Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

Blake Swihart delivered the walk-off hit Monday night as the Red Sox outlasted the Phillies in 13 innings. With Eduardo Nunez on 2nd base after a single and steal, the onetime first round draft pick crushed a Luis Garcia pitch for the game winning ground-rule double and a 2-1 Boston victory. In a game that began as a pitcher's duel between two first place teams -- Aaron Nola and David Price lived up to their billing, each tossing eight innings of one run ball -- the bullpens remained stingy until the fateful 13th when Nunez led off with a single again Phils lefty Austin Davis, who was working his second inning. When the Sox drafted Swihart seven years ago, they envisioned the high school shortstop as their catcher of the future. But things haven't quite followed the script. This year, he's moved all around the diamond, seeing time at 2nd, 3rd and in the outfield. And Monday night, Blake let his bat do the talking -- and made a forceful statement. ( This image of Swi...

Chris Davis grabbed the headlines Sunday, connecting on a pair of two-run homers, as the Orioles downed the Rays 11 - 5. In the midst of an historically horrible season, the Baltimore 1st baseman homered in the 1st and 8th innings -- yet still ended the day hitting under .160. This isn't April 30th -- it's July 30th, and the O's have yet to get their veteran power hitter on track. More ominously, Davis is signed through 2022 -- four more years after this where the Orioles have to wonder if he'll be able to produce anything. And while 2013 and 2015 were exhilleratinly entertaining seasons, one wonders if Davis and his contract will (or have already become) an albatross as Baltimore appears on the verge of a complete teardown and re-build. ( This image of Davis comes from a Yankees/Orioles game in April 2018. )

Jakob Junis is our spokesmodel today -- as we get a good look at the Kansas City Royals' patch commemorating the club's 50th season. The Royals were one of baseball's four expansion teams in 1969, joining the American League just a year after the A's split for Oakland. Owner Ewing Kauffman took the slow, cautious path to success, building an organziation based on developing talent from within. It paid off in 1976, when the Royals made the playoffs for the first time. They finally outlasted the Yankees in the 1980 ALCS and reached the World Series. Five years later, they stunned the cross-state rival Cardinals for their first championship. KC won its second title in 2015.

Three days to go until the deadline, as the pace of trading picks up. In just the last 36 hours, the Mets sent Asdrubal Cabrera to the division rival Phillies, JA Happ moves from Toronto to the Bronx, Cole Hamels swaps his Rangers uni for the Cubs' blue and white and Mike Moustakas says goodbye to Kansas City and hello -- for the next 60 games -- Milwaukee. All these players have one thing in common: their contracts expire at season's end. None were likely to receive qualifying offers. So their old teams concluded that it was better to cash them in now for second- or third-tier prospects, than watch them leave town for nothing. With the memory of Justin Verlander's turnaround after his arrival in Houston late last season, there's also the cross-your-fingers hope that Moustakas, Hamels and Happ -- all of whom played on World Championship teams -- might raise their game once back on a contender. Maybe that chance to get back to the World Series rekindles the old s...

No team gets through 162 games without losing players to injury. The Yankees lost Jordan Montgomery early in the year to an arm injury requiring Tommy John surgery. Brandon Drury was out for much of the spring due to migraines; Greg Bird's middle name is Deeyel (just kidding); Gleyber Torres missed most of July with a hip problem. And Gary Sanchez was recently hobbled by a groin problem. With the possible exception of Montgomery's injury, they all pale in comparison to the damage done by this Jakob Junis 1st inning pitch on Thursday night. You can see Aaron Judge cringe a split second after Junis cracked him on the right wrist (with the ball falling away from his body). The impact caused a chip fracture of the ulnar styloid bone and will sideline the reigning AL Rookie of the Year for at least three weeks.    Sitting in right field section 205, I got a good look at the injury as it happened and the pain Judge instantly felt. Remarkably, he came to bat one more time t...

I was on hand at Citi Field Tuesday night to catch the first major league game by Mets prospect Jeff McNeil . It took six years for the Long Beach State product to get the call -- a journey slowed by illness and injury. But his 2018 numbers as Double A and Triple A could no longer be overlooked by a organization looking to get younger with home grown talent. Pinch hitting in the 8th inning McNeil wasted no time, swung at the first pitch, and drove a solid single to the outfield. So he starts his big league tenure with a 1.000 batting average (after one night). McNeil was one of the prosects playing alongside Tim Tebow earlier this season at Binghamton. A .327 average and 14 homers in less than 60 games led to being promoted to Las Vegas, where the "hits kept on coming." Now, he gets the final 9 weeks of this season to prove he can be part of the solution to the over-age, under-achieving Mets for 2019 and beyond.

Mike Schmidt became the Phillies all time home run leader. In the first half of a Veterans Stradium twi-nighter, he smacked a pair off Braves lefty Larry McWilliams, to move past Del Ennis' club record that had stood for 25 years. This year, as part of their upgrade to and relocation of Citizens Bank Park's Wall of Fame area, the Phils installed numbered sculptures honoring past heroes -- here's the one for Schmidt.

It was on this date in 1978 that Billy Martin's first run as Yankee manager ended. Nine days shy of his third anniversary on the one job he long coveted, the feisty former infielder stepped down hours after an emotional tirade ripping both owner George Steinbrenner and his top slugger Reggie Jackson: "The two of them deserve each other. One's a born liar and the other's convicted." The rest is history. When Martin departed, the Yanks were fourth in the AL East, 10-1/2 games behind the pace-setting Red Sox. Over the next two months and a week, under Bob Lemon, the Yanks caught the Sox, forcing the one-game playoff (the Bucky Dent game) and eventually, their 22nd World Series chamopionship. Martin would, of course, return for four more terms as the Yankee skipper, never again reaching the playoffs. His number-one is retired by the team. Ironically, on the hallway leading to the entrance of Monument Park, Billy's number is played to the left of and just below...

It didn't take long for Jeurys Familia to have an impact on his new team. In its first appearance for Oakland after Saturday's trade, the veteran closer worked the final two innings as the A's beat their cross-bay rivals the Giants 6-5 in 10 innings. Manager Bob Melvin plugged in his new acquistion immediately... and ran counter to "conventional wisdom" by keeping Familia in for a second inning of work. Of course, between the 9th and 10th, he only threw 22 pitches, hardly an excessive workload. Can you image how happy Familia is to be freed from a losing situation in New York -- especially as he joins one of baseball's surprise teams, that's now considered a legitimate wild card contender? So the optics of the Familia trade -- including the two low-level prospects received -- don't look especially good at the moment for the Mets. Neither does the disconnect between Yoenis Cespedes and club's front office regarding his physical condition. N...

Matt Carpenter grabbed the baseball headlines on Saturday while wriring his name in the history books. The Cardinals versatile infielder became the first player ever to hit six home runs in a series at Wrigley Field. Coming into the nightcap of a split-admission doubleheader as part of a 7th inning double-switch, Carpenter extended his home run streak and became the 28th major leaguer to homer in six consecutive games. The blast, his 25th of the year, leaves Matt just three shy of his career high in home runs with more than two months to go in the season. ( This image of Carpenter is from 2017 a Cards/Mets game at Citi Field. )

The Mets got Yoenis Cespedes back just in time for the start of the second Subway Series. And their number-one power source made an immediate impact after missing nearly two months with hip and leg problems. Returning as the DH, he gonged a 3rd inning home run off the left field foul pole -- the final mistake made by Domingo German which extended the Mets lead on their way to a 7-5 victory. Cespedes has been a game changer ever since donning the Mets blue and orange -- sparking the team to its 2015 run to the World Series and 2016 Wild Card Game apparance. But he's been out more than in ever since. Here in 2018, on a club racked by injuries and under-performance, they're 20-18 in games he's played -- 20-37 when he can't. Will getting Cespedes key a second half rebound for the Boys of Flushing? Don't count on it. After the game, when it was clear he had trouble running, the Cuban born star reveaked that he has serious heel issues, a calcium problem that will re...

The Dodgers made the big splash at baseball's mid-season swap meet, grabbing standout shortstop Manny Machado from the Orioles for top outfield prospect Yusniel Diaz , infielder Rylan Bannon and three lesser lights. This deal could and should establish the Dodgers as clear favorites to take the NL West. The defending National League champs stumbled out of the gate this season, then lost their star shortstop Corey Seeger. A recent hot streak pushed them to the top of their division. Now, with the addition of Machado's power and over .300 average in his walk year, they should be able to put some distance between themselves and the rival Giants, Rockies and Diamondbacks. On the other hand, the parks are bigger in the NL West and Machado is swapping the homer haven at Camden Yards for Dodger Stadium, whose contours and conditions have always favored all around hitters since the days of Willie and Tommy Davis. So a period of adjustment might be needed before L.A. sees the payof...

This photo comes from my colleague Brandon Weissler. At a recent recording session, he mentioned how his love for baseball came from his late grandfather. When the conversation tapped into old ballparks, he mentioned a photo of his grandad taken at the Polo Grounds in 1935. Now, I'll let him pick up the story: "My grandpa's name was Martin Goodman. Lived near Ave U in Brooklyn. Grew up very poor, so he'd go around taking the sports pages from people's garbage cans and make his own baseball books. New York Giants fan, hated the Yankees. Of course he'd have 4 grandsons who were major Yanks fans. Didn't go to many games since he was poor, so sometimes paid a nickel to go up on an adjacent apartment building's roof to watch games. Every year on my birthday he'd call me recalling who won the pennant when he was the age I turned." Brandon, thanks for this marvelous time capsule photo -- you brought us all back to those days captured by newsreel...

The story of the 2018 All Star Game was unique: 10 home runs by 10 different players. The most important: Alex Bregman 's solo shot in the 10th inning that put the American League ahead to stay. Symbolic of how the game's been played all season, there were also a combined 25 strikeouts and just one run driven in on anything but a homer (Michael Brantley's 10th inning AL sac fly). It was fun to watch but, honestly, a little too much like a primitive video game. These images of the Astros 3rd baseman are from Houston's May 29th visit to Yankee Stadium .

Max Scherzer gets the honor of starting the All Star Game tonight in his home ballpark. Having visited the site of this year's midsummer classic on several occasions, here's a gallery showcasing the ballpark from several vantagepoints.  With parking EXTREMELY limited near Nationals Park, the Metro is the best way to get there. Emerging from underground, there's one other benefit: this bright and appealing entrance. These restaurants and bars provide a good view of the action from beyond left center field.  And don't be surprised to see these guys sometime during the telecast.

Searching for my photo of Jeremy Bleich to use in Saturday's post, I got a chance to look back at the 2013 Trenton Thunder . Five summers ago, as the Yankees were about to begin prioritizing minor league development, there were several strong prospects on the Trenton Roster. Tyler Austin (seen above and below) made his Yankee debut in 2016 and appeared in parts of the last three season, showing good righthanded power, but not enough of an overall game compared to Greg Bird. Given playing time earlier this year while Bird was out hurt, he impressed -- and could well be a trade chip in the Yankees' efforts to add pitching. Sean Black (below) wasn't as fortunate. The New Jersey native was the Yankees 7th round pick in 2009 pick. He never developed as the Yankees hoped and a year later, after moving to the Reds organization, finished his career without rising above AA ball. Outfielder Slade Heathcott  was considered a top Yankee prospect in 2013. A 2009 first rounder w...

The time honored baseball expression that "managers are hired to be fired" surfaced again Saturday night with word that the Cardinals had parted company with Mike Matheny . Apparently, there's only so much good will amassed from four playoff appearances in his first six seasons, including winning the 2013 National League pennant. The former big league catcher even made history: the first manager ever to lead his team to the playoffs in each of his first four seasons. But his 2018 Redbirds never got on track. Unlike typical Cardinals clubs, this model was erratic on defense; combined with Mike's difficulties relating to his younger players, St. Louis ownership felt it was time for a change. Oddly, instead of waiting for the All Star break, Matheny was let go Saturday night, giving interim replacement Mike Shildt a day to give his players some different marching orders as most head for a four-day hiatus. With the Cards at 47-46 and just 6-1/2 games behind the ...

   This morning, I noticed that Jeremy Bleich made his major league debut with the A's on Friday, capping a 10-year journey through the minors. A 2008 first round draft of the Yankees out of Stanford, the New Orleans-born lefty (who attended Isidor Newman High School, the same alma mater as Eli Manning) was projected as a starting pitcher. But he was held back by injuries and inconsistent performance. After moving through the Pirates, Phillies and Dodgers organizations, and even a short 2017 stint with Somerset NJ's indy ball team, Bleich did well recently as a reliever for the A's top farm club in Nashville. I last saw Bleich five years ago, when he was pitching for the Yankees' AA club in Trenton. Working his way back from an injury he seemed to do well as a bullpen lefty. But the Yankees -- whose minor league organization was run quite differently in 2013 -- were anxious to return him to the starting rotation, where he did not succeed.  You have to give a ton...

The Yankees center fielder delivered the tie-breaking double in Thursday night's series-opener. Facing Indians ace -- and reigning AL Cy Young Winner -- Corey Kiulber, Hicks worked a long at bat in the top of the 8th inning, fouling off several pitches to help wear down the man on the mound.  Finally, Kluber's 114th pitch of the night was in Hicks' happy zone. He crushed it -- banging it off the center field wall as Didi Gregorius raced home from 2nd base. The Yankees had the lead for keeps. Touted as a battle of aces, with Kluber facing the Yankees' best Luis Severino, the hitters prevailed: Cleveland got home runs from Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Ramierez; the Yankees got a pair from Brett Gardner en route to their 7-4 victory. But Hicks came through in the biggest moment of the game. Still just 28, it's been a decade since the Twins made him the 14th overall pick of the 2008 draft. Minnesota envisioned him as a cornerstone player alongside Joe Mauer, a powe...

Ten years ago this summer, the finally season of the original Yankee Stadium was heading into its home stretch. Here's a glimpse at Monument Park -- with its very different ambience. Built from leftover space after the outfield fences were pulled in during the '70s and '80s, notice the wide expanse of retired numbers, from 4 (Lou Gehrig) through 49 (Ron Guidry). Out in the open, not like's today's successor, huddled in a cave beyond center field, shrouded by protective screening. An additional generation of retired numbers -- the "Core Four" dynasty and manager Joe Torre have since been added in the new ballpark.

I was at Citi Field Tuesday night , to watch pair of total newcomers facing off. Both starting pitchers, the Phillies' Enyel de los Santos and the Mets' Drew Gagnon were making their major league debuts. Of course, the journeys to the show were markedly different -- de los Santos was the prospect the Phillies front office wanted back in last winter's trade for veteran Freddy Galvis. Gagnon, after seven-and-a-half ordinary years in minors, hardly ranked as a surefire big leaguer. You didn't need advanced training in analytics to predict the way this one turned out: de los Santos began his night with five dominating innings -- the only run scoring, ironically, on Gangon's sacrifice fly. He was tiring when he gave up a couple of hits in the 6th, and was lifted in the 7th after the Mets plated a pair. But by then, his teammates had given him a confortable 7-3 cushion. After an easy 1st inning, Gagnon's night began going downhill when Mikael Franco smacked a ...

I was at Citi Field Monday for the Mets/Phillies doubleheader. Not a big crowd for game one but a good tight game one, that went to extra innings before the Mets "Walk Off King" settled things. Below, the Wilmer Flores swing that sent a Victor Arano pitch soaring toward the left field foul pole. It was the Flushing fan favorite's 10th walk off RBI of his career, the most in Mets history (he shared the old mark with David Wright). These days, a walk off hit -- especially a home run -- produces a scrum at home plate, along with the attention of the TV cameras. Below, a good close-up of Flores from game two, where he had the only hit off Phillies ace Aaron Nola -- who threw seven shutout innings. Already named to the NL All Star squad, Nola became the first 12-game winner in the National League. Talk about a one man gang: Nola also drove in the only Philadelphia runs of the night -- with a bases loaded double down the right field line!

If there was ever an All Star Game that conspired against offense, this was the one. At Houston's Astrodome, Willie Mays scored the only run of the game -- when Giants teammate Willie McCovey hit into a double play -- in the National League's 1-0 victory . The first and still only 1-0 contest in the history of baseball's mid-summer classic produced only eight hits (3 for the AL, 5 for the Nationals) -- even with such big bats and future Hall of Famers as Mays, McCovey, Bench, Santo, Yastrzemski and Carew in action. Of course, they were up against such dominating hurlers as Luis Tiant, Denny (on his way to 30 wins) McClain, Drysdale, Seaver, Marichal and Carlton. Just an aside -- does anyone know Bob Gibson, who totally dominated the NL in '68 -- didn't appear in this All Star Game? A year later, expansion, a lower mound and tighter strike zone brought some punch back in the game and the memory of this frustrating afternoon -- yes, the All Star Game was still a ...