Major League Baseball rivalries

It feels like just yesterday that the New York Mets had orchestrated a coup, signing Carlos Correa, and putting the other 29 clubs on notice that there’s a new titan of spending in the Northeastern Corridor. Then Correa failed his physical,…

How much tangible difference a manager makes on a baseball team over 162 games has never been quite nailed down. It’s generally thought the best ones might only add a couple wins, and a truly bad one might only take away a couple wins. Most…

If I asked you, before the WBC, which team might have a player seriously injured not just during the World Baseball Classic, but doing something non-play involved during the WBC that feels like the baseball gods got loaded and said, “Hey…

Image: Getty ImagesThis isn’t some argument that Steve Cohen is some type of hero. Or even a good guy. I’ve made it pretty clear what I think of any billionaire and the possibility of them being decent people. Camel going through the eye of…

Trea Turner is headed for Philly.Image: Getty ImagesDave Dombrowski and the Philadelphia Phillies apparently don’t understand the new atmosphere of baseball. The expanded playoffs mean, or were supposed to mean, that teams don’t have to go…

Justin VerlanderPhoto: Getty ImagesThe Mets don’t have to be unique. There are plenty of teams that wouldn’t have to use the departure of a player like Jacob deGrom as an excuse to declare it’s all over for them, that they’d have to find a…

How could a 100+ win juggernaut make the World Series? That’s the beauty of the playoffsIllustration: Getty ImagesIt’s now generally accepted that playoff baseball is confusing. Given that every series is a week long at most, and it’s…

Bryce Harper’s 8th-inning 2-run shot returns Phillies to World Series.Image: Getty ImagesIt’s not usually supposed to work like this in baseball. The quirk, some would say the beauty, of the game is that the big at-bats can fall to anyone.…

Photo: Getty ImagesThe concepts of “parity” and “fairness” in sports were exposed as fig leaves long ago. The idea that fans would care more, i.e. buy more tickets and watch more games on TV, if more teams had a chance at playoff berths and…

Beat the Mets, beat the Mets, step right up and beat the MetsPhoto: Getty ImagesAs soon as Mets fans let their guards down and enjoyed Timmy Trumpet a little too much, we all knew what was coming next. The team’s lead in the NL East has…