, Burlington....
Angels, Anthony Rendon reach $245M, 7-year dealVideo
SAN DIEGO — Third baseman Anthony Rendon and the Los Angeles Angels agreed to a $245 million, seven-year contract Wednesday, a person with direct knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been announced and was subject to...
Yankees finally reel in Gerrit Cole, their ‘white whale’Video
SAN DIEGO — Meeting with Gerrit Cole and the pitcher’s wife for the first time last week at the Fashion Island Hotel in Newport Beach, Brian Cashman tossed out a literary reference that prompted laughter. “You’re my white whale,” the New York Yankees general manager told him. “He was someone...
Yankees getting Gerrit Cole perfect storm for super-agent Scott BorasVideo
Scott Boras again reigns supreme as king of the agents. His latest record-shattering contract with former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole — the premier starter on the free-agent market — and the presence of three of the highest-roller teams (the Yankees, Angels and Dodgers) all salivating to sign him, was...
