Two Columnists, One Championship, and Absolutely No Agreement on Anything The Arizona Diamondbacks are the 1996 World Series champions, which means two things: Phoenix gets its parade. Jack Fairchild and Kate Prescott get to argue in print again. We sat both of them down with the box scores, the coffee, and the emotional residue of five games of baseball, and let them discuss what really happened. What followed was… exactly what you’d...
Pick 3 – Colorado Rockies Selection: 1B Todd Helton Every so often in the DBL, fate decides to flex its narrative muscle. It happened when Don Mattingly slipped on the pinstripes, a union so natural it felt preordained. And now, in 1996, we get a sequel: Todd Helton to the Colorado Rockies—the most inevitable pairing since the league first shuffled its draft cards. With the top two arms off the board, the Rockies are staring at the cleanest...
Pick 2 – Oakland Athletics Selection: SP Matt Morris By Graham Wexler The Oakland Athletics aren’t strangers to crossroads, but this year’s draft offers something far more enticing: clarity. Sitting at Pick No. 2, Oakland finds itself in an enviable position—close enough to the top to secure elite talent, but without the burden of choosing between multiple franchise-altering paths. The Yankees will take Carpenter at No. 1. Everyone...
If the Cincinnati Reds entered the World Series convinced they were the unstoppable force, the Arizona Diamondbacks spent five games demonstrating the value of being the immovable object. And in baseball, when those two meet, the object usually wins. Arizona didn’t overpower Cincinnati.They didn’t try to match the Reds’ noise, intensity, or fireworks.Instead, they beat Cincinnati in the most Arizona way possible:with poise, sequencing,...
If the Cincinnati Reds were looking for revenge for last year's heartbreak, the Arizona Diamondbacks never gave them the chance. In a World Series that began with ninth-inning chaos and ended with a desert-powered avalanche, Arizona took the crown in five games — and they did it by beating Cincinnati at their own game: pitching, poise, and the occasional well-timed thunderbolt. And yes, I’ll own this: I expected a street fight. Instead,...
The phones are charged, the executives are restless, and the annual trade-season curtain has officially risen. Every year, one team lights the fuse, making the move that signals the market is open for business. And this year, for the first time, we’re putting odds on which club will be the first to break the seal. Front offices are posturing, scouts are shuttling from park to park, and agents are whispering about “momentum.” Some teams...
Pick 1 – New York Yankees Selection: SP Chris Carpenter Although the Wold Series hasn't ended yet, with the release of extension numbers, let's get this party started.There’s a new tenor in the Bronx these days—less swagger, more strategy. The Yankees’ new ownership group hasn’t wasted a single month of its inaugural season, reshaping the organization with a conviction that was sorely lacking in the late Mattingly era. And yes,...
Baseball fans, prepare yourselves. Graham Wexler is back, and apparently talking in the third person, and he’s posting his mock draft—pick by pick, team by team, and mercilessly honest. “This isn’t going to be a gentle stroll through your local ballpark,” Wexler warned. “Expect picks that make GMs sweat, analysts groan, and Twitter explode. If you’re attached to your favorite prospect, maybe look away. Or don’t. I thrive on...
Cincinnati Reds vs. Arizona Diamondbacks — Two Writers, Two Worldviews, One Trophy on the Line With the World Series looming, we asked our two most opinionated columnists — Jack Fairchild and Kate Prescott — to break down what really matters in this showdown between the Cincinnati Reds and the Arizona Diamondbacks. What followed was less of a “joint analysis” and more of a spirited argument conducted through very sharp keyboards....
There’s no denying it: the Cincinnati Reds look like they’ve strapped a jet engine to the back of their lineup and decided to test FAA regulations. They’re loud, they’re explosive, and they’re coming into the World Series with the subtlety of an airhorn in a library. But the World Series is never just about who hits the hardest.It’s about who bends without breaking.It’s about who can take a punch, steady themselves, and answer...