In April, Jose Bautista had turned into a three true outcomes type of player: home run, walk or strikeout. He hit seven home runs and had a slugging percentage over .500, but was hitting just .200. Was he just finding his stroke as he returned from last year's injury problems?
We've brought back the Defensive Player of the Month Award for the 2013 season, and our choice for April, Orioles third baseman Manny Machado, was in the ESPN spotlight with a pair of stories on Tuesday.
Yes, it's the time of the year ... awards predictions! Here are the collective thoughts of the writers from across the SweetSpot network. MOST VALUABLE PLAYER Last year, the SweetSpot bloggers correctly picked Miguel Cabrera as the AL MVP winner.
Does pressure exist in baseball? We've made heroes and goats of those who performed -- or didn't perform -- in the game's biggest moments. But those are usually isolated snippets of time in a postseason game, when the results of one at-bat or a few games serve to define your character (fairly or not).
Back in 2008, just a few days after reaching the majors, Evan Longoria signed a six-year, $17.5 million contract that included club options for 2014 through 2016. It was really the first deal of its kind, since Longoria and the Rays had agreed to the parameters of the deal before Longoria had ever played a major league game.
Adam Dunn is at the plate, looking relaxed, just another of his more than 7,000 career plate appearances in the major leagues. Dunn may appear relaxed, but Chicago White Sox fans certainly aren't, as they stand in unison, knowing the season has come down to this: one pitch.
I sent an email to my pal Jim Caple, asking: Would you rather see the A’s or Angels in the playoffs? I could also ask: Would you rather see the Orioles or the Rays? All four teams won on Wednesday, which means good news for the Orioles and A’s -- one game closer to the playoffs!
The Orioles are the team that won’t go away. For months now, they’ve been predicted to, expected to, and they have no end of excuses for why they’re supposed to be long since out of the expanded wild-card picture already.
Ben Zobrist has long been admired by Rays fans, Joe Maddon and baseball analysts for his ability to shift seamlessly between second base and right field and play well at both positions. You can add a new position to his resume: He started three of Tampa Bay's past four games at shortstop, the first time he's played there since 2009.
Here are just a few things that have gone wrong for the Tampa Bay Rays this season: 1. Preseason MVP candidate Evan Longoria missed 86 games with a slow-healing hamstring pull. 2. Carlos Pena and Luke Scott, signed in the offseason to provide power in the middle of the order, have combined for 27 home runs but a .
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