Good morning.
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Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, who hit 60 home runs last season and finished second in American League Most Valuable Player voting, is in a terrible slump. But last night he snapped an 0-for-38 streak with a single last night.
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All it took to break out was getting smacked in the oompa-loompas with a foul ball the half-inning before.
Tough way to break a slump, but Big Dumper will take it.
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Mike Axisa examined what was wrong with Raleigh.
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Mike Petriello also takes a crack at what’s the matter with Big Dumper.
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Karl Rasmussen has the five longest hitless streaks in MLB history. Raleigh came a bit short of knocking a current Cub off the list.
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Jay Jaffe evaluates the trade that sent catcher Patrick Bailey from San Francisco to Cleveland.
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Ken Rosenthal writes that Giants team president Buster Posey keeps making big, risky moves, but none of them are paying off at the moment. (The Athletic sub. req.) He also said that Posey grew frustrated with Bailey, feeling that his game management skills were lacking in addition to his weak bat.
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Kerry Crowley writes that since Posey’s big gambles haven’t paid off, we should expect him to make more traded.
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The Dodgers acquired outfielder Alek Thomas from the Diamondbacks for a minor league outfielder after Thomas had been designated for assignment by Arizona.
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Kiley McDaniel has five too-early questions about free agency this upcoming winter.
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Jason Foster looks at the current state of both Rookie of the Year races.
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The issues for Astros pitcher Tatsuya Imai continue. He came off the injured list yesterday and got rocked for six runs in four innings. Jack Baer examines what’s gone wrong for the Japanese rookie.
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Thomas Harrington demonstrates what’s different for Braves first baseman Matt Olson this year that has turned him into one of the best power hitters in the game. More fly balls!
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The Braves put catcher Sean Murphy on the IL with a broken finger. Just don’t ask him to show you the finger that broke.
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Yankees infielder Jose Caballero went on the IL after he broke the same finger! Well, not exactly the same finger. Caballero’s broken finger is attached to his hand and not Murphy’s. It would be weird otherwise. Anyways, that means that Anthony Volpe got recalled from Triple-A.
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Adam McCalvy introduces us to Brewers reliever Aaron Ashby, who currently leads the majors in wins with seven.
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Both the Phillies and Red Sox have fired their managers this year and they meet this week. Mike Axisa looks at how the two teams have changed since the managerial switch.
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Thomas Harrington asks between the Phils and Red Sox, which team is more likely to rebound and contend for the playoffs this year.
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Adam Berry examines the Rays hot start to the season and notes how Tampa Bay’s wins are powered by friendship. Well, pitching, hitting and defense are playing a role too.
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Twins pitcher Bailey Ober threw a “Maddux” against the Marlins.
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Astros Hall of Fame broadcaster René Cárdenas died at age 96. Cárdenas was the first ever Spanish-language team broadcaster when he called the Dodgers in 1958. He moved on to Houston to call the “Colt .45s” when the expansion franchise got underway.
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Baseball writer Aaron Gleeman explained why he stopped writing for The Athletic and will instead write independently about the Twins.
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The Braves say their new TV deal will “meet or exceed the economics” of the old one, but as Evan Drellich notes, they aren’t giving out many details about that.
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This is a fascinating read. It’s been noted that walks are up under the new Automated Ball/Strike system, but Ben Clemens goes deep into the math to figure out where all those extra walks are coming from.
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Each team’s hottest pitching prospect from the MLB Pipeline gang.
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Michael Baumann examines the breakout rookie campaign of Guardians pitcher Parker Messick.
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John Smoltz explains the late Bobby Cox’s leadership style and his three simple rules. (Free The Athletic sub. req.)
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Angels outfielder Jo Adell is robbing home runs again.
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And finally, thirty years ago director Spike Lee wanted a red Yankees cap to complete his outfit for the World Series, but there weren’t any in any color other than Black. Lee’s quest for a red Yankees cap opened up the current world of multiple caps in multiple colors for alls teams. The Yankees, Lee and New Era are celebrating the 30th anniversary of that with a a new Spike Lee line of Yankees caps.
