Detroit blues

Detroit blues

It's been a rough few weeks for the Tigers. While they're slumping, the Royals and Mariners have caught fire and passed them in the AL Central and wild-card standings, respectively.

Yadi's progress

Yadier Molina says he's feeling “way better than expected” after thumb surgery, and is encouraged by the rehab process, which was originally estimated at between eight and 12 weeks.

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A new day

The Royals have experienced their fair share of frustration over the past 30 years or so, but a recent winning streak has pushed them to the lead in the AL Central in mid-August. As Ryan Fagan says, that's a big deal.

Orioles' success

Remember when Baltimore was a .500 team and the AL East was a joke? Times have changed. The Orioles' remarkable turnaround since mid-June makes the division, which they've saved the reputation of, theirs to lose.

Late issues

The Tigers have had all kinds of trouble with their bullpen this season. Saturday's game at Toronto was no exception.

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Thinking of home

With his thoughts on his family and friends back in Hawaii preparing for Hurricane Iselle, Cardinals rookie Kolten Wong hit a pair of home runs in St. Louis' win over the Red Sox on Thursday night.

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Big bet

Shelby Miller owes Joe Kelly $100 after a replay overturn gives Kelly a base hit off his best friend.

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Replay's effects

What would Earl Weaver think about the way instant replay has changed the manager-umpire dynamic in the major leagues? The answer probably wouldn't be safe for work, SN's Ryan Fagan says.

Dunn takes mound

Adam Dunn takes the mound Tuesday night, and it ... is ... glorious.

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Early exit

Milwaukee starter Matt Garza was cruising along against the Cardinals until a tweaked left oblique ended his day after six innings.

Legend passes

Pete Van Wieren, a beloved broadcaster who called Atlanta Braves TV and radio games for more than 40 years, died of cancer Saturday morning, the team announced. He was 69 years old.

Deadline aftermath

Lackey contract

Unhappy

Toronto closer Casey Janssen wasn't happy that his team's front office failed to make a big move at the non-waiver trade deadline.

Lester rumors

Boston is almost certain to trade ace Jon Lester. Keep up with the latest rumors here.

Cardinals trade

Right-hander Justin Masterson is headed to the Cardinals.

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La-La Land

The Dodgers just might be the most intriguing team over the next few days, as they try to sort out their crowded outfield situation and hunt for an ace to join Kershaw and Greinke at the top of a playoff rotation.

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More, please

The Giants have already traded for starter Jake Peavy, but to stay ahead of the playoff pack they'll need to address other areas of need, too.

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Go big

The Mariners made a deal for DH Kendrys Morales on Thursday, but it’s hard to imagine he’s the only player they’ll go after as they make a push for their first playoff appearance since the 2001 season.

Hitting help

In a desperate search for offense, the Mariners traded for Kendrys Morales on Thursday afternoon, sending prospect Stephen Pryor to the Twins.

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Offensive help

The Reds have struggled since the All-Star break and need to add a good bat or two to a lineup that's currently without stars Brandon Phillips and Joey Votto.

An ideal fit

An ideal fit

If Tampa Bay decides to trade left-handed ace David Price, the Cardinals should jump at the opportunity.

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Oriole options

The Orioles have a golden opportunity to win the AL East for the first time since 1997. Here are a few players who would help as the trade deadline nears.

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Burnett talks

The Orioles and Phillies have reportedly had "very preliminary" talks about starting pitcher A.J. Burnett.

Slipping away?

The Blue Jays are just 11-24 since June 6, and they've watched their six-game AL East lead turn into a four-game deficit while losing key pieces to the DL. They need reinforcements.

Memory lane

Pick fail

The Astros failed to sign No. 1 overall draft pick Brady Aiken, only the third time in MLB draft history the No. 1 overall pick went unsigned. Houston will have the No. 2 pick in next year's draft as compensation.

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On the move?

The Rangers have had an awful season, which means they could trade some of their healthy players. Could Joakim Soria be next?

Memory lane

Remember the excitement of opening a box of baseball cards as a kid? SN's Ryan Fagan relives that experience by busting open a box from his all-time favorite set, 1987 Topps. The gum ... well, that's another story.

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Jeter-fest

Even for a player as great as Derek Jeter, some of the praise was a bit over the top at the Yankee captain's final All-Star Game.

Wainwright or Kershaw?

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MLB trade rumors

The NL Central has been baseball's most competitive division. Will any of the contender makes a big splash before the trade deadline?

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MLB trades

Hanging around on the fringes of playoff contention, the Rays have to decide what they're going to do with ace lefty David Price. Are they going to keep him and make a postseason push or move him by the trade deadline?

Wait, what?

You might need to watch this one a couple times to figure out exactly how Billy Hamilton avoided Gaby Sanchez's tag yesterday in Cincinnati.

Awful news

Brewers shortstop Jean Segura has left the team and is traveling to the Dominican Republic, where his 9-month-old son died Friday.

Yankee down

Nobody, it seems, was more devastated by the news of Masahiro Tanaka's elbow injury than Masahiro Tanaka. He issued a heart-felt statement Friday afternoon through the team.

LeBron withdrawal

Two Florida minor-league teams are stepping up to help Heat fans disappointed with LeBron's decision to return to Cleveland.

Busted

Texas Rangers catcher Geovany Soto was arrested on a marijuana possession charge on Wednesday night.

Long shot

In desperate need of pitching help, the Yankees picked up struggling veteran lefty Jeff Francis from the A's.

Shock waves

Just about everyone wanted to throw their two cents about LeBron James into the Twitter conversation, and baseball players were no exception.

Huh?

The Cardinals managed to pull off an odd 5-8 force play Thursday against the Pirates.

Painful

Cincinnati second baseman Brandon Phillips will have surgery to repair a torn thumb ligament on Friday, and he's expected to miss six weeks.

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Living legends

The Baseball Hall of Fame released the list of this year’s attendees, and it’s incredible. There will be 56 members of the Hall in Cooperstown, including inductees Greg Maddux, Frank Thomas, Tom Glavine, Tony La Russa, Joe Torre and Bobby Cox.

Shifting standings

After a very three-week stretch for the Marlins, Mets and Phillies, all three are pretty much ouf of contention in the NL East.

Westward bound

A day after the A's trade for two starting pitchers, the Angels make a deal for lefty Joe Thatcher to bolster their bullpen.

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Trade talks

The Houston Astros had a database full of months of trade discussions hacked and posted online. It's a fascinating look into the inner workings of a MLB front office.

HR Derby invites

Who will join AL captain Jose Bautista and NL captain Troy Tulowitzki in the annual Home Run Derby?

New Manny?

A few days into his role as player-coach for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs, Manny Ramirez says he's a changed man.

Boston jolt?

The struggling Red Sox called up top prospect Mookie Betts on Saturday.

Michael Brantley

Michael Brantley should be an All-Star this year.

Big changes

The winds of change have swept through the AL Central in the past week or so and completely altered the landscape.

mlb trade rumors phillies jimmy rollins

A recent five-game winning streak has Phillies GM Ruben Amaro thinking about buying instead of selling at the trade deadline.

mlb trade rumors phillies jimmy rollins

A recent five-game winning streak has Phillies GM Ruben Amaro thinking about buying instead of selling at the trade deadline.

USA! USA!

Adam Wainwright painted his face to support the U.S. national team before his Cardinals played their game Sunday afternoon.

End of the road?

The Angels gave Ibanez a one-year, $2.75 million contract this offseason, but on Saturday they released the 42-year-old veteran, who was hitting just .157 with three home runs.

Finally

In his 265th plate appearance of the season, J.J. Hardy hit his first home run of 2014.

Wait, what?

The Cardinals lucked into a potential Keystone Cops routine turning into an inning-ending out against the Phillies on Friday night.

Finally

After 12 years pitching in the minor leagues, 30-year-old Jumbo Diaz is about to make his major-league debut. The right-handed reliever, who is listed at 315 pounds, was called up by the Reds on Friday.

Quick start

In his first week in professional baseball, Cubs first-rounder Kyle Schwarber hit four home runs and earned his first promotion

Royals, Blue Jays

If the season ended today, both of those streaks would be snapped. The season doesn’t end today, of course, so it doesn’t really matter that the Royals and Blue Jays are atop the AL Central and AL East, respectively. Kansas City hasn’t made the postseason since winning the 1985 World Series, and Toronto hasn’t been since winning the 1993 fall classic. What do these two teams need to do to play in October? Let’s look …

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Wieters injury

Orioles catcher Matt Wieters will have surgery on his right elbow and be sidelined for about nine months, the team announced Monday.

MLB trade rumors

Phantastic Phillie

Jimmy Rollins delivered his 2,235th career base hit on Saturday afternoon, a clean single into right field, to pass Phillies legend Mike Schmidt on the franchise's all-time hits list.

Dealing aces

Starters Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel have both posted ERAs under 3.00 for the Cubs this season, but it looks like they'll finish out their season somewhere other than Chicago.

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MLB oddities

Orioles shortsop J.J. Hardy has yet to hit a home run this year. What gives? Ryan Fagan takes a look at that and some other statistical oddities so far this baseball season.

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What is going on with Missouri’s two baseball teams and their lack of power? The Kansas City Royals are last in the majors with 31 home runs—yes, total, as a team—and the St. Louis are next-to-last with 36 home runs. The major-league average is 59 per team.

Rockie injuries

An injury blight has settled over the Rockies the past few weeks, and it’s derailed very promising seasons.

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Kevin Gausman will start for the Orioles Wednesday.

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An interview with Rinku Singh, subject of "Million Dollar Arm."

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Paxton Q&A

Veteran actor Bill Paxton talks about his role in the new baseball movie "Million Dollar Arm."

'Million Dollar Arm'

'Million Dollar Arm'

Actors Suraj Sharma and Madhur Mittal, who star in the upcoming movie "Million Dollar Arm," talk to SN's Ryan Fagan about learning to play baseball, getting in shape and more. See what they had to say.

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UConn defeats Kentucky to win its fourth national championship.

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UConn's secret

UConn's frontcourt pushed around Michigan State's dominant bigs, allowing the Huskies to reach the Final Four. How? Meet Nnamdi Amilo, a workhorse on the practice floor who's prepped his teammates for ultimate physicality.

NCAA Tournament

There's just something about Connecticut and Madison Square Garden. The No. 7-seeded Huskies upended No. 4 Michigan State in New York to reach the Final Four. SN's Ryan Fagan was courtside capturing all the action.

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Ollie vs. Hoiberg

Connecticut's Kevin Ollie and Iowa State's Fred Hoiberg both coach their alma maters, but it isn't the only thing they have in common. When the two meet Thursday night in the Sweet 16, SN's Ryan Fagan writes, they'll add a chapter to a long history.

East region

Potential vs. pain: Michigan State's season is written in injuries. Now healthy, the Spartans march into tonight's game against 1-seed Virginia with an Elite Eight berth on the line. SN's Ryan Fagan sets the scene.

Harrison twins

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Wichita State-Kentucky

Wichita State-Kentucky

NCAA Tournament

It was a game no one wanted to end, but eventually it did and not the way Wichita State wanted.

'It's over'

Surrounded by television cameras and media members in the Kansas locker room, Andrew Wiggins looked about as small as it’s possible for a 6-8 man to look.

Stanford surprise

There was never any sense that Stanford, the No. 10 seed, was overmatched by No. 2 seed Kansas. Josh Huestis and the Cardinal steal the show in St. Louis, knocking another title hopeful out of the Dance.

Sunday storylines

Sunday storylines

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NCAA Tourney

Kentucky dreamed of an undefeated season. Never happened. Today in St. Louis, Andrew Harrison's Wildcats must avoid expulsion by Wichita State ... which is undefeated. SN's Ryan Fagan tells all.

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Round two, part two

NCAA Tournament

The second full day of NCAA Tournament play has started with a major shock as Mercer upsets third-seeded Duke. SN's Ryan Fagan explains why there's plenty more intrigue in store before the field is whittled down to 32.

Lessons learned

Cincinnati learned to take teams like Harvard seriously in the NCAA Tournament. New Mexico and Kendall Williams learned that last year, and it's burned in the Lobos' memory preceding their first-round game vs. Stanford.

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Four members of Sporting News’ college basketball team have ranked a list of 16 memorable NCAA Tournament moments chosen by Enterprise. The four rankings will be aggregated into a Sweet 16 bracket revealed today. Here, we writer Ryan Fagan's take.

Shockers' VanVleet

Want to know the secret of Wichita State's success? Look back at its 2013 Final Four team. That was Fred VanVleet's arrival in the big-time. SN's Ryan Fagan reveals the only real shock about this Shockers star.

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South analysis

Bracket reactions

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South analysis

The NCAA Tournament's overall No. 1 seed — Florida — resides in this region, and the experienced Gators are well-positioned to succeed. Find out if SN's Ryan Fagan has Casey Prather and Co. moving on to the Final Four.

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Bracket reactions

The wait is finally over: The Field of 68 is set. Now the discussion turns to which schools were helped or hurt by the committee's decisions. SN's Ryan Fagan offers instant analysis of the most intriguing elements of the bracket.

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ACC Tournament

Virginia entered the ACC Tournament as the top seed. It will enter the NCAA Tournament with a champion. SN's Ryan Fagan says the Cavaliers have an excellent shot at the Big Dance's fourth No. 1 seed.

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ACC in NCAA

Mike Krzyzewski never hides his admiration for ACC hoops.

NC State-Duke

With a victory over Syracuse, the Wolfpack see their March dream take a step forward. Then Duke comes along and likely takes a Dance card out of their hands.

Field of 68

Two days of conference tourney games remain, and tension grows ahead of Sunday's NCAA selections. Bo Ryan and Wisconsin have a 1-seed in reach. Ryan Fagan updates SN's Field of 68.

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ACC Tournament

North Carolina's quarterfinal loss to Pitt will keep it from earning one of the highest NCAA Tournament seeds. But, as Ryan Fagan writes, the ceiling for the Tar Heels is what they want it to be.

ACC Tournament

Pitt had it easy against North Carolina in the ACC quarterfinals, until it made things difficult. Still, the end result was an 80-75 win over the Tar Heels, and with it comes a likely NCAA Tournament berth, SN's Ryan Fagan writes.

NCAA Tournament

Anthony Gill and his Cavaliers aren't a slam-dunk for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but they are looking sharp. SN's Ryan Fagan says the Cavs have a glorious opportunity to prove themselves worthy.

ACC in Brooklyn

An arrangement is in the works to bring the ACC Tournament to Barclays Center, a deal that would benefit that conference and the underrated Atlantic 10.

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SN's Coach of Year

We know Wichita State's Gregg Marshall is in charge of a 34-0 team heading into the NCAA Tournament, but what makes his coaching approach special? SN's Ryan Fagan says it's as simple as not showing the other team weakness.

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Wichita's chances

Wichita State will be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, so get over it. But do the 34-0 Missouri Valley Conference champions have what it takes to go 40-0 and become national champions? SN's Ryan Fagan takes a look.

Wichita State 34-0

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Faces of March

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Wichita State

Wichita State isn't the only team in the Missouri Valley Tournament. But right now, unbeaten and a likely NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed, it's the only team that matters. SN's Ryan Fagan has a firsthand look.

Faces of March

Arch Madness buzzer-beater

This is the reason it's called Arch Madness and not the Missouri Valley Conference tournament

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Faces of March

Davidson's De'Mon Brooks shoots righthanded. No wait, he shoots lefthanded. That's what Southern Conference opponents have to deal with as Wildcats chase a third straight NCAA Tournament bid, SN's Ryan Fagan writes.

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Virginia vs. Syracuse

No. 12 Virginia has come a long way since losing to Tennessee by 35 in December. Saturday was proof of that, as the Cavaliers beat No. 4 Syracuse 75-56 to clinch the ACC's best record and No. 1 tournament seed.

WAC-tion

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Theme party

Can anybody figure out North Carolina? Michigan State's health has been a concern all season. SN's Ryan Fagan explores these and other tried-and-true themes from the 2013-14 season, and what each might hold for March.

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Duke vs. Syracuse

No. 5 Duke's 66-60 win over top-ranked Syracuse proved why we should really concern ourselves with the Blue Devils come March. SN's Ryan Fagan identifies what Duke must do to overcome its fatal flaw.

Duke vs. Syracuse

Duke and Syracuse staged another thriller, but no one would have expected Jim Boeheim would be tossed in the final seconds after a close call goes against his Orange. The Blue Devils won 66-60.

Duke-UNC

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Pat Knight fired

Knight's team was 3-22 when the ax fell. That follows a 3-28 season and wipes out the glow of a 25-win start at the Southland Conference school.

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'Cuse buzzer-beater

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