Is there a better way to check pitchers for foreign substances?

Is there a better way to check pitchers for foreign substances?
So, what happens now? What happens when the Nationals and Phillies take the field again at 1:05 p.m. today for the finale of this quick, two-game series at Citizens Bank Park? Will the mandatory, between-innings checks of both teams' pitchers by umpires looking for foreign substances continue without issue? Will either Joe Girardi or Davey Martinez try to one-up the other and request an extra examination of the opposing pitcher, as Girardi did Tuesday night with Max Scherzer, setting off a...

Nats won't let Phillies get under their skin, win again (updated)

Nats won't let Phillies get under their skin, win again (updated)
Let's get the most important point out of the way first: The Nationals beat the Phillies 3-2 tonight. They've now won eight of their last nine, moved into a three-way tie for second place in the National League East and continued a dramatic June surge that is making believers out of more skeptics with each passing day. Max Scherzer allowed one run in five innings in his first start back from a minor groin injury. The lineup scored three early runs off Zack Wheeler to take the lead. Austin...

Does signing Gregorius remove Phillies as suitor for Rendon?

Does signing Gregorius remove Phillies as suitor for Rendon?
SAN DIEGO - The Philadelphia Phillies have signed free agent shortstop Didi Gregorius and that's both good and bad news for the Nationals. One, it makes the Phillies lineup stronger, especially if Gregorius can shake off his struggles with the Yankees from a year ago. But it also helps the Nationals in that it likely takes away one less team speculated to be in the competition for signing free agent third baseman Anthony Rendon. The Phillies believe they have taken care of their two biggest...

Managers resigned to - but slow to warm to - new rule for relief pitchers

Managers resigned to - but slow to warm to - new rule for relief pitchers
SAN DIEGO - Angels manager Joe Maddon likes the idea of quickening the pace of the game. He doesn't like the idea of making relievers pitch to three batters or finish an inning before coming out of the game, a rule that Commissioner Rob Manfred might implement for 2020. "I don't like it. I haven't liked it from the beginning," Maddon said during his Winter Meetings press conference. "I don't quite get it. I'm all for messing with the pace of the game. I think that's important. "The...

Nationals interview Farrell; no contact yet with Girardi

Nationals interview Farrell; no contact yet with Girardi
The Nationals interviewed one available World Series-winning manager today, but have yet to contact the other prominent name who also fits that description. John Farrell, fired two weeks ago by the Red Sox, formally met today with general manager Mike Rizzo and members of the Nationals ownership group, a source familiar with the process confirmed. Farrell becomes the third known candidate for the job, along with Cubs bench coach Dave Martinez (who interviewed Thursday and is considered among...

Talking Joe Girardi's ouster, game times and more

Talking Joe Girardi's ouster, game times and more
There are 30 teams in the majors. As of yesterday, 20 percent are changing managers. As of yesterday, 30 percent of the 2017 playoff teams will have different managers next year. The Yankees' Joe Girardi will not return to the Bronx. He has been the skipper the past 10 years, averaging 91 wins per season and finishing first or second seven times. His teams made the playoffs six times, won the World Series in 2009 and lost in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series this year. By most...

Suddenly available, Girardi could be in mix for Nationals job

Suddenly available, Girardi could be in mix for Nationals job
If the Nationals want an accomplished manager with postseason success already on his resume, one of the biggest names out there just became available in surprising fashion. Joe Girardi, who won the 2009 World Series and three more playoff series for the Yankees since, was let go this morning by the club that employed him the last 10 seasons, immediately making the 53-year-old the hottest managerial candidate on the open market. Whether that makes him the hottest candidate for the Nats' open...

In playoff pressure-cooker, AL East manager job security takes a hit

In playoff pressure-cooker, AL East manager job security takes a hit
It was about this time last year, when Orioles manager Buck Showalter was the subject of heavy criticism for not using closer Zach Britton in the club's AL wild card game loss at Toronto. But almost no one suggested Showalter's job was on the line and it wasn't. He is signed through 2018. But two other AL East managers are the subject of rumors now and their job security seems less firm than it was even a week ago. Not long after the New York Yankees lost Game 2 of the American League...

Explaining my BBWAA vote for AL Manager of the Year

Explaining my BBWAA vote for AL Manager of the Year
I was in the minority in the voting for the American League's Manager of the Year. I was one of two voters from the Baseball Writers' Association of America to cast my first-place ballot for New York's Joe Girardi, who led the Yankees to a wild card spot in the playoffs. Texas' Jeff Banister, with 17 first-place votes, won the award followed by Houston's A.J. Hinch and Minnesota's Paul Molitor. Banister led the Rangers to the AL West title. This was the most intriguing Manager of the...

Pool of managerial candidates gets a little smaller

Pool of managerial candidates gets a little smaller
Well, I guess Joe Girardi won't be going anywhere after all. Girardi was thought to be a main target of the Cubs. The Nationals had expressed interest in discussing their managerial job with him. Other teams surely would have wanted to interview the former big league catcher who won the 2009 World Series as the skipper of the Yankees and has posted a .566 career winning percentage as a big league manager. Instead, Girardi will forego his other managerial options and remain in New...

Report: Nats ask permission to interview Girardi

Report: Nats ask permission to interview Girardi
The Nationals' search for a manager is officially under way, and not surprisingly, Joe Girardi's name has found its way into the discussion. According to David Kaplan of CSNChicago, the Nationals have requested permission to interview Girardi, who just finished up his sixth season as manager of the Yankees. Girardi is an interesting name to watch this offseason. His contract with the Yankees expires at the end of the month, and he's one of the more proven and respected managers that could...

David Huzzard: As potential free agent, Yankees' Girardi a tempting option

David Huzzard: As potential free agent, Yankees' Girardi a tempting option
This is a tale of two teams. One has an average age of 27.8 and the other 31.8. One has a solid young core composed of a 20-year-old former Rookie of the Year outfielder with back-to-back 20-homer seasons, a young pitching staff with three top-of-the rotation starters who are finishing the season with a 3.50 ERA or lower, a converted third baseman playing second who has slashed line drives all over the park since being recalled, and veterans in a third baseman that always seems to be an .800...

Orioles have proven to be more that just Buck and luck

Orioles have proven to be more that just Buck and luck
Here is a random Orioles thought as we get closer to the start of Game 3 of the American League Division Series. It seems we are reading some stories that portray the Orioles as a group of overachievers led by a brilliant manager. I get the part about Buck Showalter. He is a brilliant manager, setting a great tone for the team and whole organization really. But he is not leading some band of no-talent misfits. Sure, they have some reclamation projects, like Nate McLouth and Lew Ford, that...

Outdone by Chen, Girardi and Yankees head home looking to break deadlock with Birds

Outdone by Chen, Girardi and Yankees head home looking to break deadlock with Birds
The Yankees and Orioles have now played 20 times in 2012 between the regular season and playoffs, and the series is deadlocked at 10 wins apiece. Neither team seems to be able to gain much of an upper hand. Yankees manager Joe Girardi has seen that continue in the American League Division Series, which now heads to New York with the teams knotted at 1-1 after Baltimore earned a 3-2 win in Monday's Game 2. "We get to go home and we've played very well at home, and we're going to have to...

Girardi, Yankees address key moments in eighth and ninth of Game 1 win

Girardi, Yankees address key moments in eighth and ninth of Game 1 win
The Yankees are quite aware of how well Orioles closer Jim Johnson has pitched this season. Three of his club-record 51 saves during the regular season came against New York as he pitched to a 1.29 ERA over seven appearances versus the Yankees. So his losing effort in Sunday's Game 1 loss - five runs allowed (four earned) in just one-third of an inning - was more a blip than the norm when it comes to Johnson facing the AL East champs. "It was a really good game, a...

Joe Girardi sets his rotation for first four games and talks about the Orioles

Joe Girardi sets his rotation for first four games and talks about the Orioles
During a press conference here at Camden Yards a few moments ago, New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi said that Andy Pettitte will start Game 2 for the Yankees followed by Hiroki Kuroda in Game 3 and Phil Hughes in Game 4. CC Sabathia will be on the mound for New York in the series opener tomorrow night. Here are some other comments from Girardi. On the Orioles' improvement "Their pitching improved. Position players improved here. Look at what their bullpen did. You know, the games you are...

Yankees' Girardi impressed with Nats, Harper and the Park

Yankees' Girardi impressed with Nats, Harper and the Park
The Nationals and the Yankees are ready to do battle at Nationals Park for the first time in franchise history. Yankees manager Joe Girardi said he has had some experience working games in D.C., and is impressed with the Nationals of today and the new park. The last time he faced the Nationals, they were still playing at RFK Stadium. "I think it is great that baseball is here in Washington," Girardi said. "I had a chance to come here in 2006 when I was with the Marlins. They were building...