PITTSBURGH — Things were supposed to be different for the Rockies this season. More firepower and more accomplished hitters on the roster, specifically left fielder Kris Bryant, was supposed to ease the Rockies’ drought on the road. And, perhaps the Rockies’ personality wouldn’t be quite as split. But Bryant’s sore lower back kept him out of the lineup Tuesday night […]

ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the L.A. Rams for ESPN from 2016 to 2018 and the L.A. Angels for MLB.com from 2012 to 2016. It was 325 days ago that Major League Baseball first placed Trevor Bauer on administrative leave, the start of a process that has become more prolonged and more complex than either side could have anticipated. Bauer, at […]

Covers MLB for ESPN.com Former deputy editor of Page 2 Been with ESPN.com since 1995 This past offseason was the great shortstop extravaganza: Five All-Star shortstops hit free agency in the prime of their careers. Despite the lockout that put a winter freeze on spending, they all received deals worth more than $100 million, part of the record-breaking haul of […]

PITTSBURGH — Albert Pujols hit two home runs, then caught the warm-up tosses when star catcher Yadier Molina made his first pitching appearance to close out the St. Louis Cardinals’ 18-4 romp over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday. Molina gave up a pair of homers and four runs while working the ninth inning, eventually completing the Cardinals’ three-game sweep. But […]

Roger Angell, the American essayist who wrote about baseball with insight, compassion and probing humor, died Friday at his home in Manhattan. He was 101. He was one of my boyhood heroes. I’ve always longed to write like him. My dad, Dusty Saunders, the longtime Rocky Mountain News journalist, who is 90 years old, introduced me to Angell’s writing when […]

Jesse joined ESPN Chicago in September 2009 and covers MLB for ESPN.com. CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs unveiled a statue of six time 20-game winner and Hall of Fame pitcher Ferguson Jenkins during a ceremony outside of Wrigley Field Friday morning. Jenkins, 79, was in attendance with family as the sculpture was unveiled next to those of other former great […]

After a couple weeks of nice May weather, Mother Nature decided to step in and interfere with CHSAA’s spring championships. Day 2 of the state track and field meet at Jeffco Stadium is postponed due to inclement weather. A cold front moved in on the metro area on Thursday night, leading to CHSAA’s decision on early Friday morning to postpone […]

LAKEWOOD — The nation’s best girls high school triple jumper broke the Colorado state meet record Thursday with a leading mark for the entire country this season. The reaction of Mullen senior Agur Dwol after her 42-foot, 5.5-inch leap for the Class 4A title? “I don’t really even know,” Dwol said. “I was like: ‘Oh, that’s cool!’” Don’t be fooled […]

Previously a Staff Writer at Bleacher Report Cornell University graduate New York Mets right-hander Max Scherzer is expected to miss six to eight weeks after suffering a “moderate to high grade” oblique strain during Wednesday night’s start against the St. Louis Cardinals, the team announced Thursday. Scherzer removed himself from the game with two outs in the sixth inning after […]

American leader of the sports boycott of South Africa from 1975 until the end of apartheid Chair of the DeVos Sport Business Management Graduate Program at the University of Central Florida Author of 16 books and the annual Racial and Gender Report Card Directs UCF’s Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport Director of the National Consortium for Academics and […]