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New York Times
a day ago
- Sport
- New York Times
How to watch Astros at Dodgers, starring Shohei Ohtani on the mound and a chorus of boos
The Houston Astros visit the Los Angeles Dodgers in Chavez Ravine. For those about to watch or attend this weekend's series, familiarize yourselves with this sound: Fox is also available for free over the air. This particular rivalry became a pressure point for the entire sport after Houston was snared in the sign-stealing scandal of the 2017 World Series. The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich published an essential report on all the improprieties. The Astros organization was eventually punished with fines, manager suspensions and docked draft picks … but every single pro sports enterprise would gleefully take that on the chin for a championship ring. Advertisement For Dodgers fans, it was searing enough to lose a World Series title under such murky circumstances. The frustrations ballooned when they were unable to vent it out at the ballpark until years later. The scandal broke after the 2019 season. The 2020 season was played in a bubble with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, and 2021 had marked attendance limits. Houston hosted the interleague meeting in 2022, and it wasn't until the following year when Dodgers fans could, in their home stadium, display the fury of a thousand dented trash cans. Animosities and theatrics aside, this rivalry defines so much of MLB history across the last 10 seasons. Since 2016, the Dodgers and Astros have combined for four World Series triumphs, four more pennants and nine 100-win campaigns. Surprise surprise, they both hit this weekend with sizable division leads and deep playoff aspirations. Houston is in a tough spot from its recent injuries, though. Slugger Yordan Álvarez remains out with a right hand fracture. Budding star shortstop Jeremy Peña hurt his ribs last weekend and is now on the IL. Brendan Rodgers and Chas McCormick have also missed time. Los Angeles is on a torrid stretch dating back to June 14, with 15 wins in their last 18 tries. The team has a fresh major injury of its own, though. Mainstay third baseman Max Muncy hobbled off the field Wednesday after a collision tag with White Sox baserunner Michael A. Taylor. He is now expected to be out six weeks. Injuries suck, but there are enough main attractions to make this series a banger. Jose Altuve may be one of the last contemporaries with a shot at 3,000 hits. Clayton Kershaw just joined the 3,000 strikeout club. Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and Will Smith are still among the best at their positions. And Saturday's primetime slot on Fox gives us an incredible pitching matchup. The flame-throwing lefty Framber Valdez comes in with a 9–4 record and 2.72 ERA. He's matched by the one-of-a-kind Shohei Ohtani, who will be on the mound for the fourth time this season — and on his birthday. May we never stop marveling at the NL home run leader moonlighting with a triple-digit fastball. Advertisement All-time fusion staff (min. 1 start with each franchise): Ticketing and streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication. (Photo by Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Rob Manfred puts MLBPA leaders on blast amid CBA talks
The post Rob Manfred puts MLBPA leaders on blast amid CBA talks appeared first on ClutchPoints. Major League Baseball has one more full season before its collective bargaining agreement expires, but commissioner Rob Manfred is already laying the groundwork for what he's looking for in the next round of negotiations. Advertisement He says he wants to connect more with the players and that the Players Association no longer represents their will. 'There seems to be kind of a mismatch between what we see at the union leadership level and what the players are thinking,' Manfred said, via The Athletic's Evan Drellich. Manfred also suggested that player salaries could be growing faster than they are — and that equal revenue sharing with the owners could help get them there. 'The strategy is to get directly to the players,' he continued. 'I don't think the leadership of this union is anxious to lead the way to change. So we need to energize the workforce in order to get them familiar with or supportive of the idea that maybe change in the system could be good for everybody.' Advertisement Manfred's plans go beyond revenue sharing. Additionally, he might push for a salary cap, though he hasn't said outright that he would. The Athletic also says he wants to overhaul MLB's media rights system. 'If you can grow your central revenue and level out your revenue disparity, it then gives you the flexibility to either dramatically reduce or get out of this revenue sharing business altogether,' Manfred said. MLBPA executive director Tony Clark fired back at Manfred in a statement to The Athletic, calling the commissioner's comments a 'sales pitch' that is 'full of misleading or downright false statements' intended to divide the players. 'At a time of resurgent attendance, record revenues, and increasing franchise values, MLB should be focused on further promoting our sport,' the statement read. 'Instead, their stated plan is once again to try to divide players from each other and their union in service of a system that would add to the owners' profits and franchise values, while prohibiting clubs from fully competing to put the best product on the field for the fans and limiting player compensation, guarantees and flexibility.' Related: 2025 MLB Power Rankings, Vol. 16: A mid-season checkpoint Related: MLB rumors: Astros linked to Orioles star trade in 'aggressive' search
