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CHICAGO—The World Series won’t begin for more than a week, but this postseason already looks historic: It appears to mark the end of the modern bullpen. On the teams still standing in the 2016 playoffs, the managers have smashed through baseball’s fossilized conviction in traditional bullpen roles. Instead of sticking to a rigid script, managers…

Buy Photo Several of these items, including three autographed baseballs from the Tigers 1935, 1968 and 1984 World Series, are owned by Bob Matthews.(Photo: Todd McInturf / The Detroit News)Buy Photo Forget Ernie Harwell, the baseball fan was saying. Not literally, of course; that’s impossible, and who’d want to? It was just a figure of speech. David Higer of Farmington Hills was talking about his sainted grandmother, the woman who…

Jessie Wardarski/ Tulsa World 2016-10-17 ne-buddybaseballJW01 Jenks baseball players Eli Bilgrien, Landis Morris, and Chris Spry, along with Ojan the Trojan (Peter Song), run to third base with their Baseball Buddy, David Steele (center), 7, during the 10th Annual Buddy Baseball game with the Jenks Trojans at Hinch Baseball Field in Jenks on Sunday.  JESSIE WARDARSKI/Tulsa World Jessie Wardarski/ Tulsa World 2016-10-17 ne-buddybaseballJW37 Jenks baseball players, AJ Potts and Liam…

Like the rest of you — well, not the rest of you but those who don’t work and those who prefer to sleep in — I have been watching MLB’s postseason in the middle of the day and the middle of the night. I don’t want to say the games are interminable, but my goal is to write this entire column during pitching changes alone. Here’s the thing: A baseball…

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CHICAGO—The World Series won’t begin for more than a week, but this postseason already looks historic: It appears to mark the end of the modern bullpen. On the teams still standing in the 2016 playoffs, the managers have smashed through baseball’s fossilized conviction in traditional bullpen roles. Instead of sticking to a rigid script, managers…

9:31 AM ET Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email print comment CHICAGO — Javier Baez was at it again on Saturday. Game 1 of the NLCS, as big a stage as he’s been on, and there he was in the third inning diving into second base for a pop fly double, driving in a run. Going to third on a wild pitch. Then stealing home, the Chicago Cubs’ first playoff steal of…

The Associated Press Cubs wait to see who they’ll meet after reaching NLCS again Cubs pitcher Aroldis Chapman (second from left), catcher David Ross (third from left) and teammates provided baseball with another magical performance. Posted: Saturday, October 15, 2016 10:30 pm SZVETITZ: The magic of baseball BY MIKE SZVETITZ RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH Richmond Times-Dispatch Joe Posnanski said it best. The national columnist for NBC Sports and one of the best…

Pitch, Eastbound and Down, A League of Their Own, Fever Pitch, Major League. (Photo: USA TODAY/Fox, HBO, Columbia Pictures, 20th Century Fox, AP) Let’s play ball. The Major League Baseball playoffs are well under way, and if you’re a Cubs, Dodgers, Blue Jays or Indians fan, that’s really good news for you (and if you’re a Cubs fan, that’s really, really good news for you). Whether you’re watching the NLCS and ALCS this weekend…

CLEVELAND — One swing was going to decide Game 1 of the ALCS on Friday night (CLE 2, TOR 0). Marco Estrada was masterful, flummoxing the Indians with his changeup in his eight-inning effort. Corey Kluber had to grind, but as Cy Young winners tend to do, he still tossed 6 1/3 scoreless innings even when at something less than his best. The game was decided in the sixth inning,…

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Tim Tebow might be a figure of compassion in times of crisis, but he isn’t a baseball player. That’s according to ESPN senior baseball writer Keith Law, a former major and minor league scout who traveled to Arizona this week to see if Tebow has any business being in the Mets’ minor league system. His verdict? Well, read for yourself … Tebow the baseball player is not a baseball player;…

CLEVELAND — One swing was going to decide Game 1 of the ALCS on Friday night (CLE 2, TOR 0). Marco Estrada was masterful, flummoxing the Indians with his changeup in his eight-inning effort. Corey Kluber had to grind, but as Cy Young winners tend to do, he still tossed 6 1/3 scoreless innings even when at something less than his best. The game was decided in the sixth inning,…

CHICAGO — Jon Lester will start the first game of the National League Championship Series for the Chicago Cubs, and he will do so as one of the most accomplished postseason pitchers of his generation. He will be opposed by Kenta Maeda, who began the season as something of a curiosity and became a key cog for the Los Angeles Dodgers. But as baseball’s final four have been determined, the…

Tim Tebow might be a figure of compassion in times of crisis, but he isn’t a baseball player. That’s according to ESPN senior baseball writer Keith Law, a former major and minor league scout who traveled to Arizona this week to see if Tebow has any business being in the Mets’ minor league system. His verdict? Well, read for yourself … Tebow the baseball player is not a baseball player;…

Tim Tebow might be a figure of compassion in times of crisis, but he isn’t a baseball player. That’s according to ESPN senior baseball writer Keith Law, a former major and minor league scout who traveled to Arizona this week to see if Tebow has any business being in the Mets’ minor league system. His verdict? Well, read for yourself … Tebow the baseball player is not a baseball player;…

x Embed x Share Watch Tebow’s swing as he took batting practice before his second game for the Scottsdale Scorpions. USA TODAY Sports Tebow high-fives teammates in the dugout.(Photo: Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports) SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Tim Tebow might be hitless in the Arizona Fall League, but he’s not friendless. Tebow, who went 0-for-10 during his first three games with the Scottsdale Scorpions, looked far more comfortable with his teammates…

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Around the middle of the 20th century, there was no more fearsome hitter in baseball than Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox. Williams could do it all at the plate: hitting for contact — his .406 average in 1941 was the last time anybody hit .400 in season; smashing extra-base hits — he’s second only to Babe Ruth in career slugging percentage; and relentlessly working the count — his…

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