How close is Max Scherzer to punching his ticket to Cooperstown?

How close is Max Scherzer to punching his ticket to Cooperstown?
With consecutive National League Cy Young Awards, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is one of 10 to have at least three Cy Young Awards. He won the 2013 AL Cy Young with Detroit, so he's one of six pitchers to have won the award three times. So how close is Scherzer to punching his ticket to Cooperstown? The answer: close, very close. A pitcher generally has to dominate his era for six to 10 years. No question, Scherzer and the Los Angeles Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw, who finished second in the...

Previewing what might happen this offseason in the AL East

Previewing what might happen this offseason in the AL East
Here's what's going on in the American League East as the offseason begins: Baltimore: The Orioles, who finished last in the American League East, are in need of a rotation behind Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy. Gausman had a bad first half and a good second half. Bundy was their most consistent pitcher in 2017. ... They need to search all avenues, including free agents, trades, minor league free agents and prospects. It's possible they could get CC Sabathia, Lance Lynn or Alex Cobb. ... The...

New managers bring change to National League East landscape

New managers bring change to National League East landscape
The National League East has three rookie managers - Dave Martinez in Washington, Gabe Kapler in Philadelphia and Mickey Callaway in New York - and here's a look at what the NL East teams will be up to this offseason: Atlanta: The Braves are looking for a replacement to make the roster decisions with general manager John Coppolella leaving because of a controversy involving international signing rules. ... The Braves need to fortify their bullpen and find a power bat. ... Their rebuilding...

With 104 wins under their belts, Dodgers return to World Series for first time since 1988

With 104 wins under their belts, Dodgers return to World Series for first time since 1988
The Dodgers are in the World Series for the first time since 1988, a World Series remembered for a limping Kirk Gibson's pinch-hit home run against Oakland's Dennis Eckersley in a walk-off 5-4 win in Game 1 at Dodger Stadium. When the World Series returns to Dodger Stadium for Game 1 on Tuesday, the 104-win Dodgers, will play the 101-win Astros. The series will match two triple-digit win teams for the first time since 1970, when the 108-win Orioles beat the Reds, who had 102...

Back in Fall Classic, Astros are one of eight teams to never win World Series

Back in Fall Classic, Astros are one of eight teams to never win World Series
The Astros are back in the World Series for the first time since 2005, the year they were swept by the White Sox. The Astros are one of eight teams never to win a World Series, a list that has the Nationals, Mariners, Brewers, Padres, Rangers, Rays and Rockies. The Nationals and Mariners are the only teams that haven't appeared in a World Series. The Astros' championship drought covers 55 years, currently the third-longest. The Astros started as the Colt .45s in 1962 and had that nickname...

Cubs will themselves to win, prevail in "crazy" Game 5 over Nationals

Cubs will themselves to win, prevail in "crazy" Game 5 over Nationals
Bryce Harper swung and missed for strike three and Cubs catcher Willson Contreras tossed his glove and mask and joined a hug-fest of gray uniforms around closer Wade Davis on the pitcher's mound at a shocked Nationals Park. The Cubs beat the Nationals 9-8 to win their National League Division Series in five games. After the game, the Cubs headed to Los Angeles to get ready for a rematch with the Dodgers for the National League pennant. The Cubs are going to their third consecutive National...

Maddon rolls the dice, pays the price for going against convention

Maddon rolls the dice, pays the price for going against convention
With one out and pinch-runner Victor Robles on first base in the eighth inning, the Nationals' Bryce Harper was at the plate against Cubs right-hander Carl Edwards Jr. Never mind that lefty Mike Montgomery was ready in the Cubs bullpen. Cubs manager Joe Maddon played the percentages. He left the lefty in the bullpen. Maddon wanted Edwards to face Harper, a left-handed batter, even though a lefty reliever would be a more traditional approach, but this is why Maddon liked the matchup: Edwards...

Cubs wait out Strasburg, emerge with 1-0 lead in NLDS

Cubs wait out Strasburg, emerge with 1-0 lead in NLDS
Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg looked unhittable for five innings Friday night. Then the Chicago Cubs came to bat in the sixth inning. That's when everything changed. The Cubs scored twice against the Nationals starter, who had a 0.86 ERA after the All-Star break as well as a streak of 35 consecutive scoreless innings, on their way to a 3-0 win against the Nationals in Game 1 of the National League Division Series at Nationals Park. The Cubs' Javier Báez reached on a high chopper that...

Breaking down the 10 postseason teams and their October storylines

Breaking down the 10 postseason teams and their October storylines
After losing three National League Division Series - to the Cardinals, Giants and Dodgers - the Nationals are in the postseason for the fourth time in six seasons. The Nationals, who finished with 97 wins and start the NLDS on Friday at home against the Cubs, have the deepest rotation, a rebuilt bullpen, depth, and a versatile offense that has power, speed and a blend of left-right hitters. They are the favorite to win the NL pennant and bring a World Series to Washington for the first time...

A question-and-answer session as baseball hits September stretch run

A question-and-answer session as baseball hits September stretch run
A question-and-answer session for September: Question: The Nationals are on the verge of clinching the National League East. It seems early for clinch talk, right? Answer: Early clinches are defining the season when you consider the big leads of the Nationals, Dodgers and Astros. But there have been earlier clinch dates. The 1975 Reds clinched on Sept. 7. Cleveland clinched in 1995 and 1998 on Sept. 8 while the 1998 Yankees and 20 02 Braves each clinched Sept. 9. The Yankees that year...

Wins and losses more important to Stanton than home run record

Wins and losses more important to Stanton than home run record
September is here, and already the Marlins' Giancarlo Stanton feels as if he's been asked a "zillion'' times about his surge in home runs. So if Stanton winds up with more than Roger Maris' 61 home runs and fewer than Barry Bonds' 73, does he own baseball's single-season home run record? Stanton paused and stared into his locker before answering the question at Nationals Park on Wednesday. He said earlier this month that he thinks Maris' 61 is the legitimate record, but he...

Taking a look at the bizarre AL wild card race

Taking a look at the bizarre AL wild card race
The American League wild card race is bizarre, flawed or mediocre - whatever you choose to call it. In most seasons, teams struggling to stay above .500 would be long gone out of the race. Not this year. Here is what makes the AL wild card race so wild: * The Twins, who lost 103 games in 2016, are contenders even with a rotation that includes Bartolo Colon, Aaron Slegers, Dillion Gee and Tim Melville. Colon is 44 and looks like a sportswriter. Slegers has made one big league start, Gee 23 in...

Where the American League postseason race stands

Where the American League postseason race stands
With less than two months to go, there's not a lot of drama in the National League races. The Nationals most likely will play either the Cubs, Brewers or surging Cardinals in the Division Series, while the Dodgers will play the winner of the projected Diamondbacks-Rockies wild card game. The American League is more complex. Teams are bunched and a .500 record keeps a team thinking October. The Orioles are contenders even though they were seven games under on July 16. The Orioles' schedule...

Recapping what happened during a busy period leading to non-waiver trade deadline

Recapping what happened during a busy period leading to non-waiver trade deadline
Last season, the Cubs won their first World Series in 108 seasons. Now they're trying to become the first National League team to win consecutive World Series since the Reds in 1975 and 1976. The Cubs have restocked their roster, trading prospects for big league players. Earlier this month, they acquired pitcher Jose Quintana for the rotation and then got from the Tigers lefty reliever Justin Wilson and catcher Alex Avila on Sunday. After the break, the Cubs identified their weaknesses -...

Some historical perspective on the Nationals' five-homer inning

Some historical perspective on the Nationals' five-homer inning
The Nationals are the sixth team in big league history to hit five home runs in an inning. They did it in the third inning of a 15-2 win against the Brewers on Thursday at Nationals Park. Brian Goodwin started the string followed by Wilmer Difo, Bryce Harper, Ryan Zimmerman and Anthony Rendon. The historic perspective: * The last team to hit five home runs in an inning was the Brewers in 2006 in Milwaukee. They did it against the Reds. Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy was one of the five. The other...

Recapping big trades and previewing more to come

Recapping big trades and previewing more to come
The Nationals fixed their bullpen by trading for Oakland relievers Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson. The Chicago Cubs added starter José Quintana, who struck out 12 batters in an 8-0 win against the Orioles in his Cubs debut Sunday at Camden Yards. As the 4 p.m. ET non-waiver trade deadline approaches on July 31, what's next for teams? The Dodgers, battling Washington for the best record in the National League, are looking for a starter and reliever, even though they start the week with a...

Taking a look at what's ahead in the second half

Taking a look at what's ahead in the second half
As the season resumes, the Milwaukee Brewers are baseball's biggest surprise team with the Minnesota Twins a close second, 2 1/2 games behind Cleveland in the American League Central. The Dodgers were the first team to win 60 games and have the best record in baseball at 61-29. The Astros were the second team with 60 wins and have the best record in the American League at 60-29. The Phillies are the worst team (22 wins). The Mets, Mariners and Giants are the three biggest disappointments, each...

Can Nationals get three pitchers on NL staff in All-Star Game?

Can Nationals get three pitchers on NL staff in All-Star Game?
The Nationals have two starters - and possibly a third - with a case to make the National League All-Star team, but NL manager Joe Maddon has no idea if there's a scenario that would put Max Scherzer, Gio Gonzalez and Stephen Strasburg on the team for the July 11game in Miami's Marlins Park. "I haven't even looked at it,'' the Chicago Cubs' manager said before Thursday's game at Nationals Park. "I'm relying on Major League Baseball to tell me what we have. I don't even know who is...

Answers to a few questions from around the major leagues

Answers to a few questions from around the major leagues
Q: Is the American League East going to be a five-team race all season? A: Yes and that's because every team has virtually the same flaw. The Red Sox have an offense that doesn't need home runs - they've scored seven runs in a game six times without a home run - and a strong bullpen, but pitchers Rick Porcello and David Price still have to be consistent. ... The Yankees have the second-best run production in the AL, but CC Sabathia is on the disabled list and Masahiro Tanaka is a mess, so...

Edwin Jackson's explanation for his longevity: "Everyone always needs pitching"

Edwin Jackson's explanation for his longevity: "Everyone always needs pitching"
As pitcher Edwin Jackson prepared to settle in to the Orioles clubhouse, a reporter asked him about the role with his the team. The role doesn't matter. "I've done a little bit of everything,'' Jackson says. Talk about an understatement. The Orioles are Jackson's fourth American League team and 12th big league team, one short of the record held by pitcher Octavio Dotel. The two were teammates with the World Series champion Cardinals in 2011. Jackson is 33. Dotel was 38 when he reached his...