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Cleveland Indians third baseman Juan Uribe left Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels after being hit by a hard ground ball off the bat of Mike Trout. It is uncertain when he will be able to return.

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Uribe Out vs. Royals

Monday, June 13

The team announced that Uribe will not play on Monday against the Kansas City Royals:

Uribe Taken Off on Cart

Sunday, June 12 

Alex Curry of Fox Sports Net said the 106 mph ground ball from Trout hit Uribe in the groin, which resulted in his removal on a cart.

Uribe was 0-for-2 at the plate before he was taken out of the game for Tyler Naquin. Naquin went to center field, while Michael Martinez moved from center to third base to fill in for Uribe.

Uribe’s Absence Will Be Strongly Felt in the Field

Uribe, 37, has been in the league since 2001 and is batting .217 with two home runs and 13 RBI this year entering Monday’s slate of games. He played for the Colorado Rockies, Chicago White Sox, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves and New York Mets before signing with the Indians during the offseason.

He appeared for Los Angeles, Atlanta and New York last season and was with the Mets when they made the World Series, where they lost to the Kansas City Royals.

He is solid with the bat (.255/.302/.418 career slash numbers as of Monday) but is better known for his fielding at the hot corner. He’s accounted for 42 total defensive runs saved above average in his career at third base, per FanGraphs.

The Indians will likely turn to Martinez or Jose Ramirez at third base until Uribe is ready to return.

Martinez is only a .193 career hitter, but he does carry a .256 mark in 39 at-bats this season. Ramirez has been impressive for Cleveland in 2016 with a .303 batting average.

Both are versatile enough to play the infield or outfield, which gives manager Terry Francona options with his daily lineup even if Uribe misses time.

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After making stops with three different teams in 2015, Juan Uribe will hope to stay put in Cleveland. The Indians filled out its infield depth Friday, agreeing to a contract just shy of $5 million with the veteran third baseman, per ESPN’s Buster Olney.

Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal first reported the two sides were in agreement.

Uribe, who turns 37 in March, split last season between the Braves, Dodgers and Mets. He finished the campaign in New York, filling in for an injured David Wright following a July trade. In 119 games split between the three teams, Uribe hit .253/.320/.417 with 14 home runs and 43 RBI. The Mets limited him to just one postseason at-bat following Wright’s return.

That benching along with Uribe’s scattershot play in 2015 contributed to his being on the market longer than expected. Per Olney, the Cleveland Indians were most regularly mentioned as a potential suitor, especially given their needs offensively.

“We’re looking at what the alternatives are out there,” general manager Mike Chernoff said in an interview that aired on MLB Network, per Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com. “You can always try to improve your team. There are still guys out there who haven’t signed and could help us. So we’re actively engaged with those players.”

Despite his inconsistent play in 2015, Uribe’s previous two campaigns make him worth the risk. He compiled 8.6 wins above replacement in 2013 and 2014 combined, flashing solid work offensively and defensively. Those two seasons represented the two best of his entire career. Even if they’re an anomaly overall, they should signal that he’s more than capable of filling a rotational role.

The protection afforded Uribe in Los Angeles’ lineup won’t be available in Cleveland, but the Indians are not expecting him to be a superstar. He’ll be worth his contract even if he winds up producing the same WAR (1.9) he did last season. Given the upheaval he went through in playing for three teams, a mild improvement should be the expectation.

That said, Father Time is undefeated. Don’t be surprised if Uribe’s 2015 campaign was a sign of things to come. 

WAR courtesy of FanGraphs.

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Veteran third baseman Juan Uribe remains a free agent with spring training just weeks away.

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Indians Continuing to Show Interest in Uribe

Tuesday, Feb. 2

The Cleveland Indians are reportedly targeting Uribe, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.

Uribe, 36, hit .253 with 14 home runs and 43 RBI in stints with the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets in 2015.

In Cleveland, Uribe would likely split time at third base with 24-year-old Giovanny Urshela, who hit just .225 with six home runs and 21 RBI in 81 games with the Tribe last season. Urshela leaves a lot to be desired at the plate, at least at this point in his career, though he’s solid in the field and could benefit from a platoon with Uribe.

And while Uribe’s days of being a solid, everyday third baseman are behind him, he’s still a solid fielder at the position who brings pop to the plate. 

Cleveland certainly remains interested in improving its offense.

“We’re looking at what the alternatives are out there,” general manager Mike Chernoff said during an interview on the MLB Network on Monday, per Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com. “You can always try to improve your team. There are still guys out there who haven’t signed and could help us. So we’re actively engaged with those players.”

Uribe appears likely to be one of those players.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers may sit atop the National League West, but that’s not preventing their front office from exploring trade options. Juan Uribe, who is in the final year of his current deal, was reportedly traded to the Atlanta Braves. 

Continue for updates.   

Uribe Reportedly Dealt to Braves

Tuesday, May 26

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported that Uribe had been traded to the Braves:

Rosenthal first reported that negotiations were taking place earlier Tuesday, and noted that a deal had nearly been completed on Monday night. 

Uribe is off to a slow start in 2015. He’s hitting .247/.287/.309 with one home run in 29 games and has battled hamstring injuries despite avoiding the disabled list. 

The 36-year-old veteran has never been the most durable player, having played less than 135 games every year since 2011, but his ability to hit for average with some power and play strong defense at third base has allowed him to carve out a solid 15-year career. 

The Dodgers have Justin Turner already on the roster as a replacement for Uribe, as well as top prospect Corey Seager in Triple-A who could come up at some point this season and play on the left side of the infield. 

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Third baseman Juan Uribe is reportedly headed back to the Los Angeles Dodgers on a two-year deal after testing free agency.

Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal was the first to break the news:

Uribe signed a $21 million contract prior to the 2011 season and was a well-documented disappointment over the first two years of the deal, hitting just .199/.262/.289 between 2011 and 2012 and seeing little playing time in the closing parts of the 2012 season.

But Uribe righted the ship in 2013 with a .278/.331/.438 line with 12 home runs and 50 RBI. Like he did for the San Francisco Giants in 2010 before cashing in with Los Angeles, Uribe helped the Dodgers in a big way via his postseason play last season.

Uribe hit two homers in the National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves—including a two-strike, two-run eighth-inning homer to send the Dodgers to the National League Championship Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. There, he added three more RBI.

Yet negotiations between the two parties were recently at a standstill. It hit the point where Los Angeles thought Uribe was on his way out, so the team began considering other options such as infielder Michael Young to play third base, per ESPN’s Buster Olney:

Alas, Uribe is back in the fold, and Rosenthal has a quote from a player within the organization who neatly summarizes why the Dodgers were likely content in investing in Uribe once more:

The move sorts things out for the Dodgers defensively. Hanley Ramirez can remain at shortstop, while the newly signed Alexander Guerrero can start at second base. Suffice it to say, the search for an everyday third baseman is over in Los Angeles.

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The Free Agent Market could be open for business as early as next Monday, and while it had appeared to be shaping up late in the regular season, it turns out that it was far from settled. 

Pricey contract extensions for Hunter Pence and Tim Lincecum, as well as rumored $100 million asking prices for Shin-Shoo Choo and Jacoby Ellsbury, indicate that teams may have to ante up big dollars for the best players on the market.  

In addition, several free agents-to-be boosted their stock with strong playoff performances. Others hurt their value by showing that they might not be very good when the games are most important. 

Here’s a look at how the 2013 postseason has changed the playoff picture.

Jacoby Ellsbury: $100 million man

Despite missing nearly three weeks in September with a foot injury, Ellsbury had already done enough to ensure he’d enter the offseason as the top center fielder on the free agent market.

But a $100 million deal, as was suggested by his agent Scott Boras in an interview with CBS Sports last month, seemed steep considering he hadn’t shown the power that made him a finalist for the AL MVP award in 2011. Considering that a similar player, Michael Bourn, got four years and $48 million the previous offseason, a reasonable projection for the 30-year-old Ellsbury would be somewhere around five years and $70 million. 

This is no longer the case, though. Ellsbury, who has been the catalyst for the Sox during their World Series run with a .902 OPS, 17 hits, 11 runs and six stolen bases in 12 games, is doing everything in his power to increase his value.

Pence’s $90 million deal helps, but it’s Ellsbury’s playoff performance that might actually push him into the $100 million territory. 

Carlos Beltran putting injury concerns to rest

Including the playoffs, Beltran has averaged 154 games per season since 2011, his ages 34-36 seasons. After leaving Game 1 of the World Series after robbing a homer with a rib injury, he was back in the lineup for Game 2. He went 2-for-4 with an RBI single to add on to one of the most impressive postseason resume’s of all-time. 

The knee troubles that caused him to miss most of the 2009-2010 seasons appear to be a thing of the past, and he’ll be paid accordingly. It’s his talent on the field that could net him as much as $20 million per season this offseason. It’s his ability to stay on the field—even this late in the season—that will give at least one team enough confidence to give him a three-year deal.

Clutch hitting will overshadow Mike Napoli’s hip condition

There’s no doubt that the degenerative hip condition that caused the Red Sox to pull a three-year, $39 million deal off the table last winter is going to be an issue for Napoli again. But the fact that he started 131 games at first base—his first year as a regular first baseman—and put up impressive numbers during the regular season (.842 OPS, 23 HR, 92 RBI) will make it much less of an issue. 

And if there was still any doubt, consider that the 31-year-old has had several big hits in the postseason, including a game-winning homer against Justin Verlander in the ALCS and a three-run double to open the scoring in the World Series, and he has not been hindered one bit by his hip condition.

The question is no longer whether he’ll get a multi-year deal or not. It’s whether he’ll get two or three years.

Add Brian Wilson to the list of top free agent closers

The former Giants closer didn’t even get a save opportunity during his two-month stint with the Dodgers. But by the playoffs, it was clear that Wilson had returned to form after missing all of 2012 and most of 2013 recovering from Tommy John surgery. 

After allowing just one earned run in 13.2 innings over 18 regular season appearances, the 31-year-old was even better in the postseason. As the primary setup man to closer Kenley Jansen, Wilson pitched six shutout innings with two walks, eight strikeouts, a win and two holds. 

Those might be the last “holds” he records for a couple of seasons. He should land a closer’s gig this winter.

“Left Fielder” Jhonny Peralta near the top of the shortstop and third base markets

Peralta returned from a 50-game P.E.D. suspension late in the season to find he had lost his starting shortstop job to defensive whiz Jose Iglesias. The Tigers needed his bat in the lineup, however, so they got creative. 

For the first time in his professional career, the 31-year-old played in the outfield. He also went 11-for-33 in the playoffs with three doubles and a homer. Does it mean he’ll be recruited as a starting outfielder this offseason? Probably not. But that’s only because several teams will be trying to sign him to be their shortstop or third baseman. 

It’s not exactly the deepest market for those positions, which is why Peralta’s suspension will have limited impact on his value. 

Juan Uribe will be a starting third baseman in 2014

The Dodgers gave Uribe a three-year, $21 million deal after a 2010 season in which he posted a .749 OPS with 24 homers for the Giants. But it’s extremely likely that he may have earned himself that third year or a few more million dollars after some clutch hitting in the playoffs. 

Uribe hit a game-winning homer in the deciding NLCS Game 6 win over the Phillies. He also hit a big three-run homer in Game 1 of the World Series. He didn’t do much else, but his impact was clear in front of a national audience. 

Fast-forward to 2013, and Uribe is coming off of a season in which he posted a .769 OPS with 12 homers and has been named a finalist for the Gold Glove award for third basemen. He came up big again in the playoffs, including another game-winning homer in the deciding game of a series. 

Regardless of how bad he was in 2011-2012 (.552 OPS), Uribe shouldn’t have a hard time finding a starting job in what is a very weak market for third basemen. 

Where have you gone, Edward Mujica? 

A 29-year-old All-Star closer who is coming off of a season in which he saved 37 games, posted a 2.78 ERA and walked only five batters in 64.2 innings should be extremely popular this winter, right? Not so much with Mujica. 

If his own team doesn’t have enough faith to use him in anything more than mop-up duty during the playoffs, why would teams interested in a closer look to Mujica ahead of Wilson, Grant Balfour, Joaquin Benoit, Joe Nathan or Fernando Rodney? 

It’s his own doing after a terrible September (7.1 IP, 9 ER, 18 H), but Mujica’s value has took a tremendous hit in a short amount of time, and the Cardinals aren’t helping by not letting him pitch this postseason.

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Clayton Kershaw might be the second-coming of Los Angeles Dodgers legend Sandy Koufax, but a lovable holy trinity in Chavez Ravine these days centers on one of Major League Baseball’s more unsung heroes: Juan Uribe.

The trio of Uribe, Hanley Ramirez and Yasiel Puig has been a signature, heartwarming segment of the Dodgers clubhouse, season and success and it was on full display Monday night.

Uribe, who has been a member of the Dodgers since signing a three-year deal in 2011, found success in Los Angeles this season because of failure last season—Luis Cruz took over Uribe’s starting job at third base, but failed to secure the role.

After batting just .204 in his first season and .191 in 2012, Uribe discovered success on Monday night because of failure yet again—this time, his own. He could not get down a sacrifice bunt in the bottom of the eighth inning.

With the Dodgers down 3-2—and with the Atlanta Braves six outs from taking the NLDS back home for Game 5—Yasiel Puig led off the inning with a double. But two miserable bunt attempts later, there was not a good word on Uribe to come by. It looked as though he spoiled a chance to advance the tying run and would become the menace of Game 4.

Then came a greater failure, as Braves reliever David Carpenter was unable to bury a slider into the lower half of the strike zone.

Instead of sacrificing himself in the at-bat, Uribe uncorked an uppercut hammer on the pitch that hung around the letters. He dropped his bat as a towering go-ahead, and series-clinching, home run shot through the Los Angeles night and fell into the left-field bullpen.

While the sea of Dodger Nation jumped up and down and rattled the ballpark, Uribe electrically embraced his mentee, Puig, at home plate. Then, the duo retreated to the top of the dugout steps, where Uribe exchanged a four-limb, bumping handshake with their third brother, Hanley Ramirez.

Baseball clubhouses are undoubtedly regarded as the most fraternal of locker rooms in professional sports. The fact that players must coexist for at least 162 games, from spring training until October, breeds a certain unique dynamic for each ballclub. It seeps its way into a team’s ability to cope with defeat, to pick each other up, to come from behind, to celebrate and, above all, to define itself. 

In 2013, the Dodgers have come to regard Uribe as the supreme representative of their clubhouse. General manager Ned Colletti has said of the 34-year-old Dominican, “I don’t think there’s a more beloved player or person in this room than Juan Uribe.” Matt Kemp declared, “He’s the best teammate I’ve ever played with.”

Don Mattingly told ESPN in early September of Uribe’s reputation and his ability to weather the storm after losing his starting job in 2012:

The one thing about Juan: He always, always, always played quality third base…The thing that opened our eyes was how good a teammate he was last year. Luis [Cruz] was here tearing it up and the darling of L.A. last year for a period of time, and Juan was a really good teammate. He gained a lot of respect in that clubhouse.

Although respect is often transmitted through reverence for an esteemed teammate, it is just as likely to be translated through comfortable humor with a beloved player; one who feels more like family.

This comical display has been exhibited by 22-year-old sensation Puig and 29-year-old Ramirez since the summer when the brotherly relationship began to take off. Ramirez began referring to the barrel-chested, power-hitting Uribe as “King Kong,” and he and Puig began customarily feeding the older third baseman bananas after home runs.

Throughout the season, Ramirez, who plays next door at shortstop, could even be caught clowning Uribe for his lack of range literally in the middle of an inning. 

There is a youthful exuberance in the trio’s dugout celebrations—the younger brothers-of-sorts jumping on the shoulders of the veteran Uribe as he cracks a smile. It is hard to ignore and it is part of the heart of the Dodger demeanor.

As Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles explains of the relationship and the clowning: Puig and Ramirez view Uribe as “[A] man they embrace practically as an older brother. What little brother doesn’t live for that opportunity?” But Saxon clarifies, “If it seems as if Uribe is the team clown, though, he’s quite a bit more than that. In some ways, he’s the conscience of the clubhouse…”

After Monday’s victory, Ramirez properly told Sports Illustrated that Uribe’s heroics were no surprise. “It’s the postseason,” he remarked. “That’s what we expect.” 

So for a moment, forget Magic Johnson, Vin Scully and Don Mattingly. Forget the unimaginable 48-of-50 games the Dodgers blazed through and the often-untouchable pitching staff headlined by Kershaw and Zack Greinke.

Forget them for just one moment because, for much longer, many had nearly forgotten about Uribe. He even admitted how the anxiety had begun to set in with his prolonged lack of performance.

“I felt bad when I didn’t play good,” Uribe told ESPN on Monday, reflecting on his unsuccessful first two seasons in Los Angeles. “Sometimes when you don’t play good, people don’t remember you. People forget. That’s just the way the game is.”

He has unquestionably improved this year with the help of hitting coach Mark McGwire and, on Monday, he definitely transformed Mattingly’s game plan when he fouled off two consecutive sacrifice bunt attempts. But, Uribe has never changed himself or his character.

About a month ago, following a three-homer performance against Arizona, Uribe said, “I always wanted to be a person who has respect and shows that I care and have a good heart.” He went on, “Good or bad, you still have to be the same person.”

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It’s safe to say the first two years after Juan Uribe signed a free-agent contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers were a complete disaster.

After hitting 24 home runs with 85 RBI in 2010 for the San Francisco Giants in their championship season, Uribe headed a bit farther south. But he would end up totaling just six home runs in his first two seasons, hitting just .199 in the process.

Now, in his third and final season, Uribe is finally living up to his contract, hitting a more robust .271 with seven home runs and 40 RBI entering Monday’s game with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Uribe added greatly to his offensive output within his first three at-bats against Arizona. He belted three solo shots, the first two off of starter Randall Delgado and the third off of reliever Eury De La Rosa.

Uribe’s epic night leaves him with 10 home runs and 44 RBI, almost matching the production he provided in his first two years with the Dodgers.

In fact, Uribe’s huge offensive output was not lost on Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times.

His big night prompted this factoid from ESPN as well. 

Fans on Twitter weren’t just shocked by Uribe’s power display, they were blown away.

Ironically, Uribe’s night ended with an infield single, something also not normally seen from the not-so-svelte third baseman.

Production at third base had been seriously lacking for the Dodgers for much of the season, especially with Luis Cruz starting the season hitting just .145 with zero home runs while manning the hot corner. 

Uribe’s production has certainly been a bright spot for a position that’s seen nothing but disappointment. And to think Uribe started the season on the bench behind Cruz.

All videos courtesy of MLB Advanced Media via MLB.com.

Doug Mead’s work has been featured in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, SF Gate, CBS Sports, the Los Angeles Times and the Houston Chronicle.

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After helping the San Francisco Giants win the 2010 World Series, Juan Uribe signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers for three years and $21 million.  The deal was panned from the outset, with critics complaining that it was too long and for too much money.  There’s even an article from December 2010 in which ESPN’s Jon Weisman explains why Jamey Carroll was better than Uribe.

And for much of his contract, all of that was true.  Each of the last two years, Uribe has been terrible.  In 2010, he posted a .204/.264/.293 line; in 2011, it was .191/.258/.284.  But so far this year, he’s been much better, to the tune of .260/.354/.390.

So what’s changed?  Two things: His power has returned, and his walk rate is way up.

The return of his power isn’t that surprising; he was always known as a power-hitting shortstop. During his peak with the White Sox and Giants (ages 24-30), he had only one season in which he hit fewer than 16 home runs.  For those seven years, he averaged 22 home runs per 162 games and had a .185 ISO.  For his entire career—even factoring in the last two terrible years—his ISO (SLG-AVG, a measure of how many of a player’s hits go for extra bases) is still .167.

This year, his ISO is .130, which is still below his career level and by a significant amount (more than two standard errors).  Because he has such a lengthy track record of power, the fact that it has returned after 474 poor plate appearances (in 2011 and 2012)—while not a given because of his age—is not shocking.

Whether or not it will continue is another question.  In general, power surges come from increases in home run-to-fly ball rate as an inordinate number of fly balls leave the park.  Uribe’s HR/FB rate, though, is 8.8 percent, nearly a full percentage point below his career level of 9.7 percent, and he has only three home runs thus far this year.

He’s also hitting fewer fly balls in general, so it’s not even that the lower HR/FB is masking an increase in volume.  He’s hitting more ground balls than he ever has in his career, and ground balls have a better chance of finding holes and going for base hits than fly balls do.

Is this sustainable?  Maybe, but we don’t know for sure.  Last year, Russell Carleton of Baseball Prospectus published an article that studied at what point rate statistics stabilize.

If we assume that Uribe’s success is driven from his newfound ability to hit the ball on the ground, then the fact that he has put more than 80 balls in play this year (the sample size Carleton pointed to at which ground ball rate stabilizes) indicates that this new 45% GB rate is indicative of Uribe’s true talent.

However, if we believe that for whatever reason Uribe’s power has simply returned this year, then there we cannot draw any conclusions.  The number Carleton pinpoints for the stabilization of ISO is 160 at-bats—a number that Uribe has not yet reached this season.

The other big change in Uribe is his walk rate, and this provides a more definitive look at his success.  Uribe is walking in 13.1 percent of his plate appearances in 2013, which is more than double his career rate of 5.8 percent.

Carleton’s study found that walk rate stabilizes at 120 plate appearances, a number that Uribe has already reached this season.  This comes with a caveat, though, as Carleton points out in his very next article: This “stabilization point” indicates only that the rates will reflect the current talent level of the player.  It does not claim that the player’s talent level will remain the same for any specified length of time.

Therefore, while we can say that over those 120 plate appearances the 13.1 percent walk rate really does reflect Uribe’s skills, it does not guarantee future performance because—to quote Carleton again—“by denominating time per year, we ignore the fact that a baseball player lives a day-to-day life.”

The question I’m attempting to answer here is whether or not Uribe will be able to keep up this walk rate through the rest of the season.  The numbers certainly point towards the answer being yes, but perhaps Uribe has found something that works, and he will lose whatever “it” is after taking four days off for the All-Star break.

Or maybe new Dodgers hitting coach Mark McGwire has found a way to get through to Uribe in a way that previous hitting coach Dave Hansen was unable to, and this is a totally legitimate skill change.  I don’t know.

What I do know is that Uribe’s sample size this season is large enough to truly indicate a skill change.

I find it difficult to predict what he will do going forward, because the idea that a 33-year-old free-swinger has suddenly become a walk machine—his 13.1 BB% ranks 19th among all hitters with at least 140 plate appearances—seems far-fetched.  However, there is at least a good chance that Uribe has discovered a new way to be productive.

With a struggling offense, the Dodgers lineup needs all the help it can get.  Uribe has been a useful member, and Dodger fans certainly hope he will be able to continue the strong performance.

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With spring training now at its peak and Cactus League play in full gear, the Los Angeles Dodgers find themselves in the national spotlight of the sports media in regards to a number of popular storylines.

Team ownership is obviously at the forefront, as Frank McCourt was anticipating a $200 million cash advance from Fox until the transaction was blocked by MLB commissioner Bud Selig late last week. It’s unclear exactly where the overall finances of the club lie, but the fact that McCourt was involved in plotting such a deal doesn’t sound encouraging.

In the meantime, the divorce ordeal between Frank and Jamie continues to trudge along. Frank’s gun is loaded with the intention of new trials and appeals, while Jamie continues to express interest in gaining some type of control of the organization. However, the team, the fans and Major League Baseball itself would love nothing more than to see this tedious affliction become resolved.

As for player news, the absence of reliever Ronald Belisario from his third consecutive spring training start also captured its fair share of headlines. While Belisario continues to offer excuses about being separated from the team, he still remains in his native Venezuela. Most analysts around the league seem to agree that he’s already seen his last days wearing Dodger Blue.

Vicente Padilla, re-signed by general manager Ned Colletti to bolster the bullpen and provide insurance to the starting rotation, has already been under the knife to fix a recurring wrist injury that has been bothering him for more than a year. According to various opinions, Padilla may begin throwing again in as little as three-to-four weeks.

The passing of Dodger legend Duke Snider, who could arguably be known as the greatest player the franchise has ever seen, brought a somber moment of sadness to Dodgers fans far and wide. Without a doubt, for his contributions to the Dodger legacy, the Duke will be remembered for eternity.

As all the aforementioned news made headlines nationwide, a number of storylines which are critical to the club’s success continue to fly under the radar. The following slides highlight 10 such stories, as well as offer a brief commentary about each topic shown.

Begin Slideshow