Fantasy Sports: Which Pirates player may heat up? Early NHL, NBA trends. Warnings about Rob Gronkowski?
Fantasy sports aren’t all about regular-season baseball and football. Jeff Erickson and I start this week’s fantasy sports podcast talking about results in the two “bubble sports,” as the NBA and NHL are underway in Orlando, Toronto, and Edmonton. In the hockey playoffs, Evgeni Malkin is off to a slow...
MLB tightening virus protocols, including masks in dugouts
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball is cracking down on coronavirus safety protocols, mandating that players and staff wear face coverings at all times, including in the dugouts and bullpens, except for players on the field of play. The league sent a memo to teams Wednesday outlining changes to its...
First Call: Judge scorns Antonio Brown; former Steeler opts out of season; Austin Meadows returns
Wednesday’s “First Call” recaps a tough day on the legal front for former Steeler Antonio Brown. Another former Steeler is opting out of 2020’s season because of coronavirus concerns. And Austin Meadows makes an impact in his return for the Tampa Bay Rays. Gavel comes down on Antonio Brown The...
Mike Trout rejoins Angels, calls for daily coronavirus testingVideo
Mike Trout remains skeptical about the wisdom of completing the full baseball season amid the coronavirus outbreak, and the Los Angeles Angels’ three-time AL MVP would like to see the addition of daily testing to the sport’s safety measures. Trout spoke Tuesday after rejoining the Angels in Seattle following the...
Virus-stricken Marlins resume season with 18 new playersVideo
MIAMI — Scrambling for replacements following a coronavirus outbreak, the Miami Marlins added a Moran, a Morin, two pitchers named Josh Smith and a former Olympic medalist in speedskating. Also among the 18 players joining the Marlins’ 30-man roster as they resumed their virus-disrupted season in Baltimore on Tuesday night...
Cardinals’ Yadier Molina says he tested positive for covid-19
ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina says he’s one of the players on the team who tested positive for covid-19. The nine-time All-Star revealed his results Tuesday in a Spanish-language Instagram post. Soon afterward, the Cardinals issued a release naming six of the players who have tested...
Angels’ Shohei Ohtani won’t throw for 4-6 weeksVideo
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Shohei Ohtani has a right forearm strain that will prevent the Los Angeles Angels’ two-way star from throwing for at least four to six weeks, possibly ending his season as a pitcher after just two starts. Angels general manager Billy Eppler announced Monday that Ohtani “has a...
MLB’s ‘Field of Dreams’ game postponed to 2021Video
NEW YORK — MLB’s “Field of Dreams game“ in Iowa was postponed until 2021 because of the novel coronavirus. The game at a newly constructed ballpark on the cornfield adjacent to the site of the 1989 movie had been scheduled for Aug. 13 in Dyersville. The Chicago White Sox originally...
Marlins CEO Derek Jeter blames covid-19 outbreak on ‘lax’ playersVideo
MIAMI — Miami Marlins CEO Derek Jeter blamed the team’s coronavirus outbreak on a collective false sense of security that made players lax about social distancing and wearing masks. Infected were 21 members of the team’s traveling party, including at least 18 players. None is seriously ill, Jeter said Monday,...
7 Cardinals players, 6 staff test positive; series at Detroit offVideo
NEW YORK — Seven St. Louis Cardinals players and six staff members tested positive for covid-19, causing MLB to postpone the team’s four-game series at Detroit. The series was to have been played at Comerica Park from Tuesday through Thursday. Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said Monday five of those...
Mets slugger Cespedes leaves team, opts out of 2020 seasonVideo
ATLANTA — New York Mets slugger Yoenis Cespedes opted out of the 2020 season on Sunday because of the coronavirus pandemic, providing some clarity after the team said it was unable to locate him. Cespedes did not report to the ballpark for the Mets’ game at Atlanta, and the team...
Rob Manfred confident MLB can get through playoffs despite virus
NEW YORK — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says he’s confident his sport can get through the regular season and postseason without being stopped by the coronavirus, though not every club might play all 60 games and winning percentage could be used to determine playoff teams. During an interview Saturday with...
Column: Let’s make MLB weirder with even more new rulesVideo
The stat geeks are all excited, even if no one else seems to be. They’ve spent the first days of the baseball season analyzing a bunch of new numbers that show the possibilities — and probabilities — of runners scoring after being put on second base to open extra innings....
Brewers outfielder Lorenzo Cain opts out of 2020 seasonVideo
Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Lorenzo Cain has decided not to play the remainder of the 2020 season. The Brewers announced the two-time All-Star’s decision Saturday hours after news broke their scheduled home opener would be postponed for a second straight day because multiple members of the St. Louis Cardinals have tested...
No new positive tests for Marlins; 2B Isan Diaz opts out
MIAMI — The Miami Marlins received no new positive results in their latest round of coronavirus testing, a person familiar with the situation said Saturday, but second baseman Isan Diaz decided to opt out of the season. The person confirmed the test results to The Associated Press on condition of...
Vagabond Blue Jays stuck on the road with no one to playVideo
Toronto general manager Ross Atkins says life has been difficult for the vagabond Blue Jays at the beginning of a baseball season like no other. The Blue Jays haven’t had a real home game yet and still don’t have a stadium fit to host them. They played twice as the...
Cardinals-Brewers game off after St. Louis positives
NEW YORK — The coronavirus forced another change in Major League Baseball’s schedule, bringing the league’s total to eight teams affected in the first nine days of the season. Friday’s game between St. Louis and Milwaukee was postponed after two Cardinals players tested positive for the coronavirus. The league announced...
Blue Jays manager: Series at Phillies off because of covid-19Video
NEW YORK — Toronto Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said Thursday his team’s series at Philadelphia scheduled for this weekend was called off because of concerns about the coronavirus after two Phillies staffers tested positive. “Our plans right now are to stay put and let MLB work through whatever they’re...
17th Marlins player tests positive for virusVideo
NEW YORK — Another player with the Miami Marlins has tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the team’s outbreak total to 17 players, according to a person familiar with the situation. The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because test results were not announced. The Marlins...
MLB hitters slow out of the box to start 60-game season
NEW YORK — Two-time defending NL batting champion Christian Yelich has a long way to go if he wants a three-peat. The Milwaukee Brewers star is 1 for 28 to start the season, an .037 average that’s worst among qualified hitters. Not by much. Houston’s George Springer is batting .048,...
MLB doubleheaders could get shortened to 7-inning gamesVideo
NEW YORK — Ernie Banks famously said, “Let’s play two.” Baseball players just might not want to play nine innings twice in one day during this pandemic-delayed season. While Cleveland swept the Chicago White Sox in the first doubleheader of the season Tuesday, union head Tony Clark called deputy commissioner...
John McNamara, manager of ill-fated ’86 Red Sox, dies at 88Video
BOSTON — John McNamara, who managed the Boston Red Sox to within one strike of a World Series victory in 1986 before an unprecedented collapse on the field extended the team’s championship drought into the new millennium, died. He was 88. McNamara died Tuesday at his home in Tennessee, his...
Dodgers’ Kelly suspended 8 games for buzzing, mocking AstrosVideo
HOUSTON — Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly was suspended for eight games by MLB on Wednesday, a day after throwing a fastball near the head of Houston’s Alex Bregman and taunting Astros star Carlos Correa. Benches cleared after Kelly’s actions during the sixth inning of Los Angeles’ 5-2 win...
Mark Madden: Covid-19 chaos is spreading from MLB to NFLVideo
MLB is imploding, and not just the Pittsburgh Pirates’ bullpen. As of this writing, 18 Miami Marlins have tested positive for covid-19. This past Sunday, when the outbreak began via three players testing positive, the Marlins players voted to play that day anyway. Memo to morons: You can’t rub dirt...
In wake of Houston’s sign-stealing scandal, benches clear as Dodgers beat Astros
HOUSTON — The Houston Astros are trying to put their sign-stealing scandal behind them. It seems as if the Los Angeles Dodgers have their own thoughts on the matter. Benches cleared Tuesday night during the Dodgers’ 5-2 victory over the Astros in the first game between the teams since it...
