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San Francisco Chronicle
a minute ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
How MLB's upcoming deals will change how you watch out-of-market, Sunday night and Wild Card games
When ESPN opted out of its contract with Major League Baseball in February, the network was hoping to get a reworked package at a lower cost while Commissioner Rob Manfred thought the sport could optimize its rights in the short term for Home Run Derby and Wild Card round. In the end, both parties may get what they want. According to people familiar with negotiations, ESPN is nearing a deal to distribute out-of-market games while NBC/Peacock, Netflix, Apple TV are in talks for regular-season packages, the Wild Card round and Home Run Derby. All sides hope to have everything finalized by the end of the regular season next month, three people told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the contracts have not been finalized or announced by either side. The negotiations around the three-year deals is complicated due to the fact that MLB is also trying not to slight two of its other rights holders. MLB receives an average of $729 million from Fox and $470 million from Turner Sports per year under deals which expire after the 2028 season. While ESPN would be losing the playoffs and Home Run Derby, it would be gaining something it considers more valuable — the streaming package of out-of-market games as part of the direct-to-consumer service that launched on Thursday. ESPN would also sell the in-market rights to the five teams whose games are produced by MLB — San Diego, Colorado, Arizona, Cleveland and Minnesota. 'We are engaged. We are having healthy conversations with them. Nothing to announce today, but we're very interested in baseball in general,' ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said on Tuesday during a presentation about the network's DTC service. ESPN, which has carried MLB games since 1990, opted out of the final three years of a seven-year deal in February. The package averaged $550 million per season and also included the Home Run Derby and Wild Card games. Baseball would be the second league that would have its out-of-market digital package available in the U.S. on ESPN's platform. The NHL moved its package to ESPN in 2021. It would also be a win-win situation for MLB and ESPN. Manfred wrote in a memo to owners after ESPN opted out of its contract: 'While ESPN has stated they would like to continue to have MLB on their platform, particularly in light of the upcoming launch of their DTC product, we do not think its beneficial for us to accept a smaller deal to remain on a shrinking platform. In order to best position MLB to optimize our rights going in to our next deal cycle, we believe it is not prudent to devalue our rights with an existing partner but rather to have our marquee regular season games, Home Run Derby and Wild Card playoff round on a new broadcast and/or streaming platform.' The moves keep ESPN involved in baseball, but at a point where it can benefit while MLB could benefit from other partners in a short-term deal. There is a possibility that ESPN would still air 30 regular-season games, but not Sunday nights. That package of games would go to NBC/Peacock, along with the Wild Card round. NBC, which celebrates its 100th anniversary next year, has a long history with baseball, albeit not much recently. The network carried games from 1939 through 1989. It was part of the short-lived Baseball Network with ABC in 1994 and '95 and then aired playoff games from 1996 through 2000. Peacock had a Sunday streaming package of early-afternoon games in 2022 and '23. The addition of baseball games would give NBC a year-around night of sports on Sunday nights. It has had NFL games on Sunday night since 2006 and will debut an NBA Sunday night slate in February. NBC would likely do Sunday Night Baseball from May through Labor Day weekend. Fox's Saturday nights have been mainly sports the past couple years with a mix of baseball, college football, college basketball and motorsports. Netflix is in discussions for the Home Run Derby, which would align with its strategy of going for a big event in a major sport. The streamer will have an NFL Christmas Day doubleheader this season for the second straight year. Apple TV, which has had 'Friday Night Baseball' since 2022, remains involved in negotiations. The deals would also accomplish another of Manfred's goals. He has said for three years that he would like to see MLB take a more national approach to its rights instead of a large percentage of its games being on regional sports networks. 'We're blessed with a huge amount of content: 2,430 games. Because of the amount of content, I think there will be some local component but I think the strategy needs to be more national and our reach needs to be more national,' he said during a panel discussion last September at the CNBC x Boardroom's Game Plan event.
New York Post
a minute ago
- New York Post
Giants know positive offensive line vibes don't mean anything until ‘adversity' arrives
Access the Giants like never before Get texts from Paul Schwartz with all the latest Giants news and insights, exclusive to Sports+ subscribers. tRY IT NOW It can look different and feel different, but it is only different if, in fact, it actually is different. Soon enough, all the good, positive vibes mustered by the Giants about their offensive line this summer will give way to the stark reality of first-and-10 in Washington for the season opener. At that point, feelings and vibes get pushed aside in favor of performance on the field. 'I think there's some truth to that,'' left tackle Andrew Thomas said. 'I think there's a lot of buy-in, but you really don't know the character of a team until you hit adversity. We've got to put it on film when it counts. I think we're moving in the right direction. When we're faced with our opponent and adversity, that's when you'll see who we really are.'' 4 Andrew Thomas is pictured during the Giants' Aug. 19 practice. Charles Wenzelberg 4 Jon Runyan Jr. is pictured during the Giants' Aug. 2 practice. Noah K. Murray for the NY Post Sage words by one of the Giants' most pragmatic players — also one of their best players. Thomas coming off the physically unable to perform list this past Tuesday was the shot-in-the-arm the offensive line needed to gear up for the regular season. That group worked throughout training camp without Thomas as he finished up his rehab following foot surgery. The plan always was to get him back this week. The next hurdle is seeing if the process can move rapidly enough to put him in the starting lineup on opening day. If he makes it, the Giants will return the exact same starting five on their offensive line. Thomas, left guard Jon Runyan Jr., center John Michael Schmitz, right guard Greg Van Roten and right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor all lined up together to face the Vikings in the 2024 season opener. Thomas did not make it through the season, going down in Week 6. That group battled and struggled through all the losing without him until Runyan, after 13 games, was lost to an ankle injury that eventually needed surgery. The front office was encouraged by the work of this group before Thomas went down and out. 4 John Michael Schmitz prepares to snap the ball during the Giants' Aug. 9 preseason game. Imagn Images By the end of the season, the Giants ranked 23rd out of 32 in offensive line play, according to Pro Football Focus. Those who wanted the Giants to overhaul a position that has haunted them for more than a decade received no satisfaction, as the same starting five returns intact. The depth is expected to be improved, though, with the signing of veteran tackle James Hudson III, the selection of Marcus Mbow in the fifth round of the draft, and the change of position to guard by Evan Neal that the team hopes will save his flagging career. 'Getting A.T. back has been a big thing,'' assistant general manager Brandon Brown said. 'He's going to be an anchor for us. Just the strides that JMS has taken, his hand placement being better; getting a healthy Jon Runyan Jr. 4 Evan Neal is pictured during the Giants' Aug. 19 practice. Charles Wenzelberg 'Then just look at the depth we've been able to create in terms of bringing in Marcus Mbow; bringing back some more guys from last year; GVR being really the straw that stirs the drink from the character [and] morale standpoint, doing a lot of the off-field things that aren't seen, from the O-line dinners to the extra film sessions. He's been really the torchbearer in that group that carries a heavy voice. The synergy is really cool to see. 'Even James Hudson, when you see the physical nature that he plays with, it becomes infectious. He plays with, I call it, that controlled aggression where you see it from him, you see it from Marcus Mbow, and a lot of those guys that are around him. They know, hey, this is the kind of brand of ball we want to play, and it spreads to that room.'' What sounds like a solid plan in the summer often gives way to desperation in the fall and winter, especially with the Giants and their offensive line follies. Go behind the scenes with Big Blue Sign up for Inside the Giants by Paul Schwartz, a weekly Sports+ exclusive. Thank you Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Enjoy this Post Sports+ exclusive newsletter! Check out more newsletters The early returns were promising. The Giants used four quarterbacks in the first two preseason games, and they dropped back 89 times. The offensive line allowed only one sack and there was minimal pressure in the pocket. 'For me personally, I don't really put too much stock in the preseason,'' Eluemunor said. 'I think it doesn't really count for much. Obviously, it looks good, but you can't really base things off preseason. I think everyone individually is doing what they're meant to be doing, and we practice hard going against a really good defensive line, so that helps, too. But I wouldn't put too much stock in the preseason because you don't win any Super Bowls in the preseason. 'Sometimes, technically you're not going against their best players. So for me personally and the standard I have and I'm sure the standard we have in the O-line room, we're not really looking at it too much. Obviously, it's probably cool for the fans to see the O-line perform like that, but as an O-line, we have such a high standard and where we want to be that we're just going out there and doing our jobs.''
Washington Post
2 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Behind Riley Adams and a lockdown bullpen, Nats take series from Mets
The Washington Nationals were searching for the big hit. They had trailed the New York Mets since the first batter of the game but had chipped away at the deficit and had the bases loaded for the second time in the fifth inning. They just needed the dam to break. Riley Adams delivered — nothing fancy, just a line drive back up the middle to score two runs. Washington had a lead it would never relinquish Thursday afternoon and rolled to a 9-3 win, taking two of three in the series against reeling New York (67-60), a club still clinging to the National League's final wild card spot. 'Just trying to keep it short and sweet and try to hunt the pitch in the zone you want,' Adams said. 'Thankfully, in that situation, he threw that sinker down and in and I was able to get some good wood on it.' The Nationals (52-75) were just getting started after Adams's single. Jacob Young added an RBI single in the sixth. In the eighth, Adams led off with a single, and Brady House drove him in. James Wood then capped off the afternoon with a mammoth three-run homer that completed a 4-3 homestand. 'It's always great to get the insurance runs, especially late in the game, especially in a close game, too,' House said. The Washington bullpen delivered 4⅔ scoreless innings after MacKenzie Gore failed to get out of the fifth. Over the final two games of the series, Nationals relievers combined for 8⅓ innings without yielding a run. 'Really good day for them,' Gore said of the bullpen. 'Great win for us. Obviously I wasn't great today, but they only scored three and gave us a chance.' Gore served up a leadoff home run to Francisco Lindor in the first but responded by striking out the next three hitters with curveballs. The 26-year-old lefty fought his command all afternoon, walking four over 4⅓ innings. In the third, Starling Marte doubled the Mets' lead with a solo shot on a hanging curveball. Hayden Senger added a sacrifice fly in the following frame. But Gore, whose ERA rose to 4.11, kept Washington in the game. And the Nationals clawed back. They loaded the bases in the fourth against Mets starter Sean Manaea but were held to just one run on a Dylan Crews groundout. In the fifth, Paul DeJong hit a sacrifice fly before Andrés Chaparro walked to load the bases. The Mets brought in righty Trevor Rogers, and Adams, who finished 2 for 3 with two RBI, made them pay. For Adams, a 29-year-old in his fifth season, a lost season for Washington presents an opportunity with starter Keibert Ruiz sidelined since July 5 with a concussion. Adams and Drew Millas, sharing duties behind the plate with Ruiz out, have shown promise over the past few seasons but haven't received much playing time. Adams already has surpassed his career high in games played (58). Millas, in his second season, is four games away from his (20). Adams, hitting .206 on the season, is batting .326 with an .850 OPS in August. 'It's hard when you're on the bench and you play every four days or five,' interim manager Miguel Cairo said. 'Right now, we have a good mix with Millas and himself, and he's just getting good at-bats. That's what we're looking for. That's what we're trying to preach.' Adams has always been an intriguing power threat — his average bat speed is fifth in the majors among hitters with at least 200 at-bats. But he hasn't been able to unlock his potential. In 2023, Adams hit .273 with a .807 OPS in a 44-game sample size before he broke a hamate and missed the remainder of the season. He seemed to establish himself as the backup catcher. But Adams struggled at the plate and in the field last season and still grades poorly at framing and blocking pitches behind the plate. The life of a backup catcher can be difficult. Both he and Ruiz were acquired at the 2021 deadline. But Adams's development has taken a back seat while the Nationals prioritized Ruiz, who signed an eight-year, $50 million deal in 2023 after coming over from the Dodgers in the blockbuster deal that sent Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to Los Angeles. Ruiz has played 443 games spanning from his first full season in 2022 until he went on the injured list in July. That's the eighth most by a catcher in baseball. Adams has worked to stay ready when the team needs him. That's easier said than done, as it means playing once or twice a week, but now that he is getting more opportunities, he's making the most of them. 'I don't think it's any secret the more you're out there, the easier it is for myself to feel like I'm getting my timing down,' Adams said. 'I'm just trying to take that day by day and just get a little more comfortable every time.'
