The Los Angeles Dodgers are one of Major League Baseball’s flagship franchises, going all the way back to when the team called Brooklyn, New York its home. For years, relying on flashy players and sometimes even flashier managers, they have traditionally been in the national spotlight. In particular, the 1977-78 teams were among the most entertaining and talented, and yet unfulfilled. Author Michael Fallon has dived in with a deep examination with Dodgerland: Decadent Los Angeles and the 1977-78 Dodgers (University of Nebraska Press, 2016).

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When the Arizona Diamondbacks signed Yasmany Tomas to a $60 Million dollar deal, many thought the Cuban “third-baseman” would be an instant star. Little is known about Cuban players when they come over; their skills are often exaggerated and their numbers on the Cuban National Series inflated. While some players, such as Yoenis Cespedes and Jose Abreu, do come over and become instant stars, others, such as Hector Olivera, simply don’t have what it takes to make it in the majors. For the better part of last year, Tomas seemed a lot closer to the bust category than major league stardom. That assessment seems destined to change soon.

Too quick and binary is our collective assessment of players. They’re either good or bad and we know within the first weeks of April. We care little about their story, or struggles to adapt. It’s the Twitter era; context and nuance is dead.

That is the story of Yasmany Tomas. The Diamondbacks miscast Tomas as a third baseman and the metrics hated him there. They probably knew he was not a third baseman, but there he was. Unable to help the team defensively, and struggling a bit in his first offensive season at the Major League level, Tomas got a label. He was a bust, just another of the missteps in a reign of terror  for a Diamondbacks front office that doesn’t even know the rules.

But that label loses all context.

To continue reading about the context that shows Yasmany Tomas may be on his way to stardom, please check out the full article at Off The Bench.

Baseball is no stranger to having those connected to the game being called out for insensitive and/or inappropriate comments. From the 1999 John Rocker Sports Illustrated feature and ensuing suspension, to the more recent termination of Curt Schilling from ESPN, among others, there is an unfortunate history. One of the first such incidents that rose to national attention occurred in 1938 when New York Yankees outfielder Jake Powell caused wide-spread furor over racist comments he made on the radio while doing a live dugout interview prior to a game.

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The MLB Reports will be the best place for the MLB 2017 schedule this offseason.

We have the #1 coverage for MLB Interleague all year round, but we also plan to carry out the updates as they happen just like we did in the 2013 & 2014 winters heading into the following years.

The 2017 MLB schedule will be released on Tuesday Sept 6th.

All 2430 games are to be put on one page post, monthly and weekly installments are to follow.  Home openers and the aforementioned Interleague Master Schedule to be carried out in a timely fashion soon there after.

We are toying with the idea of individual team yearly posts as well.

These itineraries are vital for ball park road trips, or to just key in signature series to follow..

Favorite our website and come back often for updates.