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	<title>SportsCategory: Baseball &#124; Sports &#124; TIME.com</title>
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		<title>SportsCategory: Baseball &#124; Sports &#124; TIME.com</title>
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		<title>Stupid Baseball Spending: Breaking Down The Early Season Leaders</title>
		<link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/05/16/stupid-baseball-spending-breaking-down-the-early-season-leaders/</link>
		<comments>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/05/16/stupid-baseball-spending-breaking-down-the-early-season-leaders/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 16 May 2013 09:00:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sean Gregory</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Baseball]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/?p=2346250</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[With its lack of a salary cap, and wild disparities in team payroll (New York Yankees &#8212; $228.8 million; Houston Astros &#8212; $22 million, or less than one A-Rod), baseball, more than any other major U.S. sport, pinpoints market inefficiencies. Stupid spenders, we know who you are. So about a month-and-a-half into the season, I thought I&#8217;d have a little fun with the numbers. Yes, it&#8217;s still early, and the fortunes of many teams will change, for better or worse. But when you see baseball teams making the same mistakes, again and again, you can&#8217;t help but take notice. Just look at the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers. Both teams seemed to buy a pennant in the offseason. The Dodgers, behind the financial muscle of their private-equity owners, and the smile of part-owner/franchise cheerleader Magic Johnson, signed staring pitcher Zack Greinke to a six-year, $147 million contract that raised eyebrows around the majors. Whoa, Greinke is good, but was he worth that much? Greinke pitched in two games this season, before he broke his collar bone in a brawl with San Diego Padres outfielder Carlos Quentin. (Greinke made a winning return against the Washington Nationals on Wednesday night). The Dodgers spiked their 2013 payroll 127% year-over-year: that&#8217;s the biggest jump in the majors, by far. Yet, the team&#8217;s winning percentage is down 21% from the final 2012 result. As of Wednesday, the Dodgers were 17-22, in last in the National League West by 5½ games. Manager Don Mattingly may be on the hot seat. Up north, the Blue Jays haven&#8217;t impressed. The team&#8217;s winning percentage has fallen 11% &#8212; Toronto is at the bottom of the AL East by 8½ games though it has won four in a row &#8212; even though payroll is up 55.7%, the second-highest year-over-year jump in the majors, trailing only the Dodgers. Toronto made a series of splashy-moves: the team&#8217;s blockbuster trade with Miami brought in shortstop Jose Reyes, who had signed a six-year, $106 million contract with the Marlins the year before,<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=keepingscore.blogs.time.com&#038;blog=33268979&#038;post=2346250&#038;subd=timekeepingscore&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Baseball</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/category/baseball-2/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timekeepingscore.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/166498842.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
		<media:thumbnail url="http://timekeepingscore.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/166498842.jpg?w=240" />
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			<media:title type="html">Los Angeles Dodgers v San Diego Padres</media:title>
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		<media:content url="http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/6611ab521be756a66a200bd2b84b5e80?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">Sean Gregory</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Why Pitchers Won&#8217;t Be Wearing Helmets, Even After Latest Scare</title>
		<link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/05/09/why-pitchers-wont-be-wearing-helmets-even-after-latest-scare/</link>
		<comments>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/05/09/why-pitchers-wont-be-wearing-helmets-even-after-latest-scare/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 09 May 2013 09:45:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sean Gregory</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Baseball]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brandon McCarthy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Doug Fister]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Helmets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[J.A. Happ]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pitchers]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/?p=2346203</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A major league batter stands 60-feet, 6-inches away from the pitcher, give or take a few inches; the exact distance depends on where the batter is positioned in the box. Batters must wear helmets, to prevent potentially lethal skull fractures. This rule seems so commonsensical though helmets weren&#8217;t mandatory, in fact, until 1971. Meanwhile, the pitcher stands 60-feet, 6-inches away from the batter, give or take those same few inches. And while there&#8217;s a chance that the pitcher will bean a batter in the head with a 95-miles-per-hour fastball, there&#8217;s also a chance that a ball can rocket off the bat at a similarly dangerous speed, and smash the head of the pitcher. Yet, pitchers wear no helmets. Does this make any sense? In the second inning of Toronto&#8217;s game against the Tampa Bay Rays, in St. Petersburg, on Tuesday night, Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ was struck on the side of the head by a line drive. Happ was stabilized, lifted onto a stretcher, and taken to a hospital. Players and fans were shaken. (MORE: The Decline of Doc &#8211; Is The End Near For Roy Halladay?) On Wednesday, thankfully, Happ was released from the hospital. He did not suffer a concussion; he said he had a fracture in a bone behind his left ear, but that it wasn&#8217;t serious. He also tweaked his knee while falling to the ground. Toronto put Happ on the 15-day disabled list. Still, his fate could have been much worse. It probably should have been. &#8220;When the ball hits the head that fast, you&#8217;d expect a serious skull fracture,&#8221; says Dr. Barry Jordan, director of brain injury rehab at Burke Rehabilitation Center in White Plains, N.Y. &#8220;I&#8217;m surprised that didn&#8217;t happen. He&#8217;s very lucky.&#8221; Yes, these scary incidents are rare in baseball. But a recent string of beanings are alarming. Last September, Oakland A&#8217;s pitcher Brandon McCarthy suffered an epidural hemorrhage, brain contusion and skull fracture after a batted ball struck him on the right side of his head. McCarthy needed emergency brain<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=keepingscore.blogs.time.com&#038;blog=33268979&#038;post=2346203&#038;subd=timekeepingscore&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Baseball</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/category/baseball-2/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timekeepingscore.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/168283552.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
		<media:thumbnail url="http://timekeepingscore.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/168283552.jpg?w=240" />
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			<media:title type="html">Toronto Blue Jays v Tampa Bay Rays</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/6611ab521be756a66a200bd2b84b5e80?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">Sean Gregory</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Decline of Doc: Is the End Near for Roy Halladay?</title>
		<link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/05/08/the-decline-of-doc-is-the-end-near-for-roy-halladay/</link>
		<comments>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/05/08/the-decline-of-doc-is-the-end-near-for-roy-halladay/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 May 2013 09:00:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Eric Dodds</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Baseball]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Philadelphia Phillies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Randy Johnson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Roy Halladay]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/?p=2346139</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[For the last decade, Roy Halladay has been—with little question—the best pitcher in all of baseball. Sure, there have been other challengers to his dominance: Johan Santana, Tim Lincecum and Justin Verlander, to name a few. But since 2003, none has been able to match Halladay&#8217;s durability, consistency and longevity. Those days, however, certainly appear to be at an end. As early as last season, something seemed wrong with Doc Halladay, who&#8217;s a few days short of 36. Coming off his greatest statistical season yet in 2011 (2.35 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 6.29 strikeout-to-walk ratio and an 8.9 WAR over 233 innings for the Phillies), he stumbled for the first time since his forgettable 2004 campaign in Toronto. He failed to crack 220 innings pitched—a feat he&#8217;d accomplished every year since 2006—and managed just a 0.9 WAR. Much of the blame was placed on his injured right shoulder, which landed him on the disabled list for nearly two months and limited him to only 156 innings on the mound. (MORE: The Final 42: Looking Back At Mariano Rivera’s Phenomenal Career) His struggles this spring, however, have changed the narrative. Halladay allowed five or more earned runs in his first seven starts, and in each one of them failed to get past the fourth inning. He&#8217;s surrendered nine home runs in those seven starts—the second-most in the National League and a highly uncharacteristic development for a pitcher who ranks 10th in home runs allowed per nine innings among all active pitchers. The two mile-per-hour drop in at-bat-ending fastballs that arrived in 2012 hasn&#8217;t reversed itself. Diagnoses of &#8220;shoulder injury&#8221; have turned to lamentations of &#8220;shoulder fatigue,&#8221; and with them increasingly persistent questions of whether Doc&#8217;s arm has any juice left in it. Following his abysmal performance against the lowly Marlins on May 5 (2.1 IP, 4 H, 9 ER, 4 BB, 4 K), Halladay is back on the disabled list, this time with &#8220;shoulder inflammation,&#8221; which, just as often as not, is code for &#8220;he&#8217;s hurt and not performing, but we&#8217;re not quite<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=keepingscore.blogs.time.com&#038;blog=33268979&#038;post=2346139&#038;subd=timekeepingscore&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Baseball</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/category/baseball-2/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timekeepingscore.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/roy-halladay-cropped.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">Philadelphia Phillies v Cleveland Indians</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/4c12eab4188a8601a13981ffbc62efa0?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">edodds19</media:title>
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		<title>Red Sox Win Emotional Return Game at Home</title>
		<link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/04/20/red-sox-win-emotional-return-game-at-home/</link>
		<comments>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/04/20/red-sox-win-emotional-return-game-at-home/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 20 Apr 2013 22:47:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>AP / KEN POWTAK</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Baseball]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/?p=2345901</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[BOSTON — David Ortiz has been in the middle of some of Fenway Park&#8217;s greatest moments. None of them seemed more important to &#8220;Big Papi&#8221; than his role in one Saturday afternoon. Ortiz helped the Red Sox honor the victims and the survivors of the Boston Marathon bombings then played in his first game since last summer, a 4-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals capped by Daniel Nava&#8217;s three-run homer in the eighth inning. &#8220;I try to take the positive side of things and ride with it,&#8221; Ortiz said, sitting at a table in an interview room. &#8220;But I wanted to win this game badly.&#8221; The Red Sox wore white home jerseys with &#8220;Boston&#8221; on the front instead of the customary &#8220;Red Sox.&#8221; The shirts will be auctioned off for a fund to support victims of the bombings. Kansas City players and staff wore a &#8220;B Strong&#8221; patch on the front of their jerseys. Neil Diamond sang Red Sox favorite &#8220;Sweet Caroline&#8221; before the bottom of the eighth. &#8220;I think today was different because we haven&#8217;t been through what we&#8217;ve been through this past week,&#8221; Ortiz said. &#8220;Driving around and looking around at people&#8217;s faces, it was a very emotional day here just looking at those guys that were injured by those bombs going off and watching the news nearly every day, it was painful, very painful. Today I could see people opening their chest and letting it go.&#8221; The 37-year-old Ortiz injured his right Achilles tendon running the bases on July 17 and appeared just once in Boston&#8217;s final 72 games, against the Royals on Aug. 24. Ortiz was bothered by inflammation in both heels during spring training and didn&#8217;t play in any exhibition games. He was 2 for 4 in his return, tying the score 1-all with a sixth-inning RBI single off James Shields. Following the emotional pregame ceremony, the Red Sox won their sixth straight game — four since Monday&#8217;s bombings at the marathon finish line. &#8220;Knowing everything that went into the day for the city,<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=keepingscore.blogs.time.com&#038;blog=33268979&#038;post=2345901&#038;subd=timekeepingscore&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/04/20/red-sox-win-emotional-return-game-at-home/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Baseball</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/category/baseball-2/</primary_category_link>
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			<media:title type="html">timeassociatedpress</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Final 42: Looking Back At Mariano Rivera&#8217;s Phenomenal Career</title>
		<link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/04/12/the-final-42-looking-back-at-mariano-riveras-phenomenal-career/</link>
		<comments>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/04/12/the-final-42-looking-back-at-mariano-riveras-phenomenal-career/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 12 Apr 2013 09:00:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tanner Curtis</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Baseball]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[42]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mariano Rivera]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york yankees]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/?p=2345729</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=keepingscore.blogs.time.com&#038;blog=33268979&#038;post=2345729&#038;subd=timekeepingscore&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Baseball</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/category/baseball-2/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timekeepingscore.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/86183005.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">Oakland Athletics v New York Yankees</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/7a5521e4a38fad330568bf7589b1ee94?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">tannercurtis</media:title>
		</media:content>
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		<item>
		<title>Cano Joins Jay-Z: Does Scott Boras Have A Yankees Problem?</title>
		<link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/04/03/cano-joins-jay-z-does-scott-boras-have-a-yankees-problem/</link>
		<comments>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/04/03/cano-joins-jay-z-does-scott-boras-have-a-yankees-problem/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 03 Apr 2013 09:30:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Eric Dodds</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Baseball]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/?p=2345414</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[For nearly three decades, the New York Yankees and baseball super-agent Scott Boras have enjoyed a mutually beneficial—and lucrative—relationship. Boras represented players who stood to earn the sport&#8217;s largest contracts and the Yankees had the most money to spend. It was a perfect match. In 1991, Boras scored what was then the largest-ever signing bonus ($1.55 million) for his client, Brien Taylor. That was only the beginning. Bernie Williams, Alex Rodriguez, Johnny Damon, Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano all negotiated contracts with the Yankees through Boras. In recent years, however, the cracks have begun to show. The first came when Rodriguez dropped Boras near the end of the 2010 season, saying: &#8220;Some of the things I needed 20 years ago, I don&#8217;t really need right now.&#8221; Next was Teixeira just six months later—and fewer than three years removed from the eight-year, $180 million contract Boras had negotiated for the all-star first baseman. Now, Cano has jumped ship to join Roc Nation Sports, a new agency founded by Jay-Z (and affiliated with Creative Artist Agency&#8217;s sports division). Cano will serve as the centerpiece for the fledgling agency and, more importantly, is eligible for free agency at the conclusion of the 2013 season. As Grantland&#8217;s Jonah Keri points out, the 30-year-old second baseman is by far the most attractive prospective free agent and is likely to command an annual salary well above $15 million due to him in 2013. (MORE: 2013 Baseball Preview: Do the Yankees, Red Sox or Phillies Have Any Chance?) Much has been made of the new Cano/Jay-Z partnership and what it means for the Yankees&#8217; chances of signing the four-time all-star (Jay-Z is friends with Rodriguez and a lifelong Yankees fan), but the more intriguing question is what the move means for Boras. While it certainly isn&#8217;t a good sign that so many of his New York clients have left him, it&#8217;s not quite as disconcerting for baseball&#8217;s most notorious agent as it would have been even five years ago. First, though his stable certainly isn&#8217;t what it once<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=keepingscore.blogs.time.com&#038;blog=33268979&#038;post=2345414&#038;subd=timekeepingscore&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Baseball</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/category/baseball-2/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timekeepingscore.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/cano-model-cropped.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">Victoria&#039;s Secret Celebrates Opening Day &#38; The New MLB Pink Collection</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/4c12eab4188a8601a13981ffbc62efa0?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">edodds19</media:title>
		</media:content>
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		<title>2013 Baseball Preview: Do the Yankees, Red Sox or Phillies Have Any Chance?</title>
		<link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/03/29/2013-baseball-preview-do-the-yankees-red-sox-or-phillies-have-any-chance/</link>
		<comments>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/03/29/2013-baseball-preview-do-the-yankees-red-sox-or-phillies-have-any-chance/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 29 Mar 2013 09:45:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Glen Levy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Baseball]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Atlanta Braves]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bryce Harper]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cincinnati Reds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[detroit tigers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[los angeles dodgers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mike Trout]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york yankees]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Philadelphia Phillies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stephen Strasburg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tampa bay rays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the Boston Red Sox]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the San Francisco Giants]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Washington Nationals]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/?p=2345272</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Look at the odds provided by bookmakers for the 2013 baseball season, and you&#8217;ll spot a curveball: some of the game&#8217;s traditional big spenders, like the New York Yankees, the Boston Red Sox, and the Philadelphia Phillies, are long shots. The Yankees are a 20 to 1 bet to win the World Series, whereas the Phillies are 25 to 1 and the Red Sox are an eye-popping 33 to 1. Many factors are driving these numbers. But most importantly, these teams are carrying injury-prone players of advanced years. Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, 39, won&#8217;t be ready for opening day against the Red Sox on Monday, and fellow thirtysomethings Alex Rodriguez, 37, Mark Teixeira, almost 33, and Curtis Granderson, 32, are all hurting too. And lest we forget, despite arguably being the greatest closer in the history of the sport, 43-year-old Mariano Rivera has just gone through knee surgery to say nothing of being bothered by migraines of late. If he blows a few saves in April, his headaches may get worse. Can the Phillies&#8217; ace pitcher, 35-year-old Roy Halladay, along with the rest of the starting rotation, come good? And how heavily do the Red Sox need to lean on the likes of the iconic 37-year-old designated hitter David Ortiz, if his Achilles heels, well, heal? (LIST: Top 10 NYC-vs.-Boston Showdowns) We would never want to count the Big Three out, but fully understand why the Las Vegas oddsmakers are looking elsewhere. America&#8217;s pastime is seemingly in a period where run prevention, youth and, as always, pitching are being prioritized over power and experience, which is a subtle way of avoiding the term &#8216;old age.&#8217; The presumptive favorites are the Washington Nationals, available at odds hovering around 8 to 1, who reside in the National League East. TIME&#8217;s sister publication, Sports Illustrated, picked them to win the Fall Classic against the Tampa Bay Rays. In the words of Tom Verducci, Like the &#8217;86 Mets, the 2013 Nationals are the best team on paper at the start of the season. And<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=keepingscore.blogs.time.com&#038;blog=33268979&#038;post=2345272&#038;subd=timekeepingscore&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/03/29/2013-baseball-preview-do-the-yankees-red-sox-or-phillies-have-any-chance/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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	<primary_category>Baseball</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/category/baseball-2/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timekeepingscore.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/baseball_0329.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">Glen</media:title>
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		<title>How Will Tim McCarver Be Remembered?</title>
		<link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/03/28/tim-mccarver-to-step-down-after-2013-season/</link>
		<comments>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/03/28/tim-mccarver-to-step-down-after-2013-season/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 28 Mar 2013 09:45:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Eric Dodds</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Baseball]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Keeping Score]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sports Media]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/?p=2345271</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When a Hall of Fame broadcaster who analyzed more World Series than anyone in history left his post, you might expect some sorrow. That does not appear to be the case for Tim McCarver. The much-maligned color commentator announced yesterday that he would be stepping down from the booth after 18 seasons with Fox Sports. Though he hasn&#8217;t ruled out a return to broadcasting, McCarver said &#8220;it&#8217;s time to cut back.&#8221; For many fans, his departure from baseball&#8217;s most prominent commentating position is a welcome one. McCarver made his move to the booth in 1978 after a 21-year playing career, most of it with St. Louis and Philadelphia. Though he called games for the Phillies, Mets, Yankees and Giants over the course of his broadcast career, he was best known for his role on the national stage, most of which he spent alongside play-by-play announcer Joe Buck. For the most part, especially in recent years, it&#8217;s been a role that has earned him substantial criticisms for a variety of gaffes. In addition to a handful of incidences where he mispronounced players&#8217; names—sometimes repeatedly—he also miscounted the number of letters in the word &#8220;strike&#8221; and seemed to believe that San Francisco Giants fans used to chant &#8220;Barry! Barry! Barry!&#8221; for singer Barry Manilow, rather than slugger Barry Bonds. The first miscue took place during the 2011 World Series, while the latter occurred during last year&#8217;s Fall Classic. By all accounts, they were not isolated incidents. Despite the criticism heaped upon McCarver, his enthusiasm for the game was undeniable, as were his accomplishments: 23 World Series broadcasts, 20 All-Star Game broadcasts and the 2012 Ford C. Frick Award. Now we&#8217;ll find out whether those accolades—or public perception—will define his legacy.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=keepingscore.blogs.time.com&#038;blog=33268979&#038;post=2345271&#038;subd=timekeepingscore&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Sports Media</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/category/sports-media/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timekeepingscore.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/mccarver-buck-cropped.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">Nike FuelBand Event</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">edodds19</media:title>
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		<title>World Baseball Classic: Why Doesn&#8217;t It Sizzle Like Other Global Sports Competitions?</title>
		<link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/03/05/world-baseball-classic-why-doesnt-it-sizzle-like-other-global-sports-events/</link>
		<comments>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/03/05/world-baseball-classic-why-doesnt-it-sizzle-like-other-global-sports-events/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 05 Mar 2013 19:14:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sean Gregory</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Baseball]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[World Baseball Classic]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/?p=2344894</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Baseball&#8217;s third attempt at a World Cup-style event started late last week in Japan and Taiwan, with teams from both of those nations joining clubs from Cuba, Brazil, China, Australia, the Netherlands, and South Korea in a round-robin playoff. Team USA is also taking the field &#8212; their first game is Friday in Phoenix, when they&#8217;ll play against Mexico. Teams from Canada and Italy are also playing their pool games in Arizona, while squads from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Spain, and Venezuela face off in Puerto Rico. If you&#8217;re not exactly pumped for the World Baseball Classic (WBC), we&#8217;re betting you&#8217;re not alone. As Jon Michuad points out in The New Yorker: W.B.C. organizers are touting the array of major-league stars who will be participating, including triple-crown winner Miguel Cabrera (Venezuela), Joey Votto (Canada), Adrian Gonzalez (Mexico), Jose Reyes (Domincan Republic), Carlos Beltran (Puerto Rico), Gio Gonzalez, Giancarlo Stanton, Ryan Braun, and David Wright (U.S.A.). It’s an impressive list, but the roster of players passing up the opportunity to don a national uniform this spring is even stronger. Buster Posey, Felix Hernandez, Justin Verlander, Albert Pujols, Ichiro Suzuki, Clayton Kershaw, Stephen Strasburg, Johnny Cueto, and Johan Santana are all giving the W.B.C. a pass. Those big-name deferrals are a major reason why the W.B.C. still lags significantly behind the international tournaments of other sports in generating fan passion and television ratings. It would be unthinkable for a comparable list of footballers, cricketers, or rugby players to sit out their respective World Cups. Nor do we see the same scale of defections among N.B.A. and N.H.L. players when the Olympics come around. If so many of baseball’s best players don’t seem to care about the W.B.C. then, why should the fans? But is a dearth of star players really hurting the WBC? Over at Awfulannouncing.com, Joe Lucia writes: When you start reading columns about why the WBC isn&#8217;t taking off this year, and why ratings are cratering, and why there&#8217;s a complete lack of chatter about the games, don&#8217;t buy<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=keepingscore.blogs.time.com&#038;blog=33268979&#038;post=2344894&#038;subd=timekeepingscore&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Baseball</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/category/baseball-2/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timekeepingscore.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/spt-world-baseball-130305.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">China vs. Brazil World Baseball Classic</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">Sean Gregory</media:title>
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		<title>Stats vs. Team Spirit: The Importance of the Justin Upton Trade</title>
		<link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/02/20/stats-vs-team-spirit-the-importance-of-the-justin-upton-trade/</link>
		<comments>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/02/20/stats-vs-team-spirit-the-importance-of-the-justin-upton-trade/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 20 Feb 2013 16:06:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Eric Dodds</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Baseball]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/?p=2344653</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When Chipper Jones retired at the end of the 2012 season, it was expected that the large leadership void he left behind in the Atlanta Braves clubhouse would be filled by popular seven-year veteran Martin Prado. On Jan. 24, the Braves traded Prado and four prospects to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for all-star outfielder Justin Upton and third baseman Chris Johnson. By nearly all accounts, the Braves GM Frank Wren had scored a coup, acquiring one of the game&#8217;s brightest young stars for only nickels on the dollar. But then some old doubts began to creep in. Every baseball season—and for that matter, offseason—the inexplicable debate over the comparative worth of statistics and intangibles rages on. Despite substantial evidence to support the value of advanced metrics like WAR, UZR and VORP, the so-called &#8220;Old Guard&#8221; of baseball thinkers continues its quest to belittle &#8220;new&#8221; stats and those who endorse them. In recent years, the vitriol has subsided somewhat but the underlying question of the debate remains the same: Are the numbers more important than intangibles and chemistry? (MORE: Details Emerge of Girlfriend Murder Case Against ‘Blade Runner’ Oscar Pistorius) The Braves certainly hope so. Even if this trade doesn&#8217;t shape the entire course of the baseball season, it—more than any other this offseason—will serve as the latest referendum on a familiar argument. Though Prado was beloved in the clubhouse and put together a solid 2012 campaign (5.4 WAR, or &#8220;wins above replacement&#8221;—a measure of how many more wins an individual player contributes over a minor-leaguer), there&#8217;s little question that Upton is the superior talent. The first overall pick in the 2005 amateur draft, Upton had his best season in 2011 when he hit .289 with 31 home runs and compiled a 5.7 WAR. His 2012 campaign was less remarkable (due in part to a nagging thumb injury sustained in April), but Upton is only 25 and only beginning to enter his prime, whereas Prado, at 29, is likely most of the way through his. Then there are those other numbers—the<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=keepingscore.blogs.time.com&#038;blog=33268979&#038;post=2344653&#038;subd=timekeepingscore&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Baseball</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/category/baseball-2/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timekeepingscore.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/justin-upton-cropped.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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