New York Yankees center fielder Aaron Hicks is hurt and has performed poorly in 2021. It’s time to recognize his long-term deal as a Brian Cashman mistake.
Masataka Yoshida turned Masahiro Tanaka's impressive start on its head with a come-from-behind three-run homer that lifted the Orix Buffaloes to a 4-3 win
May 10, 2021
There was something different about the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters during pregame warmups Friday at Sapporo Dome. The players were wearing their special Hokkaido appreciation tops which are predominantly blue this year with white pants for their matchup with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. They went through all the normal pregame machinations stretching, batting and fielding.
The difference was they did it wearing masks.
It might have looked a little strange, but the club was taking no chances after being forced off the field for nearly a week by COVID-19.
The Fighters’ game against the Eagles that night was their first since May 2. The previous four games including a three-game series against the Chiba Lotte Marines that was set to start last week were postponed after an outbreak of COVID-19 within the team. Instead of hitting the field, the team was waiting for the results of polymerase chain reaction tests and wondering when it would play
Ex-Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka turns in another uneven start in Japan
Posted May 10, 2021
Former New York Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka is 2-2 with a 3.00 ERA for the Rakuten Golden Eagles in the Nippon Professional Baseball League.
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This one is for New York Yankees fans wondering about what could’ve been.
Former Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka picked up his second loss of the season Saturday in Japan, with the Rakuten Golden Eagles falling, 4-1, to the Nippon Ham Fighters.
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May 9, 2021
Brandon Woodruff has quietly been one of the better pitchers in the National League since the start of the 2019 season. In 42 starts comprising 237 innings, the Milwaukee Brewers right-hander has 285 strikeouts to go with a 3.11 ERA and a 2.93 FIP. The last of those numbers is equal to Shane Bieber’s mark over the same period.
A big reason for Woodruff’s success is a repertoire adjustment he made midway through the 2018 season. As he explained in an article that ran here at FanGraphs last April, he began throwing both two- and four-seam fastballs. Neither is anything to write home about movement-wise, but paired together and sequenced well they’re a formidable combo. As Woodruff told me at the time, “It’s hard for the hitter to distinguish which one is going to be coming.”