Sport Scores

It’s somewhat dangerous to do a winner and losers column only halfway through the winter. After all, there around 100 free agents still unsigned, so by the time spring training starts exactly two months from now, this could all be reversed. Or at least wildly different. But here goes, with one minor adjustment, rather than “losers” we’ll have non-winners. That’s only fair as there’s still plenty of time to go….

As Tony Castro charismatically worked the crowd like a trained politician, wearing Under Armour sunglasses and a Nike T-shirt, he would have blended in any corporate-fueled baseball stadium in America. Except this was in Cuba, and some of the hands Castro shook were extended by men who defected from his country in the dead of night on a small boat: Jose Abreu and Yasiel Puig. So it was more than…

Danielle Wilhelm describes the November attack while her father, Ken Wilhelm, listens.(Photo: Aethan Hart, KARE 11) NORTH ST. PAUL, Minn. — A North St. Paul woman is telling her story after a man severely beat her with a baseball bat. On November 22, Danielle Wilhelm, 20, returned home from work around 2:30 a.m. While locking her car on 3rd Street North, she saw a man approach her in the driveway…

It’s somewhat dangerous to do a winner and losers column only halfway through the winter. After all, there around 100 free agents still unsigned, so by the time spring training starts exactly two months from now, this could all be reversed. Or at least wildly different. But here goes, with one minor adjustment, rather than “losers” we’ll have non-winners. That’s only fair as there’s still plenty of time to go….

It’s somewhat dangerous to do a winner and losers column only halfway through the winter. After all, there around 100 free agents still unsigned, so by the time spring training starts exactly two months from now, this could all be reversed. Or at least wildly different. But here goes, with one minor adjustment, rather than “losers” we’ll have non-winners. That’s only fair as there’s still plenty of time to go….

MATANZAS, Cuba • During a visit by Major League Baseball to Cuba engineered for symbolism, it doesn’t get richer than Antonio “Tony” Castro, son of iconic president Fidel, taking a jersey and a cap from Cubans in the stands and carrying the items, personally, for an autograph from a player who defected a few years ago. In that moment Thursday at Estadio Victoria de Giron, Castro skirted around chairs, television…

Here are two numbers that let you know everything that’s wrong with baseball. Related News/Archive Three Rays set to hit free-agent market 1 Month Ago Jones’ flip flop: Maybe Jose Bautista bat flip wasn’t so bad 2 Months Ago Rays aren’t giving up on potential free agents Jaso, Sizemore 2 Months Ago Eight and 184. That stands for eight years, $184 million — the deal free agent Jason Heyward signed…

Quarterback Brandon McIlwain will sign with the Gamecocks and enroll in January, he announced Thursday. “I’ve decided to forgo the MLB draft and enroll early to play baseball and football at SC,” he tweeted. The decision means McIlwain, a two-sport star from Newtown, Pa., will skip his chance to be a part of June’s Major League Baseball draft. He has been committed to South Carolina since Dec. 31, 2014. McIlwain…

I had a chance to talk with Korean media member Daniel Kim on Thursday about the Orioles two-year, $7 million agreement with Korean outfielder Hyun-soo Kim (no relation) pending physical. And I asked for a scouting report on the 27-year-old, left-handed hitting outfielder with the career .318 batting average in the Korea Baseball Organization. Daniel Kim, who is based in Seoul, is a TV baseball analyst for KBSN and a…

Quarterback Brandon McIlwain will sign with the Gamecocks and enroll in January, he announced Thursday. “I’ve decided to forgo the MLB draft and enroll early to play baseball and football at SC,” he tweeted. The decision means McIlwain, a two-sport star from Newtown, Pa., will skip his chance to be a part of June’s Major League Baseball draft. He has been committed to South Carolina since Dec. 31, 2014. McIlwain…

A huge photo of Antonio Castro’s father flanks the scoreboard of the main baseball stadium in Matanzas, a bay city about 60 miles east of Havana. There’s another one under the grandstands, just as there are murals of the old man — bearded and in green fatigues, gripping a bat — throughout most of island’s stadiums. From an early age, former Cuban President Fidel Castro immersed his son in two…

Since he left town to play for the Chicago Cubs, much of the sports talk in St. Louis has been about Jason Heyward. Before he made that decision, he was presented as precious cargo, even a division-winning talent. Post-decision, his skills are marginal, his motives questionable, his impact minimal. It’s a natural process, the reverse caterpillar-to-butterfly mutation. But there are other aspects to the migration north that shouldn’t be ignored….

Since he left town to play for the Chicago Cubs, much of the sports talk in St. Louis has been about Jason Heyward. Before he made that decision, he was presented as precious cargo, even a division-winning talent. Post-decision, his skills are marginal, his motives questionable, his impact minimal. It’s a natural process, the reverse caterpillar-to-butterfly mutation. But there are other aspects to the migration north that shouldn’t be ignored….

Click photo to enlarge HAVANA (AP) — Some of Major League Baseball’s biggest Cuban-born stars put dozens of boys through batting, pitching and catching drills in a sunny Havana ballpark, part of a three-day mission meant to warm relations between the U.S. league and this baseball-mad nation. Among the teachers at Wednesday’s baseball clinic were Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig, St. Louis Cardinals catcher Brayan Pena and Chicago White…

STAR WARS Alright, now that I have your attention, I can get right to this first installment of what now appears as a relatively ill-timed series about the intersection of baseball within film history. And in any case, that’s a lot more exciting than spaceships and lightsabers, right? Well, that might not be the best way to put it. I mean, when I was a kid…

Former Cincinnati Red and MLB all-time hit leader Pete Rose makes a statement during a press conference at the Pete Rose Sports Bar and Grill in Las Vegas on Tuesday.(Photo: The Enquirer/Sam Greene) Earlier this week Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred unleashed a decision about the fate of one of baseball’s greatest players. Earlier this week the one-man judge, jury and executioner crushed the dreams of one of baseball’s…

Three seasons away from baseball was long enough for Chipper Jones. The former National League MVP and longtime Atlanta Braves third baseman is returning to the organization as a special assistant reporting to general manager John Coppolella and president of baseball operations John Hart. Jones will primarily focus on working with Braves hitters during spring training and the regular season, but he will also assist with amateur scouting and minor-league…

Since he left town to play for the Chicago Cubs, much of the sports talk in St. Louis has been about Jason Heyward. Before he made that decision, he was presented as precious cargo, even a division-winning talent. Post-decision, his skills are marginal, his motives questionable, his impact minimal. It’s a natural process, the reverse caterpillar-to-butterfly mutation. But there are other aspects to the migration north that shouldn’t be ignored….

It has been a long time since Pete Rose was banned from baseball, but apparently not long enough. Former baseball star Pete Rose keeps asking for reinstatement to Major League Baseball, and baseball commissioners keep saying no. The latest to do so is Commissioner Rob Manfred, who this week denied Rose’s request that the 26-year-old ban be lifted. Rose, a perennial All-Star and the manager…

(Photo: The Associated Press) HAVANA (AP) — Some of Major League Baseball’s biggest Cuban-born stars put dozens of boys through batting, pitching and catching drills in a sunny Havana ballpark, part of a three-day mission meant to warm relations between the U.S. league and this baseball-mad nation. Among the teachers at Wednesday’s baseball clinic were Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig, St. Louis Cardinals catcher Brayan Pena and Chicago White…