National sportswriter says … Dustin Pedroia is your AL MVP thus far

By Craig CalcaterraJul 1, 2013, 4:03 PM EDT
42 Comments

From the man who picked the Philadelphia Phillies to finish ahead of the Braves and the Kansas City Royals over the Tigers, we get this:

 

We don’t know his reasoning yet. When questioned on Twitter he played coy, so I assume a column is forthcoming.

It’s not as crazy as the Phillis pick I suppose — Pedroia has considerable defensive value and, at present, is third in the American League in WAR if you’e into that sort of thing — but it definitely is an offbeat choice what with Miguel Cabrera, Manny Machado and Chris Davis walking the Earth.

And people say I like to troll on Twitter.

Javier Baez, D.J. LeMahieu have disagreement about sign-stealing

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
By Bill BaerApr 22, 2018, 8:50 PM EDT
19 Comments

Fellow second basemen Javier Baez of the Cubs and D.J. LeMahieu of the Rockies got into a disagreement in the top of the third inning of Sunday’s game at Coors Field over sign-stealing.

LeMahieu reached on a fielder’s choice ground out, then advanced to second base on Charlie Blackmon‘s single. While Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story were batting, Baez was concerned that LeMahieu was relaying the Cubs’ signs to his teammates. Baez decided to stand in front of LeMahieu to block any information he might have been giving to Arenado and Story. LeMahieu got irritated and the two jawed at each other for a bit. Umpires Vic Carapazza and Greg Gibson had to intervene to tell Baez to knock it off.

There has always been a back-and-forth with alleged sign-stealing. As long as teams aren’t using technology to steal signs, it’s fair game for players to relay information to their teammates about the opposing team’s signs. Last year, MLB determined the Red Sox went against the rules and used technology — an Apple watch in this case — to steal signs from the Yankees. Other teams in the past have been accused of using binoculars from the bullpen to steal signs. In this particular case with Baez and LeMahieu, there was no foul play going on, just Baez trying to make the Rockies cede what he perceived to be their slight competitive advantage.

The Cubs went on to beat the Rockies 9-7 on Sunday.