Tag: The Diamond

What the Dodgers Need to Do to Take the Next Step in the NLCS

Juan Uribe missed two bunts on Monday night before sending a two-run home run into the Los Angeles sky.

Much like that one tiny and wonderful Dodgers moment, the rest of the playoffs for the Blue Crew are shrouded in a little bad and a whole lot of good.  

Join MLB Contributor Gabe Zaldivar as he offers an initial assessment of what the Dodgers must do to get to the all-important World Series.

The journey will be an arduous one. As the Braves proved, there is no such thing as an easy inning in the MLB playoffs.

Whether it be the Cardinals or Pirates, Los Angeles will have to rely heavily on the front end of their starting rotation, their prolific offense and a couple of their lights-out bullpen arms.

We still have a few days before the Championship Series kicks off, so let your thoughts and suggestions be known in the comments section below.  

Follow Gabe at: @gabezal

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


MLB Teams That Will Be Contenders in 2014

The 2013 Major League Baseball regular season is over and, alas, some teams just didn’t prove to be good enough to make it to October.

Some of them, however, are going to get there in 2014.

That’s the cue for B/R Pop Culture Lead Writer Gabe Zaldivar and MLB Lead Writer Zachary D. Rymer to put their predicting hats on.

Without giving too much away, Gabe likes what he sees in the Beltways. That one Baltimore club has some good talent in place on the offensive side of the ball and some young talent waiting to contribute on the pitching side. The team in Washington, meanwhile, was plenty talented this season and ought to be a threat in 2014.

As for Zachary, he likes that one team in the desert that has that one amazing first baseman. He also likes a certain team in Chicago to pull off a Cleveland Indians-like turnaround.

Leave your comments and questions below if you have any, and you’re also welcome to hit Gabe and Zachary up on Twitter.

Follow Gabe: @gabezal

Follow Zachary: @zachrymer

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


Updated MLB Playoff Bracket

Magic numbers, seeding and playoff chatter abound, so it’s time to break down where these contenders fall on the bracket.

As we see, having two wild card spots has only helped the intrigue. A myriad of AL and NL teams are still in the race, giving us some tremendous games to close out an already fantastic year.

While things remain fluid with a week to go in the season, MLB Lead Writer Zachary Rymer and MLB Contributor Gabe Zaldivar have some predictions to throw out there.

There is no shortage of entertaining races in either league. Divisions are being clinched and champagne bottles are already starting to pop.

Still, we have a couple of division races to debate as well as wild card messes to clean up. Of course, we would love for you to join in and take our predictions to task or offer up your own if you are feeling particularly saucy.

Or, you can always hit us up on Twitter:

Follow Zach at: @zachrymer

Follow Gabe at: @gabezal

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


Updated MLB Playoff Predictions

What was to be a wild 162-game romp that would take six months to complete is now down to a handful of games that will be played in less than a fortnight.

That’s right, the Major League Baseball postseason is upon us, and it’s time for some fresh predictions from B/R Pop Culture Lead Writer Gabe Zaldivar and MLB Lead Writer Zachary D. Rymer.

The last time Gabe and Zach checked in with predictions, Gabe tackled the National League and Zach tackled the American League. It’s the opposite this week, but the format is the same. Postseason locks will be dealt with quickly, and then it will be on to the messy scenarios.

These days, that means the Central and wild-card situations in the Senior Circuit and the wild-card situation in the Junior Circuit. Indeed, “messy” doesn’t really come close to adequately describing the latter.

Leave your comments and questions below if you have any, and you’re also welcome to follow Gabe and Zach on Twitter.

Follow Gabe: @gabezal

Follow Zachary: @zachrymer

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


Updated MLB World Series Predictions

Tired of waiting for the season to conclude? Want to know how this will all play out? Well, we have you covered.

Join MLB Lead Writer Zachary Rymer and MLB Contributor Gabe Zaldivar as they give you the brackets for each league heading into the postseason.

At least, that’s how we think they will finish.

As we all know, there is any number of things that can happen in the final few weeks of what has already been a magical season.

While there are obvious winners in several divisions, there is still plenty to discuss as the final games get played.

The Dodgers may have the West won, but they continue to push for the best record in the National League. There is also the beautiful traffic jam of teams involved in the American League wild-card race to consider.

Here is one way it will all go down. Of course, we would love to hear what teams decorate your pre-postseason bracket.

Let the debate begin.

Follow Zach on Twitter at: @zachrymer

Follow Gabe on Twitter at: @gabezal

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


MLB Knuckleheads of the Week

You never know what you’re going to see when you turn up at a Major League Baseball game. Sometimes, what you see can amaze you.

Other times, what you see will leave you shaking your head. For all the wonders baseball can produce, it also produces its share of knuckleheadery.

And when it does, B/R Pop Culture lead writer Gabe Zaldivar and MLB lead writer Zachary D. Rymer are on the case.

For this week’s “MLB Knuckleheads of the Week” segment, Gabe and Zach are focused entirely on action that took place on the field within the last week. There was some bad bunting going on in Cincinnati during last week’s Cardinals-Reds series, and the weekend’s action saw not one, but two veteran players get faked out at horribly inopportune times.

Leave your comments, questions and angry ramblings below if you have any. You’re also welcome to follow Gabe and Zach on Twitter.

Follow Gabe: @gabezal

Follow Zachary: @zachrymer

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


MLB Knuckleheads of the Week

There is something so refreshing about MLB knuckleheadery.

This week in “Things that were amazingly dumb,” we take a look at Brandon Phillips’ tirade and a certain Dodgers trade for an over-the-hill Michael Young.  

Join MLB Lead Writer Zachary Rymer and MLB Contributor Gabe Zaldivar as they point out the moments that were unfortunate and only slightly hilarious.

Phillips went above and beyond to belittle a reporter for tweeting out his on-base percentage, and we have thoughts. Fortunately, you don’t have to bleep out our own rant.

We also opine on Ned Colletti and his apparent need to have every last name on the open market in a Dodgers uniform, even when that player seems not to fit the team’s plan.

Of course, we need your help. Go ahead and vote for the bigger dunderhead in the comments section below or offer your own. We love to live vicariously through other people’s gaffes.

Follow Zach on Twitter at: @zachrymer

Follow Gabe on Twitter at: @gabezal

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


Best MLB Stories Overshadowed by A-Rod Drama

Some guys just hog all the attention.

Yes, Alex Rodriguez. This would be us looking in your general direction.

For the past couple weeks, seemingly every sports headline has had something or another to do with the New York Yankees veteran third baseman. That’s partially because A-Rod is finally back playing after missing the bulk of the year recovering from offseason hip surgery, and partially because he’s back playing at all, period. For a while there, it seemed like a sure bet that a Biogenesis suspension would end Rodriguez’s season, if not his whole career.

It sure would be great if nobody had to talk about Rodriguez, because it just so happens that many awesome things are happening in his shadow.

For example, how ‘bout them Tigers and Braves, eh? And those Pirates! Oh, and how about the amazing amazingness of guys like Mike Trout, Matt Harvey and Clayton Kershaw!

These are the topics that B/R Pop Culture Lead Writer Gabe Zaldivar settled on when we got together to discuss our favorite non-A-Rod storylines that have been going on in Major League Baseball. Coincidentally, there were cameras nearby to catch our ramblings on tape.

Leave your comments below if you have any, and you’re also welcome to give Gabe and I a follow on Twitter.

Follow Zachary: @zachrymer

Follow Gabe: @gabezal

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


MLB Idiot of the Week

Some had a better week than others.

That’s really the most obvious sentiment you can take from a week chockablock filled with bloopers, blunders and public relation gaffes.

Welcome to the weekly installment of “MLB Idiot of the Week,” where we breakdown the biggest dunderheads in the sport.

Join MLB Lead Writer Zachary Rymer and MLB Contributor Gabe Zaldivar as they breakdown some rather unfortunate moments from the past week.

As you will see, not all things have to be serious. Some boneheaded blunders are far easier to laugh off and chalk up to those humbling moments that keep us all grounded.

Of course, we are here to merely nominate a couple of idiots. The crucial part is with you fans we are eager to hear from. Settle this silly debate in the comments section below with a much-appreciated vote.

Follow Zach on Twitter at: @zachrymer

Follow Gabe on Twitter at: @gabezal

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


MLB Idiot of the Week

Man, I’ll tell ya. You just can’t get away with being a moron while having something to do with Major League Baseball anymore.

Not as long as myself and B/R Pop Culture Lead Writer Gabe Zaldivar are keeping an eye out for candidates for our weekly “MLB Idiot of the Week” segment, anyway. We’re always monitoring for instances of numbskullery, and we’re never left empty-handed.

This is a good (or, depending on your point of view, bad) week for numbskullery in baseball. Our docket includes items concerning one player with anger and misogyny issues and another player who just can’t stay out of trouble—probably because he seems to like getting himself in trouble.

And so Gabe and I did what we do every week. We got on top of our high horses and wagged our fingers for the cameras.

Leave your comments/questions/insults below if you have any. If you’re so inclined, you’re also welcome to follow Gabe and I on Twitter.

Follow Zachary: @zachrymer

Follow Gabe: @gabezal

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


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