David Ortiz is back, so Jackie Bradley, Jr. is back down; Julio Borbon is a Cub; Francisco Rodriguez is still a Brewer; and Brett Wallace goes for help.
The Red Sox re-sign Ortiz, the Brewers snatch up a buzzed-about reliever, Iwakuma gets a raise and the Indians trade for Aviles.
Ben and Sam welcome Matthew Kory to the podcast to discuss the David Ortiz contract negotiations and the outlook for the Red Sox this winter.
Teams will have more difficult decisions to make if they want free-agent compensation this year. Here’s how it will likely go.
One-year contracts are perfect fodder for analysis after just half of a season.
Is the National League’s approach to Matt Holliday merely a reflection of how dangerous he is, or does it tell us something about Holliday’s future?
After looking like he was on his last legs in 2009 and again in 2010, David Ortiz has returned to near-peak form. How did he do it?
The tater trots for April 20: two inside-the-park home runs, plus an invalid trot from David Ortiz!
The tater trots for April 14: Kemp’s big day, Helton finds the fountain of youth, Big Papi’s first trot, and a pair of speedsters.
This is my favorite playoff series, if only because it’s going to finally put the lie to Bud Selig’s constant lament that no team in the lower half of payroll has ever advanced beyond the first round of the playoffs. The Twins and the A’s were respectively 27th and 28th in ESPN’s Opening Day payroll tally. I’m surprised that the right Honorable Commissioner didn’t intervene and ‘fix’ the matchups in what he might see as the best interests of baseball. One of these teams will win three games and advance, only to be immediately heralded as an aberration, no matter what happens when they face the Yankees.