NBC buddy Matthew Pouliot thinks the Royals are playing service time games.

Jayson Stark rolls out the usual column. It’s basically a brief in support of the owners. I’ll grant that there are many problems with the draft, but an argument which boils down to “we need to fix the draft because these guys are making too much money” is a decidedly one-sided one. He also throws […]

Sure, to the extent there was any bad blood it was 100% manufactured by the media and the Mets’ blogosphere, but Cain and Wright bury the hatchet all the same: Two days after a scary beaning that put him on the disabled list with a concussion, David Wright returned to Citi Field on Monday and […]

Well, to Arlington. He was already in Texas: Ivan Rodriguez is returning to the Rangers to be a backup catcher. The Rangers completed a trade with the Houston Astros on Tuesday to reacquire the 14-time All-Star catcher for two players, according to multiple sources. The Astros will receive a Minor League player and a player […]

Joel Sherman on the draft: I know people demonize Scott Boras for making huge demands for his players. But the person who finishes first, say, at Harvard Law is not told which law firm he must work for, nor is there a ruling authority pressuring that law firm to stay within certain financial parameters. So […]

Sorry I’m late with this today. I don’t what has gotten into the people in my office, what with their demands and everything. I mean, don’t they know I’m a government employee? Before you die there is something you should know about us, Lone Star . . . I am your father’s brother’s nephew’s cousin’s […]

Braves 9, Diamondbacks 4: Max Scherzer’s arm is probably going to fall off after starting two games in this series. Oh wait, the first game was back in May and this was a makeup? Forget I said anything. Also forget the fact that only three of Scherzer’s nine runs allowed in this one were “earned.” […]

Aubrey Huff, that is, in exchange for right-handed pitcher Brett Jacobson. According to Morosi, “In a statement, Tigers president/general manager Dave Dombrowski said he liked Huff’s versatility and ‘ability to play numerous positions.’” Does DH and 1B — the only positions he’s played all year — count as “numerous?” Sure, he played a bit of […]

I haven’t linked to Scott Simkus’ excellent blog for a while, but for those who don’t know or have forgotten, Scott does a lot — and I mean a lot — of cool historical stuff, particularly with the Negro Leagues. Today he has something fun: contemporaneous newspaper accounts of Josh Gibson’s bg hits: To follow, […]

I don’t always understand the idea behind hiring ex-jocks to provide general commentary. I mean, does Bert Blyleven really have any greater insight into the pennant races than you do? But when properly deployed, guys like old Bert can be really valuable, such as in this post, where he talks about the art of working […]