Yankees and tanking are two words you don’t usually hear in the same sentence. Hell, its been decades since the last time the Yankees didn’t think they were playing for a pennant through August. But right now, things need to change. They have won just one championship in the past 15 years and just two playoff series in the past six years. To any other franchise this is fairly normal, but…
While listening to Bill Simmons’s baseball podcast last week, I heard a guest on the show say something along the lines of, “Carlos Beltran has been a much better hitter as a DH, ever since Alex Rodriguez went on the Disabled List.” This guest is right. In 72 plate-appearances so far in 2016 as a designated hitter, Beltran is hitting .323 with a 1.100 OPS and a 189 wRC+ (weighted runs created plus —…
We here at Check Down were honored to be able to interview Stuart Sternberg, principal owner of the Tampa Bay Rays. After taking over the Rays in 2005, Stuart’s presence helped usher in an new era of success for the previously downtrodden franchise. Most notably, the Rays won the American League pennant in 2008 in one of the more stunning single-season turnarounds in MLB history. But another impressive feat that…
Alright….so how do I explain how this is going to work……Well does anyone read weekly power rankings? I’m sure you have. They mostly look like this. They’re all pretty boring. The only one that’s any good is Jonah Keri’s “The 30” for SI.com (I’m sure some of you will remember Keri from the ol’days of Grantland; now I’ll be back in a bit while I quietly sob alone for…
With the MLB draft less than two weeks away, I thought it would be appropriate to examine one of the most controversial topics surrounding the draft: the qualifying offer. Essentially, the qualifying offer intends to reward teams — presumably the small-market, low budget ones — that lose players in free agency. This reward comes in the form of an additional first-round draft pick for every player that signs with another team. Only…
Hello readers. My name is Jeb Clarke and this is my first post here at Check Down. I am a recent (6 days) college graduate and I find myself in the awkward phase that most of my fellow classmates seemingly find themselves in post-graduation. It seems as though us graduates can be categorized into three groups. Group A includes the fortunate ones that obtained a fancy, suit-wearing job that requires relocating to…
The article was originally published in the latest edition of The Morning Mando. We’re roughly a third of the way through the MLB season, which means I think there is a large enough sample size to evaluate who the most surprising and disappointing players have been. So without further ado, here are seven surprising studs followed by seven of the biggest duds. Surprise Studs Jackie Bradley Jr., OF Boston Red…
You’re reading The Morning Mando, a column released on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings about four of the most intriguing stories in sports. In today’s edition, I’m doubling up on Western Conference Finals articles once again because there is too much to talk about. But in addition to questioning Stephen Curry’s title as the best player in the game and discussing how great an upset we are watching, I’ll also…
Does Sportscenter still do fact or fiction? It can’t be a regular segment like it once was, but then again I’m not paying too much attention to Lyndsey Czarniak’s evening SC these days. Anyways, let’s play a little fact or fiction with some of the more intriguing storylines in baseball right now. Fact or Fiction: The Philadelphia Phillies Will Be Contending for a Playoff Spot Come September Fiction. I’m happy that…
You’re reading The Morning Mando, a column released on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings about four of the most intriguing stories in sports. In today’s edition, I take a break from analyzing the NBA’s Conference Finals and look ahead to who the best teams in the league will be three years from now. I’ll also take a stab at predicting the Preakness, play some MLB fact-or-fiction, and explain why the…