Outside The Confines: Snakes in the game

Good morning. A lot of the news is World Baseball Classic-related today, but that’s to be expected. Sorry for those who don’t care. I’m not going to repeat stories that we’ve covered elsewhere on this site. Like this one about Duque Hebbert. Except I just repeated myself there. Shoot.

• Diamond Sports Group, the subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group that controls the Bally Sports regional networks, has filed for bankruptcy. For now, Diamond Sports says that the Bally RSNs will continue to broadcast the games.
• Daniel Kaplan explains what is likely to happen to sports broadcasting in the light of the demise of the RSN model. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• The Astros and NBA’s Houston Rockets are attempting to purchase AT&T Sports Southwest, which broadcasts the games of both teams.
• MIke Axisa believes that so far in Spring Training, the new rules are working.
• There are more possible rules changes on the horizon. Josh Norris outlines what rules changes will happen in the minors this year. The big differences from MLB is the use of automatic ball-strike system (“robot umps”) and pre-tacked “sticky” balls in some leagues.
• Mets starter José Quintana will be out until at least July 1 after surgery to remove a lesion on his rib. The good news here is that the lesion turned out to be benign.
• Nationals catcher Keibert Ruiz has agreed to an eight-year, $50 million extension. It could be up to ten years and $76 million if the Nationals exercise the options.
• Diamondbacks rookie Corbin Carroll has agreed to an eight-year, $111 million extension that has options and incentives that could take the deal to $139 million. Ben Clemens examines why Carroll agreed to the deal and why the Diamondbacks offered it.
• Michael Baumann writes that between Carroll, Alek Thomas and Jake McCarthy. the Diamondbacks have the fastest outfield on six legs. Which is ironic because snakes don’t have legs.
• Former Cy Young Award-winner Trevor Bauer has signed a one-year deal with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Japan’s NPB.
• Keegan Matheson has three big questions facing the Blue Jays.
• One big position battle for each team in Spring Training.
• Braves right-hander Ian Anderson, one of the heroes of the 2021 World Series, was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett.
• Jack Harris wonders if Dodgers outfield prospect James Outman has done enough in Spring Training to earn a spot on the Opening Day roster.
• David Schoenfield has the five MLB teams most likely to regress in 2023. (ESPN+ sub. req.) The Dodgers are number one, if only because no team can be expected to win 111 games two years in a row.
• Mike Axisa ranks all 30 teams by how much pressure they are under to win the World Series.
• Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo welcomes your Mets-hatred. I was hating the Mets before you were born, Brandon.
• The Yankees Isiah Kiner-Falefa is learning to play center field.
• OK, now on to World Baseball Classic. Or at least the ones we haven’t already covered around here in WBC Tonight or the game reports. Elizabeth Strom gives her impressions of attending the Dominican Republic’s win over Nicaragua.
• Cuba is using some MLB players in the WBC for the first time ever. Alden Gonzalez finds that there are mixed feelings about that from Cubans playing in the US.
• Bob Nightengale notes that the Nationals Joey Meneses has become an overnight sensation in Mexico after hitting two home runs against Team USA.
• Mike Axisa outlines how Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar has become a hero in Japan with his performance in the WBC.
• Esteban Rivera looks at the “immense potential” of Shohei Ohtani’s new deal with New Balance shoes. Not being a shoe-guy, this is kind of lost on me, but I’m sure it’s of interest to someone out there.
• Venezuela’s Eduardo Rodriguez is done for the WBC because the Tigers won’t let him pitch anymore.
• Ken Rosenthal notes that White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson has become the “sparkplug” of Team USA and his participation in the WBC is taking his stardom to a new level. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• In the game between Japan and the Czech Republic, young Japanese star Roki Sasaki hit Czech outfielder Willie Escala in the leg with a 101 mph fastball. It was clearly unintentional, but Sasaki apologized to Escala anyway by presenting him with two huge bags of Japanese candy. Sasaki also gave him an autographed baseball and posed for pictures with Escala.
• Another player getting attention in the WBC is Great Britain and Mariners catcher Harry Ford. Clinton Yates has a profile of Ford and notes that the WBC has become a great showcase for future MLB stars.
• Michael Clair and Daniel Kramer also profile Ford, whom they term the “face of British baseball.” Ford was born in Atlanta, but both of his parents are from the UK. This article also has the story of how Ford ended up on the GB team.
• And finally, at least some young people in Britain have noticed Harry Ford. Check out this video from an elementary school in Suffolk cheering wildly when “Harry Ford” joins their class.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.