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The New York Mets might still be licking their wounds after their five-game World Series loss to the Kansas City Royals, but they didn’t waste much time rewarding the manager who helped get them to the Fall Classic. 

According to Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News on Tuesday, the Mets and Terry Collins agreed to a new two-year deal. Collins, who made about $1.1 million in 2015, will get a raise. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported the new deal is worth “about” $3 million over the two years. 

The Mets confirmed sides had reached a deal on Wednesday. 

Collins completed his fifth season with the Mets in 2015, which was by far his most successful with the club as he managed it to a divisional title and National League pennant. 

He had to avoid the ax a few times to get to this point over the past few seasons. Per Ackert, the Mets came close to firing Collins at the end of the 2014 season, when “Alderson was quoted as saying that they were 51 percent to 50 percent on bringing him back.”

Even in July of this season before a deal brought in slugger Yoenis Cespedes, who helped turn the offense around, Ackert said there was a possibility that Collins would be on his way out. But a scorching stretch to end the season in which the Mets went 38-22 saved him.

The 66-year-old has created a winning culture in the clubhouse and seems like the epitome of a player’s manager.

It wasn’t any more evident than after the Mets’ Game 5 elimination loss in the World Series, when he spoke to the media, per the Associated Press’ Ronald Blum (via Yahoo Sports). His decision to let starting pitcher Matt Harvey, who dominated headlines toward the end of the season with an innings-limit controversy, go back in for the ninth inning proved to be a costly one as the Royals plated two in the frame before clinching their first championship in 30 years soon after:     

Obviously I let my heart get in the way of my gut. I love my players. And I trust them. And so I said, ‘Go get ’em out.’ … When you looked in this kid’s eyes, when he came off that inning, he’s been through a tough summer. He’s been beaten down, and I just trusted him. I said, ‘You got it. You’ve earned this. So go get ’em.’ So it’s my fault. It’s not his.

Winning helps solve everything, especially in an instant-gratification city like New York. But a manager who has handled the big market in New York while making sure his players come first is certainly a bonus.

With a staff of young power arms as the cornerstone to a franchise that has tasted success for the first time in almost a decade, Collins has been rewarded for his patience and directing in the dugout. Now he has an opportunity to move forward with a team looking to defend a National League crown.

Stats courtesy of Mets.com.

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Veteran second baseman Chase Utley is in the market for a new team after completing his 13th season in the major leagues. 

Continue for updates.

Utley’s Return ‘100 Percent’

Tuesday, Oct. 27

Utley’s representative, Joel Wolfe, told Joel Sherman of the New York Post on Tuesday that the 36-year-old will be playing baseball next season. 

In fact, Wolfe said, “One hundred percent he is playing next year.”         

Speculation arose that Utley was considering retirement after his appeal hearing for a two-game suspension was moved until the spring. The league originally suspended Utley for his takeout slide of New York Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada during Game 2 of the National League Division Series. 

Sherman explained:

The thought was why have a hearing if Utley might decide to call it a career during the winter. However, once it could not expedite a hearing while the Dodgers were still in the postseason, MLB decided to push back the process so as not to overshadow the postseason or Hot Stove League.

According to Sherman, the Los Angeles Dodgers will decline his $15 million 2016 option, which will make him a free agent. 

Utley is coming off of a 2015 season in which he experienced career lows in batting average and on-base percentage. His eight home runs and 39 RBI were his lowest since his 43-game debut season in 2003. 

The longtime Philadelphia Phillie was traded to the Dodgers toward the end of August, when he was given another shot to play for a winner. He took home a title with the Phillies in 2008. A hard-nosed, win-at-all-costs veteran, Utley could find a new home with a team looking for a seasoned leader. 

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

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On Monday, the Kansas City Royals announced their pitching rotation for the World Series, which begins Tuesday at Kauffman Stadium against the New York Mets. 

Playing against a Mets team stacked with young power pitching, Kansas City will counter with veteran Edinson Volquez for Game 1, according to Mike Axisa of CBSSports.com. He’ll be matching up against New York’s Matt Harvey.    

Volquez went 13-9 this season with a 3.55 ERA in his first year with the Royals. This postseason, though, he hasn’t quite been on his game, going 1-2 with an ERA of 4.32.

The Royals will be hoping he can repeat his performance from Game 1 of the American League Championship Series, where he shut out the Toronto Blue Jays over six innings, allowing two hits and striking out five. 

Now that Royals manager Ned Yost released his rotation, here is a look at the probable pitching matchups for the World Series:

It was better late than never for Yost to release his rotation. He even called himself a “punk” on Sunday for not disclosing his arms for the Fall Classic, per David Brown of CBSSports.com. 

Giving Volquez the start for Game 1 gives Johnny Cueto two possible starts at home, one in Game 2 and another in Game 6 if necessary. Cueto’s last start on the road was in Toronto during Game 3 of the ALCS, where he allowed eight runs in just two innings before being pulled. 

The Royals’ back end of the rotation features a 24-year-old Yordano Ventura, who burst onto the national scene during last year’s postseason, and Chris Young, a 36-year-old veteran who is on his third team in four years. They’ll have to step up their performances if they want to outduel a New York Mets team that has a 2.81 ERA this postseason. 

If they can’t keep up with New York’s arms, the Royals are going to be in trouble this World Series. 

Stats courtesy of ESPN.com.

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Major League Baseball saw more than just the Chicago Cubs‘ season end on Wednesday night in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets. It also signaled the end of pitcher Dan Haren‘s career, who announced his retirement early Thursday morning. 

Here is how he told the baseball world:

Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune caught a glimpse of Haren walking out of Wrigley Field for the last time:

The 35-year-old played in 13 professional seasons with eight different teams before he finally called it quits. Fans and peers alike took to Twitter to congratulate Haren on a successful career, including former Los Angeles Dodgers teammate Dee Gordon:   

ESPN’s Matthew Berry also took a moment for Haren:

The three-time All-Star contemplated retiring last offseason when the Dodgers traded him to the Miami Marlins. According to Mike Axisa of CBSSports.com, it was because he wanted to be closer to his family who lives on the West Coast. 

Instead, he made 21 starts for the Marlins before being dealt to the contending Cubs and going 4-2 down the stretch. He did not make an appearance in the postseason. 

Haren compiled a 153-131 record during his time in the majors, including six seasons in which he recorded 14 wins or more. His best seasons came in the mid-2000s—he recorded 73 wins in five years—while he was a member of the Oakland Athletics and Arizona Diamondbacks. 

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

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Chase Utley didn’t just change the landscape of the National League Division Series against the New York Mets. Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred told Bob Nightengale of USA Today on Tuesday that he wants to change the rules in order to protect middle infielders.

“The issue of player safety is paramount for us,” he said. “We have some great young athletes and we don’t want to lose any of them, regardless of position, to injuries that can be avoided and we are going to constantly look at the game to find ways to prevent avoidable injuries.”    

This issue has been thrust into the spotlight after Utley’s slide during Game 2 of the NLDS broke the leg of Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada. For those who are lagging behind the news, MLB.com has the replay:

It has been a hot debate over the ensuing days on whether the play was just a hard-nosed display of aggressive baserunning or a dirty takeout, prompting Manfred to comment on the matter. 

This lone event, though, didn’t bring the issue to the commissioner’s attention. Manfred told Nightengale this rule change was being discussed earlier this season and heated up further after the Chicago Cubs’ Chris Coghlan took out the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Jung Ho Kang at second, breaking his leg. 

We started talking to the union about this. It is another example of the issue of player safety, which is really high on our radar screen. We’ve got a lot of money invested in ballplayers. The players themselves have tremendous playing opportunities in terms of what they can earn. And I think it’s important that we protect them.

MLB originally suspended Utley for two games, but he appealed the decision. The appeal won’t be heard until Monday, Oct. 19. Manfred said that he and the MLB Players Association (MLBPA) can begin negotiating on an agreement for a new slide rule after the hearing is complete.   

If the sport has seen contact with catchers outlawed during plays at the plate, it would be difficult to make a case against the protection of defenseless, gearless middle infielders. 

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There’s nothing like October baseball. As fall ushers in a seasonal shift, it signals a change in Major League Baseball with the game’s elite beginning their quest for a World Series title. 

With the division series rolling on, the American League takes center stage on Sunday with one team on the cusp of clinching its place in the AL Championship Series. 

Let’s take a look at Sunday’s games, TV schedule, odds and who I think is going to win each game. All odds are courtesy of Odds Shark.

Kansas City Royals at Houston Astros 

It was gut-check time for the Royals on Friday. After dropping Game 1, Kansas City found a way to come back from a 4-2 deficit and knot the series up at one game apiece against a Houston bullpen that looked very shaky. 

However, it doesn’t look like the bullpens will be needed much in Game 3 with Houston’s ace Dallas Keuchel matching up against Kansas City’s Edinson Volquez, who has been one of the best arms for the Royals this season 

Here’s how the pitchers stack up against each other:

If there were any doubts about how well Keuchel would perform in the playoffs, they were quelled in emphatic fashion during the AL Wild Card Game against the New York Yankees. Firing six innings of shutout, three-hit baseball, Keuchel had no trouble transitioning from the regular season to the postseason. 

ESPN Stats & Info shows that the Royals will have their work cut out against him as well:

But Keuchel has had mixed results against the Royals this season. In two starts, he is 1-1. He completely dominated Kansas City in his first outing, shutting them out over eight innings in Houston. But in his second start against them, he got hammered for five runs on 10 hits in Kansas City. 

Luckily for Keuchel, Game 3 is the first postseason game in Houston since Game 4 of the 2005 World Series. And he’s been unbeatable in 2015 at Minute Maid Park as the Astros have noted:

Houston hasn’t been as accommodating to Volquez in 2015. In one start against the Astros, Volquez only went five innings, allowing five runs on eight hits. Considering his playoff record, it’s probably unsettling that Volquez will be facing an Astros offense that averages over 4.5 runs per game. 

I think the Astros are only going to need a couple of runs, and then Keuchel can do the rest of the work. They shouldn’t have any problem handling that, especially with the way Colby Rasmus has been playing. He’s the first player in MLB history to record extra-base hits in each of his first six postseason games, per ESPN Stats & Info. 

Prediction: Houston wins 6-2 to take 2-1 ALDS lead.

Toronto Blue Jays at Texas Rangers

It’s already do-or-die time for the Blue Jays. Despite a scorching second half that saw them develop into one of the most dangerous teams in baseball, their backs are already against the wall as they trail the Rangers 2-0 in the best-of-five series. 

This is what happens with teams that build their reputation on their offense while allowing their pitching to fall by the wayside. Playing against more well-rounded teams in the postseason, these big-time offensive teams cannot just outscore their opponents.

Texas has looked like the more composed team, coming up with answers for everything the Blue Jays have managed to throw their way—which hasn’t been much. Let’s take a look at the teams’ stats through the first two games:

The Rangers are churning out runs in industrial fashion, led by the young Rougned Odor. The 21-year-old has scored five of Texas’ 11 runs, thanks to his speed and aggressive play on the basepaths. Odor hit one of the two Rangers’ home runs this series, a solo shot, which is also his only RBI.

He provided one of the best slides you’ll ever see during Game 2, as shown by the MLB:

But on the brink of elimination, the Blue Jays’ stacked lineup is going to be swinging big. They also have their second-best pitcher on the mound. Marco Estrada had the best ERA among Blue Jays starters that appeared in more than 25 games, with a 3.13 mark. 

However, in six postseason innings pitched over two outings, Estrada has allowed four runs. With the pressure of elimination looming, I can see Estrada doing just enough to allow the Blue Jays to win this game with their bats. 

I also don’t think AL MVP front-runner Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion or Troy Tulowitzki will be held down for a third consecutive game, especially against Martin Perez, who is 3-6 this season with a 4.46 ERA. There will be at least one more game played in Texas.

Prediction: Blue Jays win 8-4 and will trail Texas 2-1 in the series

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com

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To say that Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jake Arrieta had a good second half to his season would be an understatement—a big one.

In his last start of the regular season Friday night, the Cubs ace delivered six innings of two-hit, shutout baseball and seven strikeouts against the Milwaukee Brewers. Another dominating performance brought his second-half ERA to a minuscule 0.75, the lowest in baseball history, according to statistician Ryan M. Spaeder.

Arrieta also tallied off another quality start, as the Cubs pointed out on Twitter:

Spaeder delved deeper into the 29-year-old’s second half, noting that he gave up just four earned runs during the months of August and September combined, saving his best stuff for the final push of the season. In his final 12 starts, Arrieta had a 0.40 ERA.

His play in August was ridiculous, as ESPN Stats & Info showed:

Arrieta is in line for a league-best 22nd win of the season to go with just six losses and an overall ERA of 1.77, which is somehow second in the National League behind that of Los Angeles Dodgers ace Zack Greinke (1.68). 

Arrieta has anchored a pitching staff that has helped deliver the Cubs their first postseason berth since 2008, and he will most likely get the ball in their one-game wild-card playoff against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday, Oct. 7. 

Regardless of how the Cubs finish the season, it’s safe to assume Arrieta is going to be among the final names up for the National League Cy Young Award after his history-making second half.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

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Chicago White Sox pitcher Chris Sale broke a franchise record with his 270th strikeout of the season on Friday night against the Detroit Tigers. 

Sale’s record-breaking strikeout came against James McCann in the top of the second inning, passing Ed Walsh’s club mark set in 1908. 

Shortly after the strikeout, the White Sox sent out a congratulatory tweet after Sale’s feat:

“It’s awesome, something that hasn’t set in yet but I know what it means, I know what it is, I’m very thankful for it,” Sale said, via Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times.

The American League’s punchout leader entered the night with 267 strikeouts and got to work early, striking out Rajai Davis and Nick Castellanos to tie the record in the first inning. It’s nothing new there, as Sale also leads the AL with 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings.

Sale came into Friday night with a 12-11 record and 3.48 ERA on what appears to be a down season. He gave up a home run to Jefry Marte, one batter before McCann’s strikeout. The Detroit News‘ Chris McCosky felt like he had to remind people about Sale’s brilliance:

But playing on a White Sox team that has been out of playoff contention for some time, Sale has not had a lot of run support while pitching, ranking 15th-lowest in the majors, with just 3.74 per start, according to ESPN.

While a few more runs might have reflected a better record in 2015, there is nothing that could take away Sale’s ability to overpower opposing batters this season.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

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Over the past few weeks, New York Yankees second baseman Stephen Drew has been dealing with concussion-like symptoms. 

Continue for updates.

Drew’s Season Likely Over

Friday, Oct. 2

After being hit in the face with a ground ball during a Sept. 12 game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Drew has been dealing with concussion-like symptoms while trying to stay on the field. According to ESPN’s Wallace Matthews, however, it looks like Drew won’t be playing again in 2015:

Per A.J. Herrmann of the YES Network, Drew underwent an MRI on Tuesday, Sept. 29, as he “had experienced dizziness and other disruptive symptoms” while appearing in seven games since the incident.

This isn’t the first time Drew experienced this kind of injury, as he sustained a vestibular concussion with the Boston Red Sox in 2013. The second baseman spoke with Hermann about it:

It’s like in 2013 in Boston. With the vestibular, when I had it in ’13 it was really severe. You go back on the play when the ball deflected off the glove and hit me in the face. I don’t think much about it and keep playing. It just progressed got worse. It’s that play. There was nothing else in the season.

Drew was batting .201 this season with 17 home runs, but the Yankees now face the possibility of extended postseason play without their starting middle infielder. 

Moving forward, the Yankees may have to rely on rookie Rob Refsnyder, who has appeared in 14 games this season, all at second base, while batting .286 with two home runs. He has already made an impact with the team, though, hitting a home run in its postseason-clinching win over the Boston Red Sox on Thursday night. 

On a roster with the likes of Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann and Alex Rodriguez, the loss of Drew won’t necessarily hurt the Yankees in terms of playoff experience. But if Refsnyder is indeed the Yankees’ man at second base moving forward, the 24-year-old is about to experience a trial by fire, as a one-game playoff looms against either the Houston Astros, Minnesota Twins or Los Angeles Angels. 

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com

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On Thursday night, Chicago White Sox slugger Jose Abreu became the second player in Major League Baseball history to record 30 home runs and 100 RBI in the first two seasons of his career.

According to Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago, Abreu joins Albert Pujols, who performed the feat in 2001 and 2002.

The White Sox followed with a congratulatory message for Abreu:

Scott Merkin of MLB.com reported Abreu planned to text Pujols after the game to thank him for helping him get to this point, adding that Abreu is honored to share the milestone with him.

Abreu knocked in his 100th and 101st runs of the season during the bottom of the seventh inning against Luke Hochevar of the Kansas City Royals, ripping a single to left field to pull the White Sox within two runs. 

MLB shared a replay of Abreu’s momentous single:

Abreu arrived at the 30-home run and 100-RBI plateaus in quick succession. On Wednesday, the night before his big single, Abreu socked his 30th home run of the season, also against the Royals.

MLB provided a look at his 30th home run: 

It’s another notch in Abreu’s belt as the 2014 American League Rookie of the Year looks to continue the success of a career that started a bit late. The 28-year-old Cuban defector signed as a free agent with the White Sox in 2013 and immediately captivated the league with his power.

Sure, Abreu’s career might one day lead baseball fans to wonder what could have been if he had played his entire career in America, but if his time in the majors turns out to be anything like Pujols’, he will be fine. 

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

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